*** Welcome to piglix ***

The Children's Hour (1961 film)

The Children's Hour
A half-length portrait of two women, dran in black on a pink background. One woman stands in front, looking to the side. The other woman stands behind her, with her hands placed on the arms of the woman in front. She is slightly taller than the woman in front and looks down at her face from behind. Next to the face of the woman in front reads, in white letters, "DIFFERENT...". Below the picture reads "AUDREY HEPBURN, SHIRLEY MACLAINE, JAMES GARNER". Beneath these names reads "THE CHILDREN'S HOUR", with a small sketch of a man next to the title. In a white border to the poster reads the name "WILLIAM WYLER".
Theatrical release poster
Directed by William Wyler
Produced by William Wyler
Screenplay by John Michael Hayes
Based on The Children's Hour
by Lillian Hellman
Starring Shirley MacLaine
Audrey Hepburn
James Garner
Music by Alex North
Cinematography Franz Planer
Edited by Robert Swink
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • December 19, 1961 (1961-12-19)
Running time
 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $3.6 million
Box office $3 million

The Children's Hour (released as The Loudest Whisper in the United Kingdom) is a 1961 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1934 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman. The film stars Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner.

Former college classmates Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) and Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) open a private school for girls. Martha's Aunt Lily (Miriam Hopkins), an aging actress, lives and teaches elocution at the school. After an engagement of two years to Joe Cardin (James Garner), a reputable obstetrician, Karen finally agrees to set a wedding date. Joe is related to the influential Amelia Tilford (Fay Bainter), whose granddaughter Mary (Karen Balkin) is a student at the school. Mary is a spoiled, conniving child who bullies her classmates, particularly Rosalie Wells (Veronica Cartwright), whom she blackmails when she discovers her in possession of a student's missing bracelet.

When Mary is caught in a lie, Karen punishes her by refusing to let her attend the weekend's boat races. Mary goes home to her grandmother and twists a story so that she will not have to return to school that day. Karen learns what the story is from a father of a departing student and confronts Amelia about Mary accusing Martha and Karen of being lovers. Mary is foiled at convincing others that she personally saw the interactions between Martha and Karen. Mary coerces Rosalie to corroborate her story. Joe is frustrated by the situation, saying that he has finished cleaning up his grandmother's home, and maintains his engagement to Karen and his friendship with Martha. The two women intend to file a suit of libel and slander against Mrs. Tilford.


...
Wikipedia

...