{"id":45497,"date":"2019-11-15T16:51:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T23:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=45497"},"modified":"2020-12-08T23:55:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T06:55:50","slug":"prime-of-miss-jean-brodie-the-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=45497","title":{"rendered":"Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The (1969)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I am always impressed by Ms. Brodie&#8217;s girls &#8212; in one way or another.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-of-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-of-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Poster-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-45502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-of-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Poster-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-of-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Poster-128x98.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-of-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Poster.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA free-spirited, Mussolini-loving teacher (Maggie Smith) &#8212; who&#8217;s had an affair with a married artist (Robert Stephens) and is currently dating her school&#8217;s music teacher (Gordon Jackson) &#8212; attempts to teach &#8220;her girls&#8221; &#8212; including dependable Sandy (Pamela Franklin), beautiful Jenny (Diane Grayson), sentimental Monica (Shirley Steedman), and stuttering Mary (Jane Carr) &#8212; to recognize their own greatness; but when a fantastical letter written by one of her students catches the attention of the school&#8217;s headmistress (Celia Johnson), Smith&#8217;s career and reputation are on the line.\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>Boarding Schools<\/li>\n<li>Celia Johnson Films<\/li>\n<li>Maggie Smith Films<\/li>\n<li>Morality Police<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<li>Teachers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nMaggie Smith won an Oscar for her leading role in this adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Prime_of_Miss_Jean_Brodie_(novel)\">Muriel Spark&#8217;s novel<\/a>, inhabiting a complicated female protagonist who stays true to herself yet remains a highly questionable influence on her students&#8217; lives. Indeed, the primary power of this story is how easily we&#8217;re drawn into Smith&#8217;s world &#8212; who wouldn&#8217;t be rooting for a passionate, empowering, professional, unmarried woman in the early 1960s? &#8212; then given a sucker-punch to the gut as we realize her narcissistic ideology is leading to undeniably toxic outcomes. The nature of ideologies, of course, is that they&#8217;re so often taken as obvious and true &#8212; and when one is in any position of power and moral authority (as teachers are), they&#8217;re oh-so-easily transmitted. Franklin plays a pivotal role in this story as well, representing another type of powerful female &#8212; one who refuses to play along with the label she&#8217;s been assigned by her elder, and who is willing to take action on behalf of justice, albeit justice heavily tinged with resentment. The remaining supporting performances are also spot-on, from the various other girls in Jean Brodie&#8217;s &#8220;in-group&#8221;, to Johnson as her supervisor, to Stephens as her temperamental lover and Jackson playing (coincidentally?) a chap named &#8220;Gordon&#8221;. While Peary argues in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> that Smith&#8217;s &#8220;performance is too mannered and theatrical for [his] tastes&#8221;, it&#8217;s difficult to imagine any other actress embodying this troubling literary icon. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith-1024x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-45501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith-1024x573.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Smith.png 1749w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Pamela Franklin as Sandy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin-1024x571.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"357\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-45499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin-1024x571.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin-768x428.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Franklin.png 1741w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert Stephens as Teddy Lloyd<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens-1024x566.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"354\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-45498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens-1024x566.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens-768x425.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Stephens.png 1735w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Celia Johnson as Miss Mackay<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson-1024x575.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-45500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson-768x431.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Prime-Miss-Jean-Brodie-Johnson.png 1729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a compelling drama with strong performances. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#noteworthy\">Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0064840\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1272brod.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/the-prime-of-miss-jean-brodie\/review\/109798\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DphTQUJ5kjo\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I am always impressed by Ms. Brodie&#8217;s girls &#8212; in one way or another.&#8221; Synopsis: A free-spirited, Mussolini-loving teacher (Maggie Smith) &#8212; who&#8217;s had an affair with a married artist (Robert Stephens) and is currently dating her school&#8217;s music teacher (Gordon Jackson) &#8212; attempts to teach &#8220;her girls&#8221; &#8212; including dependable Sandy (Pamela Franklin), beautiful Jenny (Diane Grayson), sentimental Monica (Shirley Steedman), and stuttering Mary (Jane Carr) &#8212; to recognize their own greatness; but when a fantastical letter written by&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=45497\"> 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-45497","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\/45497","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=45497"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56585,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45497\/revisions\/56585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}