You can watch the whole of the movie for free on our site.
Pride and Prejudice 1940 is primarily a wartime comedy, seeped in 1940s glamour and star quality, and only secondarily an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel. Having written the dystopian novel Brave New World, screenwriter and novelist Aldous Huxley showed that he’s nothing if not versatile with this movie, billed at the time as ‘the gayest comedy of the year.’ The script is so light in tone, and so light on its resemblance to the novel’s storyline and characters, that purists will find it wholly insufferable. Those with a sense of humor or affection for this era of Hollywood, will very quickly fall in love with it.
The movie stars Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson as Mr Darcy and Elizabeth. Olivier is far too soft and likeable from the start, but his screen presence is just magnetic beyond all reason. Huxley even gives him some of Bingley’s lines, which he delivers so sweetly that it’s incomprehensible that Elizabeth doesn’t just leap on him at Netherfield and have done with it! His first proposal to Lizzy is also only very mildly offensive – nothing compared to the insults implicit in the 1980, 1995 and 2005 adaptations.
Most impressively, Greer Garson is equal to Olivier’s legendary presence. While Jane Bennet (Maureen O’Sullivan) is very beautiful, Garson is so stunning that it’s difficult to imagine her being second in beauty to anyone. By the standards of the movie, she is actually quite a faithful Elizabeth. She certainly has all the ‘sweetness’ and ‘archness’ that Jane Austen envisaged, and is wonderfully spirited.
The costumes are completely wrong for Jane Austen, with the movie given an 1840 setting, and the contrived accents are loveable but mildly distracting.* Darcy is pronounced ‘Darsay’ and ‘marry’ has become ‘melly’ for some reason, but you will still cheer when Darsay and Elizabeth finally agree to melly at the end.
Likewise, the wartime dialog and mannerisms make it difficult to suspend your disbelief and immerse yourself fully in the story, but there is still so much to enjoy. Had the 1980 adaptation involved yuppie gentlemen with filofaxea in their hands, discussing their investment portfolios and comparing business cards before all saying ‘ciao,’ it still wouldn’t have dated the piece as obviously. This makes it a kind of period period-drama, which – depending on your point of view – can even add to the fun.
To be clear, though, some of the plot changes are quite shocking, particularly those that involve Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I won’t go over them again here to avoid spoiling the surprise, but you can find the relevant Lady Catherine clip here. When watching the 1940 Pride and Prejudice movie, you may find yourself asking ‘Is nothing sacred?’ a few times, but if you enjoyed ‘Lost in Austen’ or don’t mind a little artistic license then you shouldn’t find anything too unpalatable here.
Your glamorous friend,
Lizzy
*This post initially contained a throwaway reference to the ‘apparent’ use of Gone with the Wind costumes in the movie, which, as one anonymous poster convincingly argued, may be something of a myth. Feisty counter-arguments quickly flowed in which I, as this site’s owner, have neither the knowledge nor – I confess – the interest to assess. Therefore, the simplest thing seemed to be to remove the reference altogether. I hope that everyone fervently interested in MGM’s wartime costume recycling policies can find a happy home somewhere else in the blogosphere. Apologies to everyone who posted!
