THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
UK, 1952, 95 minutes, Colour.
Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Joan Greenwood, Dorothy Tutin, Edith Evans, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson.
Directed by Anthony Asquith.
The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece from 1895. It was celebrated in its day and has continued to be a great favourite. This is the definitive film – so much better than a remake fifty years later with a star cast including Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Frances O’ Connor, Rhys Witherspoon, Tom Wilkinson and Judi Dench. (It was directed by Oliver Parker, who directed the remake of An Ideal Husband much more successfully; this version of Earnest omits a number of the key humorous lines and gives a derogatory background to Lady Bracknell.)
Michael Redgrave (a second choice after the part was offered to John Gielgud who had played in on stage but who disliked filming) is very good as Jack Worthing. Michael Denison (who appeared in later life frequently on stage in An Ideal Husband) is Algernon. Joan Greenwood brings her distinctive voice and aristocratic tone to Gwendolyn, Dorothy Tutin being the innocent Cecily. Margaret Rutherford and Miles Malleson play a wonderful bumbling Miss Prism and Canon Chasuble – and personifying haughtiness, Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell.
The film is delightful with Wilde’s wit, full of aphorisms which bear repetition and enjoyment. (In recent times, it has been shown how Wilde was also being ambiguous about gay culture in the United Kingdom at the time, using code words like ‘earnest’ and ‘Bunbury’.)
Scenes from the film appear in the various biographies of Wilde including Wilde (1997 with Stephen Fry).
The film was directed by Anthony Asquith who collaborated with Terence Rattigan in film versions of The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version and his last two films, The VIPs and The Yellow Rolls-Royce?. He also made films of George Bernard Shaw’s The Doctor’s Dilemma and The Millionairess.
Other versions of Shaw’s plays including two films of An Ideal Husband (1948 and fifty years later, 1999), The Fan and A Good Woman (Lady Windermere’s Fan), Salome’s Last Dance.
1. This play is considered a classic. Why? What are its main success in entertainment: dialogue, situations, characters, comic stye? How were these used in the film? How successfully?
2. A successful film version of the play? the use of the curtains at beginning and end? The conventions of the stage and situation comedy, the use of the scenes and the dialogue from the theatre, the use of music, of colour?
3. How successful a comedy on nineteenth century upper class manners? What constitutes comedy of manners? What is the point of comedy of manners? How important to satire, parody? How were satire and parody to the fore? In characters and situations? In dialogue? Parody and satire on England?
4. How enjoyable are Oscar Wilde's epigrams and his mocking tone? Why?
5. How was society mocked, values and standards? superficiality? Its reliance on externals? How did each of the characters represent this kind of society and its weaknesses? Was there anything attractive about the characters and their values?
6. How did the film comment on human behaviour, conventions and conformity to conventions, hypocrisy? What did the film have to say on the nature of love, self-interest and selfishness, greed, snobbery, triviality?
7. The significance of the title and its tone? Its importance and its unimportance?
8. What was attractive about Algernon and Jack? How did they compare and contrast in attitudes and behaviour? Their conformity and their hypocrisy? Their being changed for love?
9. How did Gwendolyn and Cecily compare and contrast? Their values and triviality? Their being changed by love?
10. The irony of the servants and their behaviour?Wilde's comments on the lower classes, servants?
11. Canon Chasuble and the satire on religion? Miss Prism and the satire on governesses and nineteenth century novels? The satire and parody of love in their relationship?
12. How horrendous is Lady Bracknell? Why? Her style, values, domination? Her domination of the young people? Of Miss Prism?
13. Genuine interaction and feeling in the film or contrived to illustrate the comedy?
14. What is the ultimate impact of the film? In enjoyment and insight? Why is it considered a classic?
