User Reviews

If you want a generalized account of the Bronte Family, DEVOTION is not bad - but it is not really good history. Basically in the 1810s to 1830s Reverend Patrick Brunte (which he changed to Bronte) was in charge of the parsonage of Haworth in Yorkshire. He and his wife had six children: five girls and a son. Most people forget there were two older sisters than Charlotte, Emily, and Anne (and their brother Bramwell) but the two older daughters died prematurely of lung problems (which would bedevil all the Brontes).

In that isolated parsonage, the Bronte children entertained themselves by making up stories about a fabulous place called "Great Glass Town" that was ruled by England's superhero of the day, the Duke of Wellington. As they grew older, they would write down their stories about this wonderful place - and soon they were also writing down poetry. All that is but Bramwell. He was very bright and promising, and it was hoped he would develop his considerable talents as a draftsman and artist. He was even sent to a boarding school. But Bramwell developed a love for drinking, and the early promise of his brilliance eventually dissipated. He would also be the first of the better remembered children to die.

Before Bramwell died he would live to see the success of his three sisters. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne joined together to publish a volume of poetry called POEMS BY CURRER, ELLIS, & ACTON BELL. The reason for the pseudonyms was that in 1839 it was very unusual for woman to write fiction or poetry. So the girls figured it would not hurt to pretend they were men. The poetry worked well, and soon Charlotte and Emily sent into London the manuscripts of their two novels JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Again both were under the pseudonyms. The two novels were acclaimed, as was a novel by Anne called THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL (published as Acton Bell). The novels gained the attention of William Thackeray, and he wrote a glowing review of them - especially of JANE EYRE. Charlotte wrote to Thackeray, and arranged a trip to meet him in London. Then he learned that these three novelists and poets were women.

Thackeray became their greatest booster. It's nice to know that Emily was aware of this, because she died shortly after Bramwell did - after nursing him. Anne wrote a novel AGNES GRAY, and then her health failed too and she died. Now Reverend Bronte found only one child of his six was still alive. Charlotte wrote her "problem of England" novel called SHIRLEY. In 1853 a third novel, VILLETTE (which most critics consider better than JANE EYRE) was published. Charlotte married the Reverend Arthur Bell Nichols in 1854, and within a year she died giving birth to a still born child. A posthumous novel (actually an early version of VILLETTE called THE PROFESSOR) was published. So was a small fragment called EMMA. Reverend Bronte died in 1861, having survived his six children (but knowing that at least three were remembered as writers). Charlotte's husband Reverend Nichols died in 1901.

For a family that has maintained popular interest from their heyday to today, the total literary output of seven novels and a book of poetry is small. But eventually their fans would also have the dozens of surviving notebooks of their childhood fantasies of "Great Glass Town" as well, and even Bramwell's etchings and attempts at painting retain interest. For all it's tragedy of early death, the Brontes retain our fascination as an unexpected blossoming of genius that was cut too short.

DEVOTION, as I said earlier, was close to an outline of the story. It showed some of the biographical background that would shape Charlotte's (Olivia de Haviland's) and Emily's (Ida Lupino's) fiction: Emily's love for the wild moors, which would translate into her imagery for Heathcliff and Cathy Earnshaw in HEIGHTS; and Charlotte's infatuation with a foreign tutor she knew in Belgium (a nice performance by Victor Francken) which is used in creating the character of Paul in VILLETTE. But the fiction is tied to a ruthless streak in Charlotte at her more talented sister's expense, especially over Reverend Nichols (Paul Henreid). Actually Emily never yearned for Nichols, or any man Charlotte liked. Bramwell (Arthur Kennedy) is closer to Emily, and tries to support her - but he's undermined by his drinking and declining health. Anne Bronte (Nancy Coleman) is (unfortunatley typically) given short shrift beside her two better known sister novelists.

