Beware, this contains spoilers
The Children's Hour is a 1961 film based upon the play of the same title by Lillian Hellman. Hellman's play about two headmistress who are accused of having a lesbian affair was based on the true story of the female heads of a Scottish private school in 19th Century Edinburgh. It is the final the black and white film directed by William Wyler before his final four films created in Technicolor. It stars Audrey Hepburn, also in her final black and white film, and Shirley MacLaine in a performance for which she received her third Academy Award nomination.
Karen Wright (Hepburn) and Martha Dobie (MacLaine) run a private boarding school for young girls which they set up themselves. Among their students is the conniving Mary Tilford. Mary is the granddaughter of the wealthy Amelia Tilford and cousin to Karen's partner Dr. Joe Cardin. Upon being caught in a lie, Mary feigns illness culminating in a dramatic collapse on the floor. As Joe "treats" Mary, Martha and her aunt, Lily Mortar, an elocution teacher at the school, have an argument and Martha tells her to move out. During their argument, Ms. Mortar suggests that Martha is always angry when Joe is present and that her feelings towards Karen are "unnatural". Their argument is interrupted by Mary's room-mates eavesdropping outside the room. Martha and Karen decide to separate Mary from her friends as she is seen to be a bad influence. Angered by this Mary runs away to her grandmother and aggregates, using word of Martha and Lily's argument and her having seen Karen in Martha's room, a story about Martha and Karen being lovers.
Upon hearing Mary's story, Mrs. Tilford tells the news to all the other parents and within a day, every child is withdrawn from the school. Karen and Martha go to Mrs. Tilford's house to confront her and Mary, when her lie is called into question, blackmails another child into supporting this deception. From this point on, the lives of our protagonists change. Karen and Martha try to sue Mrs. Tilford for slander but in doing so, publicise themselves and eventually lose the case.
Before delving further into the film at hand, I believe some exploration of the context at the time is necessary. Early cinema was not devoid of homosexual content or allusions to it. There were no strict restrictions on such content until the 1930s. In 1927, Will H. Hays, head of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association (later the Motion Picture Association of America) created a list of subject that should no be explored on screen. However, this was largely ignored by film-makers. It was not until 1930 that a strict Hays Code, created by Martin Quigley and a Jesuit preist was adopted formally and enforced by the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association and the Roman Catholic Church. The Hays Code consisted of three primary principles:
- No picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.
- Correct standards of life, subject only to the requirements of drama and entertainment, shall be presented.
- Law, natural or human, shall not be ridiculed, nor shall sympathy be created for its violation.
The code also contained specific restrictions such as those on nakedness and suggestive dancing, this essay shall focus of one part in particular; sex perversion (including homosexuality) or any inference to it is forbidden. By the early 1960s, the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association had been replaced by the MPAA. More explicit films like Suddenly Last Summer (1959), which alluded to pederasty, had begun to appear in the late 1950s paving the way for such films as The Children's Hour. However, this doesn't mean that Hollywood and the movie going public were flying the LGBT flag just yet. Homosexuality was still be classified as a mental illness for another 10 years and was illegal in some states.
Lillian Hellman's play was first adapted into a film by William Wyler in 1936. Due to the Hays Code, a film relating to lesbianism could not be created in 1936. Instead, the film, These Three, was centred around an alleged affair between Martha and Joe. The eventual accurate translation of The Children's Hour shows the advances made in cinema in the years between the two adaptations.
The words homosexual or lesbian are never mentioned during the course of the film. Much of Mary's lie and Lily Mortar's insinuations about Martha's feelings for Karen are merely implied through, albeit overt, suggestion. As in society, such things were not mentioned, and homosexuality was not something people wanted in their presence. This is evidence by one of Mrs. Tilford's lines where she says, "This thing is your own. Go away with it, I don't understand it, I don't want any part of it. Take it out of here" as Karen and Martha confront her. The idea of individuals wanting to distance themselves from homosexual issues appears later in the film. Martha Aunt Lily doesn't appear to testify for the two in court. When she emerges later, she states that she had a moral obligation to the theatre and goes on to say, "It wouldn't have done any good for us all to get caught up in this unpleasant notoriety". Even in the making of the film, this overt theme was not discussed, in the documentary, The Celluloid Closet, Shirley MacLaine states, "We were in the mindset of not understanding what we were basically doing[...] And when you look at it, to have Martha play that scene - and no one questioned it - what that meant, or what the alternatives could have been underneath the dialog, it's mind boggling. The profundity of this subject was not in the lexicon of our rehearsal period. Audrey and I never talked about this. Isn't that amazing. Truly amazing"
Throughout the film, there are subtle suggestions that Martha may have affections for Karen that go beyond friendship. There is clear tension between her and Joe, not mutual tension, but tension none the less. Martha eventually proclaims her love for Karen, her resentment for Joe, and her disgust with and hatred for the feelings she has. Martha breaks down, exclaiming, "I can't stand to have you touch me! I can't stand to have you look at me! Oh, it's all my fault. I have ruined your life and I have ruined my own. I swear I didn't know it! I didn't mean it! Oh, I feel so damn sick and dirty I can't stand it anymore!"
Despite Martha's feelings for Karen, the lie is still just that, a lie. Martha and Karen were never lovers, none of the children saw them do anything that could be deemed inappropriate. Following Martha's confession, Mrs. Tilford arrives at the house saying that the children admitted that they were lying and that she would like reverse the court decision and repay any damages. Of course, this is too late. Their lives and friendship have been irreversibly changed.
On could argue that the film is a change from other films at the time in its depiction of homosexuality. Karen Dobie is portrayed solely as a victim of a child's lie, not her sexuality. The lie could have been any lie, and it could have affected any teacher in Mary's path. Upon speaking to Mrs Tilford, Karen decided that she can make a fresh start, and she invited Martha to join her. Sexuality is not an issue to her and has no bearing on their friendship, the only adversary was wider society. This is where change in necessary, not in Martha, suggesting that The Children's Hour may be revolutionary.
However, the ending does reflect views of homosexuality in society and film. In films of the period, the consensus seemed to be that it's well and good being gay, but if you are, you'll die in the final act. This evidenced by films such as Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Rebecca (1940) and Walk on the Wild Side (1962). Not only does Martha die, but hatred for herself leads her to commit suicide fulfilling the final requirement of a gay character. Karen survives and lives to see other days as she was the real victim on this scenario. Or so a reactionary reading leads us to believe.
Thank you for reading.
The Children's Hour on IMDB
William Wyler on IMDB
Audrey Hepburn in IMDB
Shirley MacLaine on IMDB
