GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Micitype Pretty Good

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

HotToastyRag It's always a shame when classic movies' breakthroughs have been so overdone that watching the original loses its meaning. I hope when you watch The Children's Hour you can appreciate how groundbreaking and scandalous it was in 1961.Based on a Lillian Hellman play (that's your cue to prepare yourself for a very heavy movie), Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine play two teachers at an all-girls school. One of the students is a terrible, pot-stirring brat, and she starts a rumor about her two teachers. She claims she saw them kissing, and the aftermath of her accusation wreaks havoc on the good friends' careers and lives.Both women give excellent, powerful performances, and there's so much to appreciate about the film. Obviously, moral discussions will abound afterwards, but what gets under my skin the most is the trouble-making child. So often, children and teenagers do damage without realizing the consequences. I hope someday young people will be less selfish and learn to see the bigger picture. Revenge, self-righteousness, and deception are terrible qualities. Hopefully The Children's Hour can teach a valuable lesson.

sddavis63 This was made in 1961? 1961! Really! Lies, lesbianism, suicide. And it was made in an era when television still insisted that Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore had to sleep in twin beds - even though Rob and Laura Petrie (who they played on "The Dick Van Dyke Show") were married and had a kid! So my first reaction after having seen this movie is simply that it was well ahead of its time - such a mature and powerful movie for its day. The second thing that occurs to me is that it's still a relevant movie. The basic point of the movie is that a school girl's lies destroyed several people's lives. That can still happen. Some people work in fields which leave them very vulnerable to malicious accusations from people looking for revenge for one reason or another. In a society which tends to convict people long before they're put on trial and whether or not they're found guilty, that's a very real issue - and we all know that one story in a newspaper about an accusation becomes the truth for many people, no matter how things turn out in the end. So, yes, this is a powerful movie dealing with important and relevant issues and you cannot help but be fixated with it almost from the moment it starts.William Wyler (who directed this) and John Michael Hayes (who adapted the screenplay from a stage play written by Lillian Hellman) did a marvellous job of building the story. As an aside, I found it fascinating to discover that the stage play was actually based on a real incident involving two female teachers in Scotland in 1809! The movie begins slowly - almost lightly. It's a private boarding school for girls, run by two young women (Karen and Martha, played by Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine respectively) who have known each other and been close friends for many years. There's nothing particularly unusual about it. One of the students (Mary) is trouble - a chronic complainer and liar and bully. Every school has at least one of those. Again - that's not unusual. But after one of her lies, she's punished by Karen, and so she begins to spin her web of lies to gain revenge. She's clearly been reading a book that she's not supposed to be reading at her age that talks about subjects that weren't talked about at the time, and so she gains some ability to describe certain things that she claims to have seen to her grandmother. (That was a whispered conversation between the two that wasn't shared with the viewer, but it was pretty obvious.) Other girls have seen innocent things that can be twisted into something more and a comment overheard is taken out of context. Before you know it Mary has accused Karen and Martha of being lovers (the only thing that makes you realize this was made in the 60's is that the word "lesbian" is never, ever used.) The result is devastating. The story gets spread, parents take their children out of the school, effectively shutting it down, Karen's pending marriage to Joe (James Garner) is suddenly on the rocks and Karen and Martha are the centre of attention of the town - best friends who can't even take a walk together anymore because of what people will think and how people will look at them. All that was powerful enough in itself. But this movie leads up to a spectacular ending in essentially three parts.First is the confrontation between Mary and her grandmother, when Mary is finally forced to confess that everything was a lie and the town starts to realize that these women were innocent and that their lives and their school were destroyed for nothing. But there is something more. Tormented by the whole incident, Martha finally breaks down and confesses to Karen that - while she had never acted on it and nothing had ever happened between them - essentially there was truth to Mary's lie. Martha was in love with Karen. She didn't want to be, the fact that she was made her feel guilty and dirty, but she couldn't deny it anymore. And then, finally, Martha's suicide. Unable to live now that she has had to confront her feelings for Karen, Martha hangs herself. A tragic end to a truly tragic story - except ...There was one final scene. Many of those who had accused Karen and Martha and removed their children from their school came to the graveside service when Martha is being buried. Karen says a final goodbye to her friend - and then marches through the gathered people, her head held high. It seemed to me that she adopted that posture as much for Martha as for herself. To me, Karen had become something of a puzzle; an enigma. Once Martha confessed her love for Karen, not much was said about Karen's response. Clearly, she intended to continue the friendship. She wanted to go away with Martha and start over again. As best friends? As friends who were almost sisters? Or as lovers? I wasn't sure how Karen felt about Martha after Martha opened up to her. But it was clear that Karen intended the relationship to continue - and no matter what her feelings and intentions were that final scene makes a point - there's nothing here to be ashamed about. Karen won't be ashamed - and she won't let Martha die in shame. She walks out proudly and strongly, contemptuous of those gathered in the cemetery, not even giving them the satisfaction of a look in the eyes as she leaves. What a simple and yet powerful scene for Hepburn.I was blown away by this film that was so far ahead of its time, and that stands up very well even today. (10/10)

lbbrooks I have to thank TCM for showing William Wyler's brilliant film uninterrupted. Heretofore, I had always suffered through watching bad prints of this film on the late show, with unlimited commercial interruptions. It's great to see Hepburn, MacClaine and Garner all depart from their stereotypical roles--Hepburn as the fey young thing, MacClaine as the uber-kook and Garner as the bon vivant cowboy. They all reach deep down into their acting abilities and come up with something real. They are three noble people whose lives are upset by the thoughtless cruelty of a child, her grandmother and a community. They are abandoned. Garner steps up to the plate to keep his lady love Hepburn but does not stick it out to the end. Only Audrey and her integrity triumph because she is unwilling to sacrifice the love (although a sisterly one) she has for her friend, Martha. The final scene in the cemetery where she exits head held high is probably Hepburn's strongest outside that of the final scenes in "The Nun's Story".

SnoopyStyle Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) are best friends with their own little boarding school Wright and Dobie School for Girls. Karen is engaged to Dr. Joe Cardin (James Garner) who is the nephew of Mrs. Amelia Tilford. Her granddaughter mean girl Mary Tilford goes to the school. She gets punished by Karen for telling a lie and refusing to admit it. Martha feels abandoned by Karen. Martha's argumentative aunt Lily Mortar accuses Martha of having an UNNATURAL relationship with Karen. Mary's roommates eavesdrops on the argument and tells Mary who in turn tells her grandmother Amelia. To avoid going back to school, she adds even more lies. Talkative aunt Mortar is leaving and adds even more fuel to the fire. The gossip quickly spreads to all the parents.The little girl Mary is so deliciously evil. Young Veronica Cartwright plays the other girl who stole a locket and threatened by Mary. The actors are great although the acting gets very melodramatic. It's also very intense. It doesn't let go. Everybody is just so insanely annoying. It's overwrought and proud of it.