Thackeray is played by Sidney Greenstreet, who physically and intellectually matches the rotund genius who gave us BARRY LYNDON, VANITY FAIR, and HENRY ESMOND. He shows an appreciation of Charlotte and shepherds her around London (guarranteeing her social success). But he also realizes - good novelist and critic that he is - that Emily's writing has a raw power that Charlotte's politer writing lacks. But the movie misses that Thackeray's interest in Charlotte and JANE EYRE may have been based on the figure of Rochester's mad wife in the attic (Bertha). It seems Thackeray also had an insane wife. However his social snobbery is deliciously given when he sneers at some street urchins ("Not my public!"), and when he warns Charlotte against an author they pass - Charles Dickens.

DEVOTION is a entertaining film, and a good way to get an audience to look into the Brontes and their literary work. At very least, it leads one to view some movie version of JANE EYRE or WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

Despite the fact that this treatment of the famous Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) and their tormented brother Branwell (Arthur Kennedy)gives their story a romantic glow (instead of the harsh reality of their life on the moors), it can be enjoyed on the level of a well-acted, sometimes overwrought romantic drama with sterling performances by Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland, as well as an excellent one from Arthur Kennedy as the brother who wastes his talent.

The large cast includes Sydney Greenstreet (effective as Thackeray), Victor Francen, Nancy Coleman, Ethel Griffies and Dame May Witty. It may not be an accurate biography (in fact some critics said it should have been called 'Distortion'), but thanks to fine performances and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's magnificent score, it's fascinating to watch. Particularly effective is the montage showing a horse and rider against a cloudy sky as death approaches Emily Bronte and Korngold's music mounts as he comes closer and closer. Wonderful moment of imagery.

Whatever its shortcomings, I cannot praise Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score enough. It's one of his most magnificent and stands with KINGS ROW as one of his best film scores, adding majesty and atmosphere to many of the film's most dramatic scenes.

Trivia note: DEVOTION has a strange history. It was actually filmed and finished in 1943 while de Havilland was still under contract to the studio. When she launched her famous legal battle against them for adding suspension time to the end of her contract, Jack Warner decided to punish her. He gave her third billing, kept the film off the screen for three years hoping to weaken her career, and failed to invite her to the premiere of the film when it finally did open in Hollywood.

Despite all this, Olivia not only won the case in the Supreme Court, but went on to win two Oscars after the film was released!! Proof that he was wrong all along in underestimating her.

Although not historically accurate, this is a very enjoyable romantic view of the Bronte sisters and their devotion to each other and to their drug addicted brother. I am surprised that it has not been shown as often as the overwrought versions of Jane Eyre and Wuthering heights which were made around that time.

The performances are excellent, even more so because they are quietly underplayed for the times. The attention to detail is good, except for the scene where Charlotte returned to find Emily on her deathbed but left the front door wide open! Growing up on the Yorkshire moors about 10 miles away from Haworth, I know that no one would ever leave the door open on a cold stormy night. I kept wanting to shout in Yorkshire dialect "Put t'wood in't hoile!" (Shut the door, in English)

The Bronte sisters have been the subject of vastly more scholarly print than their combined output, but this film skims over the heartbreak and hardship they endured. One has to see the bleakness of the Haworth parsonage and the moors to begin to grasp what it must have been like for them. Death was a constant companion, taking all of them away in their early adulthood. Death from drink, tubercolosis and in Charlotte's case, childbirth, were the norm for those who survived infancy. Their lives were bleak, but their imagination was rich.

Picky picky details aside, this films deserves to be shown more often.

Ida Lupino is Emily Bronte, and Olivia de Havilland is Charlotte Bronte in "Devotion," a 1946 film, made in 1943 and shelved, which tells the story of the two sisters, their sister Anne, and their brother Branwell (Arthur Kennedy).

In essence, the Bronte sisters led sad, miserable, and short lives - there was nothing romantic about the moors, as much as they seem so in the Bronte books. The sisters enjoyed poor health, their brother was a disgrace, and their father a cold man with a violent temper. Only with the entrance of their aunt into their lives was much attention paid to them. She was a warm woman who saw to their education and gave them structure.

