Between the Pages

This adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel was made in 1943 and stars Joan Fontaine as the eponymous heroine, and Orson Welles as Edward Rochester.

The novel is one of my very favourite books, and I was interested in seeing this adaptation for that reason.  At a little over one and half hours long, it was probably inevitable that some parts of the book would be left out, and in fact, some very significant chunks of the plot are not included here (for example, the whole sub-plot featuring Jane’s cousins St. John, Diana and Mary, is missing from this version, and her aunt Mrs Reed only appears to have one child – John, who barely utters a line.  In the novel, Mrs Reed also had two daughters, who are not mentioned here).

Jane’s childhood is covered very quickly, but I did enjoy this part of the film, partly due to the excellent performance of Peggy Ann Garner as a young Jane.  Helen Burns, the good-hearted, ill-fated friend of Jane is played by a young Elizabeth Taylor, and she also does an admirable job with the small role.

The adult Jane is played by Joan Fontaine, who is simply too classically beautiful for the part!  However, her acting is great, almost understated.  This is contract to Orson Welles, who just did not seem right for the part of Rochester, and seemed to be over-acting in several of the scenes, although he did capture Rochester’s brooding character in the first couple of scenes where he met Jane (initially when riding his horse, and then later when he called Jane to his study).  In those scenes, there was definitely chemistry between the two characters, but somehow this seemed to be lost as the story progressed.  Although Welles was just starting to get a little paunchy here, he is probably still too sauve for the part of Rochester, and I didn’t really get the sense of the caring and tender traits that Rochester hides under his gruff exterior.  (However, Rochester is probably my favourite romantic hero of any novel, so perhaps I am over-critical.)

There were parts of the film which certainly worked – the musical score is perfect and fitted absolutely with the dramatic and romantic aspects of the story.  The supporting cast were also excellent, especially the aforementioned Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane, and Edith Barrett as Mrs Fairfax.  And as I mentioned earlier, the chemistry between the two main characters in their initial scenes together promised much.  What didn’t work for me was the missing sub-plot with Jane’s cousins – an important part of the novel, and Orson Welles as Rochester.  However, other reviewers have been very favourable about his performance, and eventually of course it just comes down to personal preference (I believe that Toby Stephens in the 1996 adaptation captured the role perfectly).

So overall there is certainly enough here to make it a worthwhile viewing experience – just don’t expect it to be a comprehensive adaptation.

Year of release: 1943

Director: Robert Stevenson

Writers: Charlotte Bronte (book), John Houseman, Aldous Huxley, Henry Koster

Main cast: Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles, Peggy Ann Garner, Margaret O’Brien, Edith Barrett

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Click here for my review of the 2006 mini series ‘Jane Eyre’.

Click here for my review of the 1996 movie adaptation.

Click here for my review of the 1997 movie adaptation.

Click here for my review of the novel.

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