This sports a good cast, is a famous story and has good cinematography but is such a depressing film I wouldn't watch it again. A big reason I checked it out was I am a fan of Peggy Ann Garner, and there aren't many films of her available. She is the star of this movie for the first 20 minutes as a young "Jane Eyre." Sadly, it's the story of her hard life as a kid under wicked people, and then she's out of the picture as Joan Fontaine plays her as an adult.
One of the wicked people tormenting young Eyre (Garner) is the head of the school and, of course, is portrayed as a man of the Bible, a Christian man. For several famous English authors (Charlotte Bronte here, and Charles Dickens) of the 19th century - and with almost all filmmakers in any era - its another opportunity to make a Believer look evil. No wonder film critics liked this movie.
As the adult Eyre, Fontaine's character still has a hard life until the very end. Once again, this is very similar to many Charles Dickens stories, such as Oliver Twist. Fontaine does fine in her role but Orson Welles delivers one of the few bad performances in his career, overacting terribly here. His ravings are such you can't understand what he says anyway.
Two other youngsters besides Garner are in this movie: Margaret O'Brien (speaking of overacting) and Elizabeth Taylor (in an uncredited role.) There is some cinematography in here, a number of shots that feature a lot of ground fog.
One of the wicked people tormenting young Eyre (Garner) is the head of the school and, of course, is portrayed as a man of the Bible, a Christian man. For several famous English authors (Charlotte Bronte here, and Charles Dickens) of the 19th century - and with almost all filmmakers in any era - its another opportunity to make a Believer look evil. No wonder film critics liked this movie.
As the adult Eyre, Fontaine's character still has a hard life until the very end. Once again, this is very similar to many Charles Dickens stories, such as Oliver Twist. Fontaine does fine in her role but Orson Welles delivers one of the few bad performances in his career, overacting terribly here. His ravings are such you can't understand what he says anyway.
Two other youngsters besides Garner are in this movie: Margaret O'Brien (speaking of overacting) and Elizabeth Taylor (in an uncredited role.) There is some cinematography in here, a number of shots that feature a lot of ground fog.