What the Bronte sisters had was imagination, and plenty of it, and they exercised their imaginations with their writings.

"Devotion" is a lovely film with a wonderful performance by Ida Lupino as the tragic Emily. Olivia de Havilland does a good job as Charlotte, shown in the film as selfish and a man magnet. In truth, she was ugly and considered herself so, and while she did develop a crush on Constantin Heger (Victor Francen), the affection doesn't seem to have been returned. All of Charlotte's success happened after Emily's death, not where it does in the film, and the reason the girls left school was not because of their brother's illness, but because of their aunt's death.

The eternally underrated Arthur Kennedy is excellent as Branwell, shown here as only a drunk. Branwell did have several jobs, none of which he kept, had an affair with an older married woman, which was an open scandal, and is suspected of eating opium as well as drinking. However, it is true that Charlotte was angry with him.

Charlotte did marry Nicholls (and died eight months later) but there was no love triangle with Emily. Nor was Nicholls, as in the film, the model for the mysterious, romantic men in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The fact that this love triangle is represented as inspiration for the men in their novels in "Devotion" is a good case for Paul Henried being miscast. The movie was made during the war, when there were no men around, and Warner Brothers would never have given a star like Errol Flynn a supporting role. But the role of Nicholls, given his importance in the film, cried out for someone a little more dashing and handsome.

Sydney Greenstreet appears as William Thackery in a small but showy role toward the end of the film.

The film was shelved in 1943 because of a lawsuit filed by Olivia de Havilland against Warner Brothers; in 1946, though she won the suit, the movie was released due to the big success of her film, "To Each His Own" for Paramount.

"Devotion" is worth seeing, but not as a true story of the Bronte sisters.

Devotion is purportedly the story of the talented Bronte sisters, Emily who wrote Wuthering Heights, Charlotte who wrote Jane Eyre and Anne who really didn't do too much of anything. They are played respectively by Ida Lupino, Olivia DeHavilland and Nancy Coleman. Literary scholars aren't crazy about this film from a historical perspective, still it's good entertainment and provides some really good parts for women.

The Bronte sisters live in Yorkshire near the famous moors that served as the background for their literary effort with their father Montagu Love who is a vicar. For his time he's a pretty liberal sort of fellow who insists on an education for his daughters. But his real concern is his dissolute son Branwell played by Arthur Kennedy. He's a painter and a misunderstood genius. Truth be told he's a bit of a lout as well, but his sisters love him.

This film has such an odd history it was made in 1943-44 and held up deliberately by the brothers Warner while Olivia DeHavilland was in court with them over her contract. She won the case and left to freelance, but the film stayed on the shelf until 1946 when DeHavilland got rave reviews for To Each His Own which garnered her first Oscar. After that Jack Warner being the practical sort decided spite was not a luxury he could indulge in and he released Devotion to cash in on Olivia's new found box office.

Because of that this film became the farewell performance of Montagu Love who played a great variety of parts going back to the early silent days.

Paul Henreid is in this as well as the young curate assigned to Love's parish. His Viennese accent crops out occasionally during the film, making him sound a bit odd for an English clergyman. Still he does a fine job.

Lupino and DeHavilland are a well matched pair of sisters. But acting honors definitely go to Arthur Kennedy. It's an expansive part that Kennedy makes the most of. Viewers will also enjoy Sydney Greenstreet in a small part as William Makepeace Thackerey who encourages the Brontes in their literary careers.

Even if it was a belated release, Devotion was a great film for Olivia DeHavilland to wrap up her stormy career at Warner Brothers.

Pretentious tripe. Noting but annoying bickering. Six stars for the wasted talent and because of the beautiful actresses in beautiful costumes. Did they excel in their writing to make up for their lives being this dull? I will never know. I fell asleep one third through.

