These Three

Plot synopsis:
Following graduation, college friends Karen Wright and Martha Dobie transform Karen's Massachusetts farm into a boarding school with the assistance of wealthy benefactor Amelia Tilford, who enrolls her malevolent granddaughter Mary. Karen and local doctor Joe Cardin begin to date, unaware Martha is in love with him.
Complications arise when Martha's aunt Lily Mortar comes for a visit. One evening, Joe falls asleep in a chair in Martha's room while waiting for Karen to return to the school, leading Lily to jump to the wrong conclusion. When she and Martha quarrel, Lily decides to leave, but not before confronting her niece with her suspicions about the young woman's true feelings for Joe.
Martha discovers Rosalie Wells listening at the door and accidentally closes it on her arm, slightly injuring her. When Mary finds a missing bracelet that belongs to another student among Rosalie's things, she forces her into revealing what she overheard outside Martha's room. Mary, who harbors a pathological hatred for her teachers, then tells her grandmother a grossly distorted version of the argument between Martha and Lily, suggesting Martha and Joe engaged in an illicit sexual affair, and she coerces Rosalie into verifying the story by threatening to reveal her theft of the bracelet. Mrs. Tilford is shocked by the revelation and has all the parents withdraw their daughters from the school, leaving Martha and Karen mystified.
When one of the girls' chauffeurs tells the women the reason behind the mass exodus, they confront Mrs. Tilford. Terrified her theft will be revealed, Rosalie insists the story is true. Martha and Karen sue Mrs. Tilford for libel but lose their case when Lily fails to testify on their behalf. She later claims she assumed her corroboration was unnecessary.
Although the women have been humiliated and Joe has been dismissed from the hospital due to the scandal, the three hope to repair the damage to their lives. But Karen and Joe go their separate ways when she confesses she believes the story Mary told. Martha admits to Karen she loves Joe but assures her she never told him.
Martha decides to leave with Lily, who later mentions the missing bracelet. Realizing what happened, Martha confronts Rosalie and convinces her to reveal the truth. Aware of the wrong she has committed, Mrs. Tilford offers Martha compensation, but Martha asks only that she tell Karen the truth and urge her to reunite with Joe.

Tags: romantic

Review:
This version of Lillian Hellman's play "The Children's Hour" is by far more satisfying than the Audrey Hepburn-Shirley MacLaine remake in the 1960s which retained the lesbianism theme while revolving around a child's lie.Instead, this earlier William Wyler version changes the slanderous lie to a heterosexual one--and none of the power is lost in the telling of a tale about a manipulative young girl's lie that destroys the lives of three innocent people.The acting is all on an extraordinarily high level here--everyone, from Merle Oberon to Miriam Hopkins to Joel McCrea and especially little Bonita Granville (as a liar who even stoops to blackmail to keep her lie afloat).
As the terrorized girl, Marcia Mae Jones is every bit as adept as the others in making the entire story a convincing one.The power of a lie to destroy others has never been more effectively played out than it is here.
Under William Wyler's direction, the screenplay has been expanded with enough outdoor scenes to keep the film from seeming like a filmed stage play.Joel McCrea has never been more effective in a sympathetic role.
Bonita Granville fully deserved her Oscar nomination as the monstrous girl, sparing nothing to make her one of the most hateful brats in screen history.Well worth watching for some brilliant performances and a compelling story..
Lillian Hellman authored the script (and altered the emotional bias) from her original play, The Children's Hour and director William Wyler created a film which never lets up in its emotional intensity.
The viewer feels terribly for the three protagonists as they suffer unjustly and equally powerless to do anything about it.Teachers Miriam Hopkins & Merle Oberon both love doctor Joel McCrea.
All three act at a perfect pitch, each performer complementing and supporting the other two, most especially when their characters experience the devastation created by a wicked student (played with chilling persuasion by Bonita Granville).Two fine character actresses now in danger of being forgotten have important supporting roles.
