{"id":27497,"date":"2012-09-27T13:15:48","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T20:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27497"},"modified":"2021-09-05T11:42:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T18:42:48","slug":"importance-of-being-earnest-the-1952","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27497","title":{"rendered":"Importance of Being Earnest, The (1952)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I pity any young woman who isn&#8217;t married to a man named Ernest.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster-207x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-27501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster-207x300.jpg 207w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster-709x1024.jpg 709w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Poster.jpg 732w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 207px) 100vw, 207px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA wealthy bachelor (Michael Redgrave) going by the name of &#8220;Ernest&#8221; hopes to marry the daughter (Joan Greenwood) of arrogant Lady Bracknell (Edith Evans); meanwhile, Evans&#8217; nephew (Michael Denison) &#8212; also posing as &#8220;Ernest&#8221; &#8212; falls in love with Redgrave&#8217;s beautiful 18-year-old ward (Dorothy Tutin). Troubles arise when Evans expresses concern over Redgrave&#8217;s dubious heritage, and both Greenwood and Tutin learn that their fiances are actually named something other than Ernest.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Class Relations<\/li>\n<li>Joan Greenwood Films<\/li>\n<li>Margaret Rutherford Films<\/li>\n<li>Michael Redgrave Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nOscar Wilde&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Importance_of_being_earnest\">final play<\/a> &#8212; the initial production of which was infamously sabotaged by allegations of his homosexual &#8220;indiscretions&#8221; and his subsequent jailing &#8212; has been adapted for the big screen numerous times (including a 2002 version co-starring Reese Witherspoon), but this earlier adaptation by director Anthony Asquith is often cited as the most faithful and definitive version. Indeed, many critics complain that the film sticks <em>too<\/em> closely to its theatrical origins &#8212; a charge frequently leveled at Asquith, whose directorial style in general was more straightforward than stylistically creative. For my money, Wilde&#8217;s play is enjoyable enough to stand just fine on its own, and a more straightforward adaptation like this allows one simply to bask in its infinitely witty juices. Wilde truly was a genius at humorously skewering class relations, and his play was (thankfully) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/158112|0\/The-Big-Idea.html\">modified only slightly for the screen by Asquith, who refused to accept any credit for the work<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p>Although John Gielgud remains perhaps the most famous actor to perform as Jack\/Ernest (he turned down an opportunity to star in this adaptation), Michael Redgrave is a fine &#8212; if perhaps slightly overage &#8212; replacement, and Michael Denison is perfectly cast as his roguish friend Algernon. Dorothy Tutin &#8212; who remained primarily a stage actress throughout her career &#8212; made her screen debut as Cecily, and is suitably youthful and naive in this critical role; meanwhile, Joan Greenwood purrs her way through a supporting performance as Redgrave&#8217;s betrothed, and Margaret Rutherford steals the few scenes she&#8217;s in as Tutin&#8217;s German tutor. The film&#8217;s most famous performance, however, is given by Dame Edith Evans, who played the role of Lady Bracknell for several decades on stage, and whose incredulous intonation here of the line, &#8220;A handbag?!&#8221; remains oft-cited. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Watch for some delightfully florid hats worn by the various women in the cast; the Technicolor cinematography brings out their hues quite nicely. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27503\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Evans.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Redgrave as Jack (a.k.a. &#8220;Ernest&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Redgrave.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Michael Denison as Algernon (a.ka. &#8220;Ernest&#8221;)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Denison-Tutin.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Dorothy Tutin as Cecily<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Tutin.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joan Greenwood as Gwendolen<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Margaret Rutherford as Miss Prism<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Rutherford2.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Colorfully ornate hats and costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Importance-Earnest-Hats2.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Wilde&#8217;s incomparably quotable dialogue:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Ignorance is like a delicate, exotic fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as the &#8220;definitive&#8221; cinematic adaptation of Wilde&#8217;s classic play. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0044744\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9C00E5DE1E3AE23BBC4B51DFB4678389649EDE\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/films\/2000\/10\/12\/importance_of_being_earnest_1952_review.shtml\">BBC Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/the-importance-of-being-earnest\/review\/101949\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=3661\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/79049\/the-importance-of-being-earnest#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-importance-of-being-earnest\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I pity any young woman who isn&#8217;t married to a man named Ernest.&#8221; Synopsis: A wealthy bachelor (Michael Redgrave) going by the name of &#8220;Ernest&#8221; hopes to marry the daughter (Joan Greenwood) of arrogant Lady Bracknell (Edith Evans); meanwhile, Evans&#8217; nephew (Michael Denison) &#8212; also posing as &#8220;Ernest&#8221; &#8212; falls in love with Redgrave&#8217;s beautiful 18-year-old ward (Dorothy Tutin). Troubles arise when Evans expresses concern over Redgrave&#8217;s dubious heritage, and both Greenwood and Tutin learn that their fiances are actually&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27497\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27497"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75826,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27497\/revisions\/75826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}