Romanticized account of the life of the Brontes with particular emphasis of course on older sisters Charlotte and Emily. It's slow moving at times and should not be relied upon for historical accuracy but, of its kind, it's fairly well done and entertaining. Olivia de Havilland (looking very pretty) is the imperious and ambitious Charlotte, aggressively courting literary success, while Ida Lupino, as Emily, remains at home, engaging in fanciful reverie and harboring a secret passion for the local clergyman. Both offer strong, capable performances. (It's been said that de Havilland, who had been fighting with Warner Brothers over better scripts, was given third billing as punishment by studio chief Jack Warner. By the time the film was released, in 1946, she had successfully sued the studio for release from her contract and would go on to win two Oscars as Best Actress). Nancy Coleman has the thankless role of younger sister Anne, Arthur Kennedy is their dissolute brother Branwell (his self-destructiveness is never adequately explained and simply becomes tedious after a while) and Paul Henreid is the Reverend Arthur Nichols, the object of Emily's unrequited affection (a contrivance thought up by the screenwriter). With Sydney Greenstreet as the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray and Montagu Love, Ethel Griffies, Victor Francen, Odette Myrtil and Dame May Witty.

The story of the Bronte Family with all their problems certainly bears little resemblance to the true facts, but nevertheless Warner Brothers have made a fine entertaining film, with an excellent cast of actors headed by Olivia de Havilland as Charlotte, Ida Lupino as Emily and Nancy Coleman as Anne. Paul Henreid is in support, but Arthur Kennedy as Branwell is the standout. The mood of the time and place is very well captured and the photography and background music are superb. Not a lot of emphasis is given to the wonderful books, "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily & Charlotte, but rather the main story revolves around the girls' love lives. This film has been panned by many critics, but I feel it deserves a far better reception than it has received - Warners had themselves to blame as they delayed its release for a couple of years simply because of the fight with Miss de Havilland - incidentally she won it!

Have always loved "Golden Age" films and Olivia De Havilland of the actors involved here is a favourite. The Bronte Sisters are very important and iconic authors, with 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights' being considered classics for very good reason. Curtis Bernhardt has always been a bit inconsistent to me as a director, of the films of his seen his best is easily 'Interrupted Melody'. Have always liked very much biopics, regardless of how true to history they are or not (usually not).

'Devotion' is definitely not true to the facts and one may easily dismiss it as just another standard golden age melodrama (personally wouldn't go as far to say that). On its own though, 'Devotion' is pretty good with plenty of great merits as well as a few things that underwhelmed a good deal. Other literary author biopics do better at delving into their subject's minds and showing how they write and what makes them do so (i.e. 2002's 'Last Call', centered around F. Scott Fitzgerald). In all fairness, doing biopics on authors/writers is not easy to do and it lends itself better to mini-series and films made for television. 'Devotion' is not perfection but it's laudable and do applaud it for trying.

It is by no means a perfect film. It is hurt by Charlotte not being a likeable or fully fleshed out character at all, almost cartoonish. Do feel bad about saying this, as someone that likes De Havilland a lot and her characters are usually easy to like but to me it seemed as if she was over-compensating a bit here.

To me, Paul Henreid was rather stiff and lacked personality as Nicholls and never seemed properly at ease, have nothing against Henreid and never have but he just didn't work for me and this is all personal opinion (if anybody disagrees, lets call it different strokes for different folks and leave it at that). Also didn't care for the subplot between Emily and Nicholls, very soapy and dull and added very little, if it was cut out it would not have affected the film at all. It seemed like an attempt to flesh Emily out even more than she already was and it didn't work. Instead it could have elaborated much more on going into more detail of Branwell's self-destruction, which agreed is very underdeveloped. Again personal opinion.

However, 'Devotion' looks lovely. The sets and costumes are handsome and don't look photography, complemented beautifully by the elegant photography and lighting that has a good deal of atmosphere. Erich Wolgang Korngold is one of my personal favourite film composers since seeing 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and being blown away by the score and everything about that film, and his sumptuous and emotion enhancing score is one of his best. Bernhardt's direction is solid, not mind-blowing but there is absolutely nothing incompetent about it.

