The Children's hour (1961)

Being one of those films that I've read about in feminist texts (and The Celluloid closet), I finally got to see The Children's hour. The film is a second adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play. Karen (Audrey Hepburn) & Martha (Shirley MacLaine) are schoolteachers, having set up their own girls' school. In the first section of the film, we see Karen's & Martha's daily life. Karen is about to get married to Joe, who is a doctor. Martha is obviously unhappy with that prospect. One of the girls, perhaps the most annoying kid in film history, is punished for making trouble. She wants to have her revange, so she spreads a rumour about the teachers - that they are engaged in an "unnatural" relationship. The rumour is transformed into a scandal, involving a juridical process. In the last section of the film, post-trial, we see the two teachers, shattered by being scandalized. Another round of interrogation takes place. Does Joe believe in Karen? And what about Martha? Martha finally confesses her love for Karen. The film ends on a very traditional note; "the lesbian" has to die - this time, by her own hands.

Admittedly, the weaving of the plot contains some embarrassing half-measures. But that does not spoil this movie, which I, at least initially, found to be less crude than what I expected it to be. Interestingly, the contemporary New York Times reviewer, who regarded the story as unbelievable (that such a rumor would wreak such havoc), did not find it very daring. After that, I was less prone to think about radical politics, and started to think about my own conception of 60's prudes instead.

Critics have complained that this adaptation of The Children's hour makes a cliché out of the lesbian theme. And of course the repressed lesbian who commits suicide is exactly that. But that is not to say that the film has no merits; the ending scene is actually quite beautiful - no happy, heterosexual ending.The errand of the film seems ultimately to be about showing how rumors can destroy people's lives, rather than to portray a slice of heteronormativity drama. It is easy to make too much of the lesbian subplot, but that would be unfair to the film.