And the vicious, destructive lie of a child is still central here, though now it concerns the supposed affair of Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea, who is engaged to marry Merle Oberon, Hopkins' partner in a girls school.
Hopkins is a standout with her strong, passionate performance.Bonita Granville, the bad seed, is such an evil, blackmailing brat, that I'm sure when 1936 audiences saw Margaret Hamilton slap her, they broke into applause.
Bonita Granville gives a tour-de-force performance as Mary Tilford, a vicious student who ruins the lives of her two schoolteachers (Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins) by telling a lie about their private lives.
Based on a play by Lillian Hellman (whose original plot dealt with lesbianism, which was changed for the film version to get past the censors), "These Three" is still a very good film.
Cruel and Heartbreaking Story about the Destructive Power of a Lie. Karen Wright (Merle Oberon) and Martha Dobie (Miriam Hopkins) are best friends since college.
Meanwhile Joseph proposes Karen and they are engaged to each other.When the spiteful and compulsive liar Mary, who is a bad influence to the other girls, is punished by Karen after telling a lie, Martha has an argument with her snoopy aunt Lily in another room.
In 1961, he remade this movie changing the title to "The Children's Hour" and using the theme of lesbianism instead of a triangle of love, and a tragic ending.
Bonita Granville (Mary Tilford)"Nancy Drew Films" made you despise and hate her horrible role as a real BRAT!
Miriam Hopkins (generally not one of my favorites), Merle Oberon and McCrae are far more appealing and the performances of Bonita Granville and Marcia Mae Jones are among the best child performances I've ever seen.
William Wyler had his hands full w/ child actors in this film and Kudos w/ a capital K to Bill for pulling the best out of everyone.Bonita Granville as Mary Tilford does a mind-blowing job grasping a tremendously dramatic role and she did it so believably and without force that her blackmailing threat to Rosalie and the confrontation scene w/ grandmother, and bulk of cast, I got goosebumps.
Marcia Jones as Rosalie was quite good herself to the point it makes me wonder what the poor girl was threatened with before the scene was shot.I must say, too, that it is great to see Merle Oberon using her face in a way that doesn't make her look demented such as in Wuthering Heights.
Miriam Hopkins was as beautiful, soulful and sad as ever.Overall, I believe the child actor Bonita Granville stole the entire film, but I could feel Marcia's fear of her secret being discovered and punishment to ensue.
In Lillian Hellman's original play, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, the scandal involved lesbianism--certainly NOT a topic they were allowed to address in Hollywood in the strengthened Production Code era.
Selznick, directed by William Wyler and starred Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea.
But, Goldwyn and Lillian Hellman came up with a version that kept intact the other central theme (the vicious lie told by Mary Tilford, the young girl played by Bonita Granville and the resulting damage to "These Three" lives).
Of interest to trivia buffs is the fact that Miriam Hopkins (known by many as a "difficult" actress in her Hollywood years), who played Martha in this version, was brought back to play Martha's aunt (Lily Mortar) in the later (1960s) William Wyler version, which reverted to the original title of THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, and starred Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.
After Karen punishes troublesome student Mary Tilford, she brings it all to a boil after running back to her grandma and spreading some ugly gossip.Lillian Hellman reworks her 1934 play The Children's Hour into something just as juicy.
"These Three," based on a play by Lillian Hellman (who also wrote the screenplay), is the story of two debutantes, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, (Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins) fresh out of school who--almost immediately--inexplicably decide to start their own school (studies do say the public school system is built to churn out teachers).
They all become great friends, open the school to resounding success and everything is just hunky-dory.As usually happens, children ruin everything--in this case, one child: Mary (Bonita Granville).
So what is initially a private, mild, unacted-on love triangle--that probably would never have amounted to anything and fizzled away with time--becomes the business of the entire town.The original play had Mary's lie alluding to a lesbian relationship between the two friends; however, due to that pesky Hays Code, McCrea's character was conceived, and the lie turned into one of heterosexual deviance, though even that is tiptoed around.