It is thoughtfully and poignantly scripted and the story while melodramatic is involving and moving with great chemistry between the two sisters and an ending that tears at the heart-strings and like seeing 'Wuthering Heights' come to life. Of the cast, Ida Lupino gives the best performance as the most fully fleshed out and most likeable character (Emily), the one that resonated with me the most and Lupino is luminous, charming and nuanced as her. Also excellent is the under-appreciated Arthur Kennedy, after being so impressed by him in Eliza Kazan's excellent 'Boomerang!' recently he is quite splendid here as another conflicted character that he plays with subtle intensity. May Whitty is always good value as is Sydney Greenstreet.

Concluding, well done but didn't bowl me over. 7/10

I have been waiting for quite a while to see this film. I am a fan of English literature and history as well as classic film. I have often even requested on the Turner Classic Movies website that it be shown. I finally got the chance and it was not what I had hoped. The writing and part was awful for such a huge star as Olivia de Havilland. It is no wonder she rebelled against Warner Brothers for better roles. This mess after Gone With the Wind and The Adventures of Robin Hood? No wonder she was upset. To add fuel to the fire, her character was annoying and it is hard to understand why she was liked by men. The only performance with any depth was that of Ida Lupino and this was only because her character seemed to be the only one with any common sense or appeal. I am shocked Paul Henried didn't rebel with Olivia de Havilland. His character was a mess of a man who obviously had no taste or common sense. Watch it as it only seems to play on television once in a lifetime. Punishment should only happen so often. If you are a fan of classic film watch it for the experience and not for the quality value.

This film follows the lives of the Brontes with a particular focus on Emily (Ida Lupino), Charlotte (Olivia De Havilland) and Branwell (Arthur Kennedy). They live in a house in the moors and they have various stints away from home. A love story is played out between Emily, Charlotte and Reverend Nicholls (Paul Henreid) and another between Charlotte and Msr Heger (Victor Francen). The love that the 2 sisters experience inspire them to write their most famous novels - "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre". However, tragedy strikes.

The cast are all good in this film. Sydney Greenstreet turns up in a role as William Thackeray towards the end and is typically flamboyant. He's a bit high up on the cast list, though, considering that he only appears in the last 20 minutes or so. The film has nice scenery and settings and at times, it has a ghostly feel to it which stays with you after the film has finished. I liked the ending where one sister's favourite part of the moors becomes accepted by the other sister.

Despite some inaccuracies in the tale, it plays out as a tragic love story and my girlfriend cried. So did I. I really enjoyed it.

Where this film really falls down is the casting of Paul Henreid. I couldn't see his Reverand Nicholls as a man who would arouse passion in two women and inspire them to write great novels stemming from their love for him. In fact, Henreid is such a dead fish as an actor that Bette Davis' "Now, Voyager" doesn't work for me either because he was cast as the love of her life. His being in that role made the story too far fetched to buy into, despite Davis' bravura performance.

This film is loosely based on the lives of the Bronte family's literary sisters, Emily, Charlotte, and Ann (Ann is the least known of the authors, therefore only a very minor character in the film), and their alcoholic brother Branwell. Good performances by Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino (especially Lupino) as Charlotte and Emily Bronte. Really, it's Lupino's performance that gives the film its only weight and depth.

"Devotion" was filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946. This was Olivia DeHavilland's final picture with Warner Bros. Studios. She had an ongoing battle with the studio over quality scripts and was suspended several times for her refusal to work in second rate productions. She eventually won her case and had her contract "fulfilled" in court. This was the beginning of the end of the studio-contract system. Bette Davis had begun this war with Warner Bros in 1937, leaving the studio and causing a battle in court. Davis won the battle (getting superior scripts from 1938 onward) but Olivia won the war. Olivia continued as an independent into remarkable projects from the mid 1940's and onward, never to be shackled with chains to a long-term contract again. Hollywood owes her a debt of gratitude.

The ill-fated Brontes were a fascinating bunch and I could certainly see their story told through entertaining television miniseries. A feature film under two hours does not really do their lives much justice, and even less so, a film which replaces interesting truth with cheap melodrama.

