The Barretts of Wimpole Street

I'm sorry, but the scenes with Norma Shearer and Fredric March simply fall flat. Shearer's "fey" acting style is contemptible at the best of times, but her overacting in every single scene simply destroys the fabric of this otherwise well written melodrama. Who saves the day? Charles Laughton of course! His is truly the only performance which shines in this movie. Uno O'Connor and a ravishing…

I thought that there was something almost claustrophobic about this film as we are introduced to a well-off family who live in a grand villa in London’s west end. There are nine siblings, all well into adulthood, and all under the thumb of their oppressive windowed father (Charles Laughton). His red line rule is that none of them are ever to marry, which up until now has not mattered so much. When…