Jane Eyre (1934)

Jane Eyre
Directed by Christy Cabanne
1934/USA
Monogram Pictures
First viewing

“I am not an angel,’ I asserted; ‘and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me – for you will not get it, any more than I shall get it of you: which I do not at all anticipate.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

The first sound adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel.  After a lonely and difficult childhood, the independent-minded Jane Eyre (Virginia Bruce) becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall.  There she falls in love with the master of the house Mr. Rochester (Colin Clive)  but he has a shocking secret that stands in the way of their happiness.

I have a few more films to watch but I do believe I may have hit the bottom of the barrel for 1934.  This film might not be worse than Maniac but it is certainly less fun.  Where to start?  With the sets that quiver when brushed?  No, I think the worst part is the amateurish brutalization of the novel.  Here we have a glamorous Jane Eyre with golden ringlets who sings to Rochester at their first meeting for what seems like five minutes of this 62-minute movie.  The Adele character is changed to being Rochester’s niece and has quite a prominent part in the story so that she can do hilarious stunts like falling head first into an urn.  Crazy wife Bertha shows up at the wedding looking quite OK and asking to see her husband.  There are many times when it seems like the actors have been asked to improvise their lines.  Since it is evident that no one, including the director, has read the novel, this was a bad idea.

I may be revising how I go forward with my year-by-year project.  Seeing so many mediocre movies in a row is making me jaded and cranky.  I think I may forego seeing anything with a user rating less than 6.0/10 on IMDb.  This one was rated 4.7/10.

Clip – Wedding scene (appearance of Bertha Mason)