Okay, that was a bit harsh. In truth, Devotion (1946) is not a terrible film. The performances are competent, the production is pleasant (though some of the women's costumes are hideous), and the score is haunting. It is average entertainment, but it is infuriating how it treats the history of these people. The youngest sibling Anne Bronte, a great author in her own right, is shoved aside in favor of Charlotte, Emily, and Branwell. The mad passion of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is ascribed to her unrequited love for Charlotte's husband-to-be Arthur Nicholls (a love which did not exist in reality, I might add). I especially hated that point, since it indirectly downplays Emily's powerful imagination.

The one element which makes this film work is Ida Lupino as the reclusive but talented Emily Bronte. Though the love triangle between Charlotte, Nicholls, and Emily is silly, Lupino excels at portraying the passion of her character. She is the one memorable aspect in this otherwise standard 1940s biopic. Aside from her, I would not really recommend this to anyone outside of the fans of the actors involved or fans of period melodrama.

Although it is always stressed that this movie is totally fictitious, there were many aspects of it that were true and helped me to learn more about the Brontë family (whose history can be Googled). For example, Emily and Charlotte were only two of four children who had some promising artistic talent. All four of these siblings were born (and died) in fairly close time periods.

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The Brontës (/ˈbrɒntiz/, commonly /ˈbrɒnteɪz/[1]) were a nineteenth- century literary family associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855), Emily (1818–1848), and Anne (1820–1849), are well known as poets and novelists. Like many contemporary female writers, they originally published their poems and novels under male pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Their stories immediately attracted attention, although not always the best, for their passion and originality. Charlotte's Jane Eyre was the first to know success, while Emily's Wuthering Heights, Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and other works were later to be accepted as masterpieces of literature. ---From Wikipedia

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The three Brontë sisters and their brother, Branwell, were very close and during childhood developed their imaginations first through oral storytelling and play set in an intricate imaginary world, and then, through the collaborative writing of increasingly complex stories set therein. I totally enjoyed this movie and think of it as a "family biopic."

If nothing more, it will help me to remember which sister wrote which novel. Emily (played by Ida Lupino) was much more introverted, shunned crowds and publicity, and—according to this movie—she was haunted by "the ghosts" of Wuthering Heights.

Charlotte, (Olivia de Havilland) was quite the opposite. She seemed to seek the fame and the opportunity that only London could offer.

Branwell (Arthur Kennedy) was a failed painter who was subject to alcoholism and drug addiction, which were probably factors in his early death.

Their father was a minister who had an associate, Rev. Arthur Nicholls (Paul Henreid), who eventually married Charlotte. But, was there ever a love triangle between Charlotte and Emily over him, etc? In addition, the movie low-keyed the third sister, Anne (Nancy Coleman), who also wrote novels in her shot lifetime.

I think if this movie were made today, it might stress the filth and disease so prevalent in England during the early industrial revolution. The sanitary conditions were bad enough in the English countryside and probably even worse in London, where the population was more concentrated. Most of the characters in this movie died, at an early age, from a contagious disease.

The Bronte sisters. with an awesome cast. Ida Lupino, Paul Henreid, Olivia DeHavilland, and of course, the larger than life Sydney Greenstreet. he's William Thackeray. and don't forget Dame Whitty. lots of flourid speech, as emily flirts with Reverend Nicholls (Henreid). but he seems to spend more time with sister Charlotte. it goes on. and on. moves a little slowly, since it is a period piece. the Brontes all seem to be rich, snobby, terrible, spoiled people. and Nicholls does his best to navigate the waters, trying to watch over the siblings. then we're off to a french school for ladies. and the headstrong sisters pretty much have their own way in everything they do. of course, people bring up the issue of their novels of love affairs, coming from such innocent, refined young ladies. and now Charlotte thinks she has fallen for a married man. the ups and downs of the siblings. it's all done well, enough, but it's just a slow-ish, story of spoiled rich girls from England. Art Kennedy plays the brother Branwell.. Kennedy was nominated for FIVE oscars! directed by Curtis Bernhardt. he directed Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, so he must have known a thing or two. its' good enough. just nothing too new and exciting.

