Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 12/03/2002
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 108 Minutes
Flags: Questionable for Children
Distributor/Studio: MGM
Based on the 1934 play by
Lillian Hellman,
The Children's Hour is set at an exclusive girl's school managed by best friends
Audrey Hepburn and
Shirley MacLaine. When student
Karen Balkin is punished for one of her many misdeeds, the mean-spirited youngster rushes to her wealthy aunt
Fay Bainter, and, randomly choosing a phrase she has undoubtedly read in some magazine, accuses
Hepburn and
MacLaine of having an "unnatural relationship." As
Balkin's lies grow in viciousness, the student's parents withdraw their children from the school.
Hepburn and
MacLaine sue
Bainter for libel, only to lose their case when
MacLaine's aunt
Miriam Hopkins refuses to testify as a character witness. The trial takes its toll on the relationship between
Hepburn and her boyfriend
James Garner. When
Bainter discovers that her niece has been lying, she tries to make amends, but it is too late. Director
William Wyler had also helmed the first film version of
Children's Hour, 1936's
These Three, which due to censorship restrictions of the time did without the lesbian angle (the little girl's accusations involved a supposed romantic triangle between the two ladies and a male friend).
Miriam Hopkins, who plays a supporting role in
The Children's Hour, originally essayed the
Shirley MacLaine role in
These Three.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