Not a single performance fails to impress--particular Granville's as Mary, a tough part for a child actor--and the comedy--which is a gamble in a dramatic film, for it runs the risk of deflating the whole thing-- feels completely natural.
I'm sure that Lillian Hellman when she sold the screen rights for The Children's Hour she had to know that her play about lesbianism would be totally changed by Hollywood.
For the three decades homosexuality could at most be discreetly hinted at.Bearing that in mind These Three now changed to be just a heterosexual triangle with Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea, and Miriam Hopkins was a decent drama about the ill effects of gossip.
Miriam Hopkins appears in both in different roles.Bonita Granville got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the first year Supporting players were categories.
Two friends (Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon) open up a school to teach young girls.
Unfortunately there's an evil young woman in school (Bonita Granville) who spreads a lie saying that Hopkins and McCrea are lovers behind Oberon's back...and their lives are destroyed.Cleaned up version of "The Children's Hour" by Lillian Hellman.
"These Three" is taken from the play "The Children's Hour" and follows two friends, Martha (Miriam Hopkins) and Karen (Merle Oberon), who graduate from college and go to and old farm Karen's family owns and fix it up, with intentions of making it a school for young ladies.
There is however a ghastly little girl at the school named Mary Tilford, played eerily by Bonita Granville, who proves to be a problem when she formulates a lie about Martha and Joe, and it spirals out of control.
Hopkins, Oberon, and McCrea all turn in wonderful performances, but it is Granville and young Marcia Mae Jones as the other main young girl, Rosalie, who truly hold their own with the pros.
Granville, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, was only 13, and Jones only 12 when production transpired on "These Three" and their performances are very impressive.The film does a fairly good job of not being melodramatic.
first off i've never seen The Children's Hour or the play so i can't make comparisons between the two,, i watched this on TCM and i thought that this film was just wonderful, it starts a little slow but it picks up a lot of steam once it does get going..
a doctor comes into play for the two woman,, one of the woman likes him very much and they get a relationship going,, well the other woman also likes this man , but he doens't know it,, and she doesn't tell her friend,, things are going fine at the boarding school until a couple of girls start spreading vicious rumors and innuendo,, a threat is made,, a bully is born and there you have it,, a great classic movie that really should not be missed,, i wasn't to famililar with all the actors and actresses in this movie , but the one actor i am familiar with,, he has a small role but it's really funny , and that's the taxi cab driver,, Walter Brennan,, watch for his performance it's hilarious..
THESE THREE (Samuel Goldwyn/United Artists, 1936), directed by William Wyler, based on "The Children's Hour" (1934) by Lillian Hellman, who also scripted the original story and screenplay, is a powerful drama expertly transferred to the screen with a timely message on how a spiteful teenager's lies can virtually destroy the lives and reputations of innocent people.
Being more like something commonly depicted in 1950s cinema such as THE BAD SEED (1956) for example, THESE THREE can be categorized as ahead of its time.The story revolves around best friends Martha Dobie (Miriam Hopkins) and Karen Wright (Merle Oberon), first presented as classmates graduating from college.
With Martha and Karen finding their pupils being taken out of school, and the doctor losing his position in the hospital, "these three" join forces in a courtroom battle, to only find their lives and reputations ruined beyond repair.While the screen adaptation substitutes a romantic triangle over its original premise of Martha and Karen as suspected lesbians from the stage play, the film retains its powerful impact thanks to William Wyler's direction.
When Wyler directed its remake, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR (1961) starring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner (along with Miriam Hopkins in the Doucet role), the story was not only brought up to date, but the lesbian theme retained.
Before Granville played the lovable teenage sleuth Nancy Drew in four installments for Warner Brothers (1938-39), and other notable roles through her adulthood, she did a similar Mary Tilford portrayal in MAID OF SALEM (Paramount, 1937) as a vengeful girl whose spiteful lies lead to a Salem witch hunt.
