by Sapphire Mason-Brown

Created on: September 19, 2010   Last Updated: September 20, 2010

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 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 Tilford tells the news to all the other parents and within a day, every child is withdrawn from the school.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

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