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Jane Eyre (1943)
In this faithful adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's
classic romantic story set in Victorian times by director Robert
Stevenson - a brooding, atmospheric mystery (filmed beautifully in
expressive black and white and enhanced by Bernard Herrmann's original
score):
- the opening scene (voice-over narration) of abused,
neglected and orphaned young Jane Eyre (Peggy Ann Garner as child,
Joan Fontaine as adult) reading from the first paragraph of the
printed novel: ("My name is Jane Eyre. I was born in 1820,
a harsh time of change in England. Money and position seemed all
that mattered. Charity was a cold and disagreeable word. Religion
too often wore a mask of bigotry and cruelty. There was no proper
place for the poor or the unfortunate. I had no father or mother,
brother or sister. As a child I lived with my aunt, Mrs. Reed of
Gateshead Hall. I do not remember that she ever spoke one kind
word to me.") [Note: The opening words were not from the original
novel, which began: "There was no possibility of taking a
walk that day..."]
- at the charity boarding school Lowood Institution,
ten year-old Jane's public punishment by rigid disciplinarian Reverend
Brocklehurst (Henry Daniell) to stand on a stool and remain ostracized
from the other students, and afterwards given a piece of bread by
sympathetic fellow classmate Helen Burns (a young Elizabeth Taylor,
uncredited)
- the delayed entrance of mysterious Edward Rochester
(Orson Welles), thrown off his horse in the foggy moors, when Jane
stepped into his path, and his harsh reprimand of her
- Jane's 'mousy' and timid demeanor throughout the film
(similar to her role in Hitchcock's Rebecca
(1940)) in Rochester's Thornfield Hall
- the character of Grace Poole (Ethel Griffies, uncredited)
(spoiler- revealed as the nurse/guard of Rochester's insane wife
locked up in a tower cell)
- the Gothic scene of darkly moody and tempestuous Edward
Rochester demanding that prim and intimidated governess Jane Eyre
express her love and marry him -- followed by lightning striking
a nearby tree and cracking off a large branch
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Rochester's Marriage Proposal
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Lightning Strike of Tree
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Interrupted Marriage
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- the marriage ceremony of Jane and Rochester, interrupted
by Mason (John Abbott), the elder brother of Bertha Mason, Rochester's
deranged, locked away wife
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Jane's Public Punishment at Boarding School
Jane Befriended by Helen
Edward Rochester - Harshly Reprimanding Jane
Intimidated Governess Jane Eyre
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