For years I have been looking forward to seeing this film. Finally it was on TCM this weekend and what can I say, it was awfully dull. It did not capture my attention at all. It is really disappointing because I love Olivia deHavilland as a screen presence and always find her worth the price of admission. I feel the same adoration for Ida Lupino as well. The story was a very contrived attempt to turn the life of the sisters Bronte into some sort of romantic drama (with a love triangle to boot). Needless to say about 45 minutes in, I could not bear it anymore and merely left the television on as a background distraction occasionally looking up to see where in the story they were. My recommendation: stick with film/TV adaptations of the Bronte’s novels. My personal favorite is Jane Eyre (TV/2006).
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