Jane Eyre 1944

Item: Jane Eyre
Author: Whitney

Posted March 5, 2010 by Whitney in movie review / 3 Comments

Jane Eyre
Date Read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

After a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house, to care for his young daughter.

Orson Welles stars as Edward Rochester, the brooding employer of governess Jane Eyre in this adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Gothic novel. An orphan with a tragic story herself, young Jane, played by Joan Fontaine slowly frees Edward from his self-imposed prison, but his troubled past stands in the way of their burgeoning love.

First, I must say that there was a disclaimer before the beginning of the film, not because of its content but because the film was so old and the distributors did as best they could to put the footage together. Although, if they had not proclaimed that ahead of time I wouldn’t have been the wiser.

Both Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine did a superb job in the acting department, and could actually see him as a fantastic Heathcliff as well, {sorry Laurence}. Joan in a way revised her role in Rebecca, once again playing the quite plain sweet and innocent heroine that you just have too love. This 1940s production of Jane Eyre is a fantastic gothic classic.