This tale of the three Bronte sisters feels like it has little historical authenticity, but if you can view it as a fictional tale, it has some appeal. Critic Bosley Crowther called it "an insult to plain intelligence", but the performances of Ida Lupino as Emily Bronte and Olivia de Havilland as sister Charlotte offer some rewards.

The gist of the story, besides the sisters' dedication to writing, is a love triangle between Emily, Charlotte, and their father's curate, Arthur Nicholls (Paul Henreid), whose personal inclinations are subordinated to a courtly love that rivals anything in Camelot.

Scenes where Charlotte travels to London and rubs elbows with Thackerey suggest how great this film might have been if it had eschewed the romantic angst and focused on the sisters' writing and their careers. Instead it might have been subtitled "Love Among the Moors".

Based (very) loosely on real events, this is quite an entertaining tale of two strong willed Brontë women - Charlotte (Olivia de Havilland) and Emily (Ida Lupino) and of their enthusiasm for local curate "Nicholls" (the rather decent but insipid Paul Henreid) and for getting their wonderfully imaginative stories published. In that aspiration, they are joined by their sister Anne (Nancy Coleman) and all of this takes place as they must try and save their artist brother Bramwell (Arthur Kennedy) from a future at the bottom of a bottle. The cast and the writing deliver an engaging and authentic tale of family, a strong and close family that found itself struggling to satisfy the needs of its constituents - and as with many films set around this period, it demonstrates just how difficult it was for a woman to be given the opportunity to do just about anything that did not fit with her marital duties. There are a couple of scenes stolen by the avuncular Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of William Makepeace Thackerey - whose "Vanity Fair" was contemporary with this timeframe - and by the end I felt I understood a little more of the complexities of this family and of the times. Well worth a watch.

While this movie came out in 1946, it was made in 1943 and the studio apparently shelved it due to a contract dispute with Miss DeHavilland. I wonder if perhaps it was also shelved because the film was a bit of a mess.

I must point out at the onset that I am not a huge fan of Hollywood bio-pics from the Golden Age. Most of this is because I am a history teacher and the studios (in particular Warner Brothers) generally played very fast and loose with the truth. In so many ways, the story is a very warped view of the truth, as the studio was much more interested in selling tickets than telling the audience about this very complex family. In many ways, the leading characters are more like cartoon characters and they behave very inconsistently--such as the curate's romance with Charlotte that just appeared out of nowhere.

Now if you ignore the distortions (and there are many) and you ignore occasionally one-dimensional writing, you are left with some decent actors wearing pretty clothes running about nice sets and it's all set to lovely music. Olivia DeHavilland was given just awful dialog and came off as a head-strong and fickle lady--too much to have been a great lady or world famous author. Arthur Kennedy was a complete rotter and that actually wasn't too far from the true character. And of all the siblings, Ida Lupino (as Emily) came off best--as a more fully developed and rational person.

Entertaining, perhaps, but the film made me long for an honest and realistic portrayal--not a jumble of confusing characters and motivations. Also, based on the way her part was written, I could understand why Miss DeHavilland sued to get out of her contract after completing this film!! Great actress--lousy part.

UPDATE: I received an email from Doylenf indicating that it is probable that the film was held due to DeHavilland's contract problems with Warner Brothers. This makes a lot of sense, as the studio was incensed when she fought in court (and eventually won) to end the studio system that forced actors to accept whatever their bosses demanded (giving them no choice in projects). Thanks Doylenf.

Not a very satisfactory romanticization of the Brontë sisters and their obscure love life, since very much is wrong, but there are some good points as well. Ida Lupino as Emily makes the film together with Arthur Kennedy as Branwell, and they are convincing enough. Olivia de Havilland is all wrong as Charlotte, and everything she does is wrong – she has never been less convincing. Paul Henreid is all right, although his character is very constructed. It's true that he later married Charlotte, he even made her pregnant, and because of that she died at 38 in childbed only a few years after her sisters and Branwell, so the widowed father had to bury them all, who is completely shadowed away in the film and is given no real character at all.

