The Importance of Being Earnest

Michael Redgrave & Michael Denison.

It's surprising that Oscar Wilde's most beloved stage play, The Importance of Being Earnest, has only been adapted for the screen  twice. The reason is likely due to the quality of those productions, especially Anthony Asquith's 1952 production starring a sublime British cast.

Set in the 1890s, the plot follows two charming young Englishmen, Jack Worthing and Algy Moncrieff, who each adopt the alias “Ernest” to escape social obligations and pursue romance. Jack woos the idealistic Gwendolen while Algernon courts Jack’s ward, the innocent Cecily. Both women oddly insist they can only love a man named Ernest. Hence, Jack and Algy must scramble to maintain their fabricated personas, resulting in a humorous unraveling of secrets, family ties, and the true meaning of “earnestness.”

I'll leave it to the intellectual critics to comment on Wilde's social commentary. Let's just say that he skewers the British upper class--but with a light touch. In the guise of a comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest exposes the aristocracy’s self‑importance, moral posturing, and obsession with appearances.

My personal assessment is that The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the funniest film comedies of the 1950s and a sadly underappreciated one. It's a classic example of an absurd situational comedy with brilliant dialogue. One of my favorite scenes is when Jack is being interviewed by his potential mother-in-law Lady Bracknell. Here's one of their exchanges:

Lady Bracknell: Do you smoke?

Jack Worthing: Well yes, I must admit I smoke.

Lady Bracknell: I'm glad to hear it. A man should have an occupation of some kind.

Joan Greenwood.

Of course, even Wilde's wittiest lines require the the right delivery and The Importance of Being Earnest benefits from an impeccable cast. It's stacked with familiar faces in British cinema, such as Michael Redgrave (Jack), Edith Evans (Lady Bracknell), Joan Greenwood (Gwendolen ), and Margaret Rutherford. However, the standout may be Michael Denison as Algy, who plays the charming cad to perfection. Surprisingly, Denison, who performed extensively in the British theatre, never played Algy on the stage. (Some sources claim he appeared in the 1947 TV play, but that is not true.)

For the record, the 2002 adaptation of The Importance of Being Earnest is an enjoyable affair, though not as sharp of the 1952 version. It starred Colin Firth as Jack, Rupert Everett as Algy, and Judi Dench as Lady Bracknell.

The Chalk Garden: A Tale About Secrets and the Passing of Judgment

Hayley Mills and Deborah Kerr in The Chalk Garden (1964).

The Chalk Garden and Whistle Down the Wind probably rank as two of Hayley Mills' lesser-known films, especially to American audiences who associate her with Disney fare. Yet, Mills' loyal fans consider these films, along with the immensely popular Pollyanna, to be the best showcases for her underrated dramatic talents. On its own merits, The Chalk Garden is a haunting tale about secrets and the passing of judgment on people, often without charity.

John Mills and Deborah Kerr.

Arthur Ibbetson's photography sweeps the audience past water and cliffs into Belle Fountain. It is a lovely but cold mansion that rarely reverberates with warm laughter. The residents of this house include a dowager, Mrs. St. Maugham (Dame Edith Evans), her out-of-control teenage granddaughter Laurel (Mills), and their manservant Maitland (John Mills).

Hayley Mills as Laurel.

Enter Deborah Kerr as Madrigal, who is hired as governess without a reference because she knows something about gardening. Mrs. St. Maugham makes it clear that “Laurel is mine” because her daughter, Olivia, threw away breeding for a passing infatuation. She poisons Laurel's mind against her own mother, causing Madrigal to note that “flowers need nourishment ... your soil can't give them what it doesn't have.” To which the grandmother replies: “Then you give them what they need. You're in charge of my garden.” Madrigal answers: “Am I? I wasn't sure. I'll do my best...to help you with your garden and the child. Their problems are similar.”

Laurel spying on her new governess.

Madrigal herself is “wonderfully odd.” She is quiet and very observational. Laurel realizes that Madrigal is a mystery woman who paces her room at night “like a caged animal,” has only new possessions, doesn't have a picture of a loved one in her room, and receives no letters or phone calls. Laurel discusses these concerns with her grandmother and Maitland as she begins her work to rid herself of another in a long line of caregivers. But even Laurel isn’t prepared for what she learns about Madrigal.

Ronald Neame's tight direction keeps this intriguing story moving quickly as viewer focus shifts from Laurel to Madrigal. He hides the stage play origins extremely well until the climactic confrontations, where the close quarters actually increase the intensity of the revelations.

Dame Edith Evans.

Although Mills accounts for The Chalk Garden's following, her fellow performers steal their share of the spotlight, especially Dame Edith Evans and Deborah Kerr. Evans earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination as Laurel's grandmother. Interestingly, Kerr played a questionably disturbed governess three years earlier in The Innocents, a film version of Henry James' haunting novel The Turn of the Screw. In The Chalk Garden, her charge is a young girl unafraid of possession from ghosts, but with a disturbing need to lie and a fear of expressing honest emotions.

It's an ideal role for Mills, allowing her to combine brattiness with vulnerability and unrepressed anger with youthful innocence. The allure for Mills' fans is obvious, since it provides a welcome change-of-pace from the standard Disney heroine roles (e.g., In Search of the Castaways, The Moonspinners) that stifled her adult career.