Pride and Prejudice

"The Gayest Comedy Hit of the Screen! Five Gorgeous Beauties on a Mad-Cap Manhunt!"

1940 1h 58m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 158

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.

“The Gayest Comedy Hit of the Screen! Five Gorgeous Beauties on a Mad-Cap Manhunt!”

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Cast

Greer Garson
Elizabeth Bennet
Laurence Olivier
Mr. Darcy
Mary Boland
Mrs. Bennet
Edna May Oliver
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Maureen O'Sullivan
Jane Bennet
Ann Rutherford
Lydia Bennet
Frieda Inescort
Miss Caroline Bingley
Edmund Gwenn
Mr. Bennet

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Z. Leonard
Writers: Aldous Huxley, Jane Murfin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

86 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, shot by Karl Freund. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Herbert Stothart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Kern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier and Mary Boland carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Gayest Comedy Hit of the Screen! Five Gorgeous Beauties on a Mad-Cap Manhunt!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0032943 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Z. Leonard directs. Karl Freund behind the camera. Herbert Stothart scores. Robert Kern cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, shot by Karl Freund. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Herbert Stothart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Robert Kern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier and Mary Boland carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The Gayest Comedy Hit of the Screen! Five Gorgeous Beauties on a Mad-Cap Manhunt!".
7IMDB entry: tt0032943 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Karl Freund
Original score: Herbert Stothart
Editing: Robert Kern
Costume design: Adrian
Makeup / hair: Jack Dawn
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Black and White

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Robert Z. Leonard

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-23
★ 7/10
Though doubtless the emphasis of this film must be on the two leading stars, I found that an huge degree of the richness of this Jane Austen story came from the wonderfully characterful supporting cast: Mary Boland as the mother, constantly and brazenly seeking advantageous marriages for the "Bennet" brood, with Edmund Gwenn as her husband; Melville Cooper ("Mr. Collins), EE Clive ("Sir William) and the redoubtable Edna May Oliver as "Lady Catherine" all contributing splendidly to this otherwise rather loosely adapted story of "Elizabeth" (Greer Garson) and her rather complicated on/off courtship with "Mr. Darcy" (Laurence Olivier). This is certainly one of the latter's more engaging performances. Though still in ultra-ham mode, he does actually manage to convey the humour of his part, as well as his (largely self-inflicted) struggles to woo, rather well. Garson always was somewhat underrated. I feel she'd have made for a wonderful silent movie star - she had the eyes and the mannerisms that convey what a thousand words could not - and she holds the attention well here as the lively, independently-minded "Elizabeth". The other sisters get more of a look in too - Ann Rutherford ("Lydia") and Maureen O'Sullivan ("Jane) deliver well as they seek out their own beaus. This adaption, led by Aldous Huxley, cuts some of Austen's ever-present wordiness and helps focus the story better, if perhaps less potently and stingingly than the writer intended. I am not really a fan of this genre, nor of this author - but this is entertaining and well made with strong performances, sumptuous settings and quite a bit of charm. Easily the best version of this story to make it onto the silver screen, in my view.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-02-26
★ 5/10
A first adaptation of Jane Austen's greatest work, which is riddled with problems, but is competent, pragmatic and very elegant. Thought of as a comedy, it was thought of the wrong way. At this point, I believe that even those who have never read a Jane Austen novel will surely agree that the writer is, quite simply, one of the most distinguished in the classical pantheon of the English language. “Pride and Prejudice” is a novel that has been adapted to film and TV several times, and each production had its pros and cons. One cannot ignore this production, however, because it was truly the first to transport romance from paper to celluloid. Its impact, at the time, was enormous, it was a great success and even helped to make the original book better known and popular outside England. I won't waste my time explaining the plot, which is well known to everyone who has seen at least one of the most recent adaptations of the book. What I can say is that this film, with its short duration, ends up not being able to do justice to the original material, which is largely hidden. It couldn't be otherwise, anyway, but director Robert Z. Leonard even cut out passages that were quite important for the general understanding of the plot! Another problem with this film is how the production simply didn't care about choosing actors who fit the characters. Concerned with attracting the public and making the film work, the producers chose famous, recognizable actors, even if they are clearly older than the characters they embodied. “Safe bets”, as I sometimes call them, because they combined popularity with assured talent: it's no wonder that, each in their own way, they managed to give us good performances. I particularly liked Greer Garson, who I feel made a genuine effort to look younger and more rebellious, as her character demanded. Also, Edna May Oliver deserves praise for the way she gave life to the imposing and arrogant Lady Catherine. Maureen O'Sullivan, Edmund Gwenn and Edward Ashley do an equally good job, and despite not liking the overly pompous and arrogant ways, Lawrence Olivier was competent as Darcy. Technically, the film has no major flaws or demerits worth mentioning. Filmed in black and white when originally planned to use color (due to allegedly running out of celluloid due to the production of “Gone With The Wind”), the film has very good cinematography and was elegantly shot. The soundtrack is not bad, being within what we expect to find in a film from the early Forties. However, I cannot fail to criticize, on the negative side, the option of temporally placing the action thirty years after the period in which everything takes place in the book, even though I understand the convenience, for the entire production, of being able to recycle part of the costumes used in “Gone With The Wind”.