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Summary

In Victorian England, literary siblings Emily and Charlotte Brontë vie for the affection of the Rev. Arthur Nicholls. Along with their sister Anne, Emily and Charlotte also try to help their tormented brother Branwell, a gifted artist whose life is being destroyed by alcohol.

Cast

Ida Lupino

Emily Brontë

Paul Henreid

Rev. Arthur Nicholls

Olivia de Havilland

Charlotte Brontë

Sydney Greenstreet

William Makepeace Thackeray

Nancy Coleman

Anne Brontë

Arthur Kennedy

Branwell Brontë

May Whitty

Lady Thornton

Victor Francen

Constantin Heger

Montagu Love

Rev. Brontë

Ethel Griffies

Aunt Elizabeth Branwell

Hartney J. Arthur

Man (uncredited)

Billy Bevan

Mr. Ames (uncredited)

Edmund Breon

Sir John Thornton (uncredited)

Tanis Chandler

French Student (uncredited)

Micheline Cheirel

Mademoiselle Blanche (uncredited)

Wallis Clark

Mr. George Smith (uncredited)

David Clyde

Land Agent (uncredited)

Harry Cording

Coachman with Frightened Horses (uncredited)

Howard Davies

Englishman (uncredited)

Frank Dawson

Club Member (uncredited)

Marie De Becker

Tabby (uncredited)

Elspeth Dudgeon

Elderly Reader of "Jane Eyre" (uncredited)

Forrester Harvey

Hoggs (uncredited)

P.J. Kelly

Shepherd (uncredited)

Crauford Kent

Club Member (uncredited)

Sonia Lefkova

Marie (uncredited)

Elayne Lima

French Student (uncredited)

Doris Lloyd

Mrs. Ingraham (uncredited)

Rita Lupino

Giselle (uncredited)

Eily Malyon

Mrs. Thornton's Friend at the Ball (uncredited)

John Meredith

Ted (uncredited)

Odette Myrtil

Mademoiselle Heger (uncredited)

Edgar Norton

Club Member (uncredited)

Sylvia Opert

French Student (uncredited)

Hilda Plowright

Elderly Woman (uncredited)

Jeffrey Sayre

Guest at Thornton's Ball (uncredited)

Irina Semochenko

French Student (uncredited)

Violet Seton

Mrs. Crump (uncredited)

Reginald Sheffield

Charles Dickens (uncredited)

Yorke Sherwood

Man (uncredited)

Geoffrey Steele

Man (uncredited)

Donald Stuart

Mr. Tripp (uncredited)

David Thursby

Farmer (uncredited)

Leo White

Waiter (uncredited)

Florence Wix

Englishwoman (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Curtis Bernhardt

Original Story

Theodore Reeves

Screenplay

Keith Winter

Reviews

Geronimo1967

July 7, 2022

Based (very) loosely on real events, this is quite an entertaining tale of two strong willed Brontë women - Charlotte (Olivia de Havilland) and Emily (Ida Lupino) and of their enthusiasm for local curate "Nicholls" (the rather decent but insipid Paul Henreid) and for getting their wonderfully imaginative stories published. In that aspiration, they are joined by their sister Anne (Nancy Coleman) and all of this takes place as they must try and save their artist brother Bramwell (Arthur Kennedy) from a future at the bottom of a bottle. The cast and the writing deliver an engaging and authentic tale of family, a strong and close family that found itself struggling to satisfy the needs of its constituents - and as with many films set around this period, it demonstrates just how difficult it was for a woman to be given the opportunity to do just about anything that did not fit with her marital duties. There are a couple of scenes stolen by the avuncular Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of William Makepeace Thackerey - whose "Vanity Fair" was contemporary with this timeframe - and by the end I felt I understood a little more of the complexities of this family and of the times. Well worth a watch.