Source: Some information on this page may have been sourced as part of the 2023 Wikimedia Australia Partnership Projects grant, with the purpose of improving and expanding the use of Wikidata on our website. Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Read more about this project here.
This cinematic masterpiece, directed with enormous sensitivity by William Wyler, tells the story of two women (Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins) who fall in love with the same man (Joel McCrea) and the damage to their lives that can be caused to all three by the malicious lies of a spiteful teenage schoolgirl (Bonita Granville). This powerful story of gossip and suspicion was based on Lillian Hellman’s controversial Broadway success “The Children’s Hour.” The appearance of Walter Brennan as the local taxi driver brings the only light relief to such a dramatic film and the outstanding performance of Bonita Granville was nominated for an Academy Award.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Stream, rent or buy via
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
306744
Language
English
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Schools - United States
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Literature → American literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)