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The Barretts of Wimpole Street Overview:

The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) was a Biographical - Drama Film directed by Sidney Franklin and produced by Irving Thalberg.

SYNOPSIS

A somber drama about the relationship between the poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. The Barrett family lives in a beautiful house on Wimpole Street. But beyond the facade of their lovely home lies a tyrannical patriarch who stifles his daughter Elizabeth. The poor girl is a bedridden invalid who lives in solitude with her poetry and her little dog. But when she meets Browning, a handsome suitor and fellow poet, she finds the strength to make a miraculous recovery.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1934 --- Ceremony Number 7 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressNorma ShearerNominated
Best PictureMetro-Goldwyn-MayerNominated
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street BlogHub Articles:

The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)

By Beatrice on Jun 26, 2018 From Flickers in Time

The Barretts of Wimpole Street Directed by Sidney Franklin Written by Ernest Vajda, Colleen West, and Donald Ogden Stewart from a play by Rudolph Besler 1934/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer First viewing/FilmStruck This rather pedestrian story of the romance between two  poets is enlivened by the perform... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jul 15, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Once upon a time, the romance of Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning was one of the world’s most celebrated love stories, although today it’s a tale that only English majors with a particular interest in the 19th century are likely to know well. The Barretts of Wimpole ... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jul 15, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Once upon a time, the romance of Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning was one of the world’s most celebrated love stories, although today it’s a tale that only English majors with a particular interest in the 19th century are likely to know well. The Barretts of Wimpole ... Read full article

Classic Films in Focus: THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934)

By Jennifer Garlen on Jul 15, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Once upon a time, the romance of Victorian poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning was one of the world’s most celebrated love stories, although today it’s a tale that only English majors with a particular interest in the 19th century are likely to know well. The Barretts of Wimpole ... Read full article

DVD Review: The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)

on Mar 6, 2014 From True Classics

Well, this was not what I expected. The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) is the film adaptation of the Broadway hit production by the same name, and should not be confused with the 1957 version, which was word-for-word, scene for scene, the exact same film with a different cast. This film is a rath... Read full article

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The Barretts of Wimpole Street Quotes:

Henrietta Barrett: Papa, please. I'm not a bad girl, I swear I'm not, only I love him, I love him. He's a good man, it can't be wrong to love him. I want love, I can't live without love. Oh Papa, remember how you loved Mama and how she loved you!
Edward Moulton-Barrett: I shall never in any way reproach you. You shall never know by deed or word or hint of mine how much you have grieved and wounded your father by refusing to do the little thing he asked.
Edward Moulton-Barrett: Elizabeth, give me your Bible.
Elizabeth Barrett: My Bible belonged to Mama. I can't have it used for such a purpose.
Edward Moulton-Barrett: Give me your Bible.
Elizabeth Barrett: No.
Edward Moulton-Barrett: You refuse?
Elizabeth Barrett: Yes.
Elizabeth Barrett: Is that Mr. Browning over there?
Wilson: I shouldn't be at ALL surprised, Miss.
Elizabeth Barrett: What's another disaster to one who has known little but disaster all her life? But you're a fighter. You were born for victory and triumph. Oh, and if disaster ever came to you through me...
Robert Browning: Yes, a fighter. But I'm sick of fighting alone. I need a comrade in arms to fight beside me.
Elizabeth Barrett: But not one already wounded in battle.
Robert Browning: Wounded but undaunted, unbeaten, unbroken. What finer comrade could a man ask for?
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The Barretts of Wimpole Street Facts
When producer Irving Thalberg cast his wife, Norma Shearer, in the role of Elizabeth Barrett, William Randolph Hearst was enraged that his protégé, Marion Davies, was not given the role. So Hearst pulled Davies out of MGM and placed her with Warner Brothers for the remainder of her career, and for over a year the name "Norma Shearer" did not appear in any Hearst newspapers.
The first performance of the play was at the Malvern Festival in England on 20 August 1930. It then opened in London, England on 23 September 1930.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street opened at the Empire Theater (New York) on February 9, 1931 and ran for 370 performances. The opening night cast included Katharine Cornell as Elizabeth Barrett, Brian Aherne as Robert Browning and Charles Waldron as Edward Moulton-Barrett. There were 2 Broadway revivals, in 1935 and 1945, also starring Cornell and Aherne in both. Flush, a Dog, was in all 3 productions, as well as in this movie and the 1957 remake, but they were probably at least two different dogs.
Concerned about the public's reaction, the disturbing subplot about Father Barrett's incestuous designs on his daughter was toned down by the studio. However, Charles Laughton famously remarked that they couldn't censor the "gleam" in his eye.
A modern source lists Robert Bolder in the role of "Old Man" and Margaret Seddon as cast members, but they were not seen in the movie.
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