What saves the film is Sydney Greenstreet as Thackeray, suddenly you are brought to a convincing character and reality of literary London in the early Victorian days, and another very successful detail is the music. Korngold succeeds in giving just the right atmosphere by his soft and subtle music, very much like Bernard Herrmann, and also the other music is well found: There is Beethoven and Schubert, some Lanner, some Chopin and nothing later than of that age, except Korngold himself, of course.

Olivia de Havilland makes a mess of the sisters' engagement in Brussels, and that's the worst part of the film, a completely misapprehended Hollywood conjecture of the worst kind, and Branwell's death scene is also a vulgar exaggeration.

Well, there is so much wrong with this film, that it's a miracle it's worth seeing at all, mainly because of the truly Brontëan conversation, eloquent and witty all the way, especially when Branwell is involved, Ida Lupino's strong and convincing performance (as always), the successful rendering of the environment and the atmosphere, the music, while the worst blunder of the film is the complete obfuscating of Anne Brontë. The film states that two of the Brontë sisters were geniuses. No, they were three, and all the sisters were agreed that Branwell was the number one genius among them.

Compare it with "To Walk Invisible" of last year, the one perfect Brontë biopic, completely true and almost documentary all the way although enough dramatic as well, while this film will land and stay in the shadow.

This is a must-see, if only to be (dis)believed, as one of the most pure unadulterated specimens of prototypical Hollywood biopic bunkum.

Masquerading as the story of the lives & loves of the TRIO of Bronte sisters, poor Anne however is swiftly swept under the carpet once Charlotte and Emily score their respective literary successes with 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights'.

The film scales the heights of delirious melodrama soon after the starting blocks and, in terms of dramatic consistency, tumbles down the other side into ponderousness fairly early on. However, its fulsome romanticism remains clearly pitched at 'Wuthering Heights' level and thus should at least continue to engage those predisposed to camp. "I have found the meaning, dear Emily" pontificates Charlotte as she walks off into the studio-bound sunset with her lover following the death of her eponymous sibling. Unfortunately she is not at liberty to share it with us!

Suffice to say that the real star of the show is Ernest Haller's stately, tableaux like camera-work which accords every scene the illusion of an imaginary golden gild. If that appeals to you, then you are the sort of viewer who will, alongside the shameless and the senile, deem 'Devotion' to be a well-deserved vintage Hollywood treat, and it would be pretty facile of me to argue.

All your other reviewers filled me in on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the movie's biographical storyline. And unfortunately I missed the first part of the movie when it was presented on TCM the other day. But once into it I was immediately struck by the magnificent acting of all the principals and the dramatic richness of Korngold's score.

But the thing that really sets this movie apart is the actual script itself. I can count on one hand the movies I have seen with a literate script as good as a fine play and this was one of them. Writers Theodor Reeves and Keith Winter have been unknown names to me up to now and they don't have extensive filmographies. I would certainly like to find more of their work. As the literary and well-formed ripostes and counterthrusts bounce from one character to another and as the priceless bonmots sparkle forth from Greenstreet's Thackeray I thought I was at a play by Shaw or Oscar Wilde. Greenstreet was much under-appreciated I thought by your other reviewers. His entertaining and witty part was really the best in the movie.

As a typical example of the quality of the script are Arthur Kennedy's words as Branwell lies dying in his sister's arms. Having collapsed in the street on his way to the tavern he comments that his collapses usually occur on his way home from the tavern, not on his way there.

I saw a recent version of Jane Eyre the other day on public television, the first time I had seen a film of it. I've never seen the one from the early 1940s. I was struck by the resemblances to Dickens' David Copperfield and Nicholas Nickleby and how Charlotte Bronte established herself here as a female Dickens.

One could easily become devoted to Devotion. A splendid movie.