It seems interesting how the script constantly substitutes "Be still" for either "Be quiet" or "Shut up!" While Hopkins, Oberon and McCrea are the only actors with their names presented in the opening credits, the supporting players, consisting of Walter Brennan who provides the film's lighter moments as a taxi driver who charges a dollar a mile; and Margaret Hamilton as Agatha, the Tilford Maid, in a brief but striking performance with the unruly child, are given the credit they deserve along with other members of the cast.
I have a tendency ,unlike the other users,to like the remake best (made by Wyler too) .Probably because Lilian Hellman's play included hints at lesbianism,a subject which could not be treated in the thirties ,when Wyler was one of the specialists of the female melodrama.That's why I think that the 1963 movie was more exciting ,and still is ,still in 2007.I'm not sure that all the parents would accept a gay teacher ,but a ménage à trois has lost its scandalous side.However "these three" is another Wyler's must,well acted by Merle Oberon ,Joel McCrea and Miriam Hopkins ,the latter being my favorite .Wyler is a master when it comes to tell a story.His depiction of the tiny school,of the manor are lovely.Maybe the horrid child overplays a bit -she is more convincing in the remake- but her young pal ,being blackmailed and afraid of being sent to a reform school ,is a good young actress.The scene when the two women meet McCrea for the first time is charming..
I don't know.............as much as I love movies from the 30s and the 40s (and even some of the early talkies from the late 20s), I was disappointed in this film, after seeing the Audrey Hepburn/Shirley McLaine version, which came out 25 years later.
Much of the acting was not very good, compared to the fine talent in "The Children's Hour"; especially in the case of Miriam Hopkins, who played Martha, and the actresses who played Martha's aunt and Mrs. Tilford (the grandmother who believed Mary Tilford's lie).
This version stars Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins as friends who open a school for young girls.
Bonita Granville is a spoiled brat at the school who hates to be punished so she decides to get back at Oberon and Hopkins.
The power of a girl's lie is at the heart of the story involving two school teachers and one man.Lillian Hellman's THE CHILDREN'S HOUR was a play about lesbianism, reportedly based on an occurrence in a Scotland school in the 1800s in which two teachers were the focus of a rumor in which they were involved in a too-close-for-comfort affair, a scandal for the times.
And the fact that Oscar nominated Bonita Granville plays her sheer nastiness with so much relish only makes it the more disturbing when she resorts to blackmail to force Marcia Mae Jones (equally brilliant) to keep up with her lie, because even in the face of truth she will not let up, until of course she is humiliated by Agatha (played by the future Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton) and will have to face the consequences of her actions.A great story that only vaguely hints at lesbian overtones, THESE THREE is very moving and for once Miriam Hopkins plays a truly likable character, as she was mainly known for having a rather icy presence.
Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea both acquit themselves in their roles though would be more known for future films, and overall, an intense movie-viewing experience..
The book was read by Lillian Hellman, who took the story and fashioned the story of her play, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR from it, only changing it to America and putting a man (a doctor) into the picture as the third part of the "triangle" in the child's lie.There have been two film versions of the story: this 1936 version (with Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, and Joel McCrae) where the two women are made into heterosexuals, and a 1962 version (with Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner) where MacLaine admits that she did love Hepburn but commits suicide.
The adult performances are fine; Miriam Hopkins is indeed the best, but director William Wyler even makes a solid performance of Merle Oberon's haughty reserve.
"These Three" is not quite a great movie; it's an excellent filming of a stage play.
Still, as played by Bonita Granville, Hellman presents one of the most brilliant characters I've ever seen on the silver screen.
Great acting by the two main child actors (Bonita Granville as the loathed Mary Tilford and Marcia Mae Jones with a breathtaking role as the troubled Rosalie Wells.) ***Possible Spoiler*** It wasn't until bratty Mary was slapped by Mrs. Tilford's maid, (in a small roll, who would soon become an icon as the "Wicked Witch of the West") the fabulous Margaret Hamilton.
This adaptation of Hellman's play Children's Hour, is even more censored than the Hepburn/ Maclaine/ Garner starrer with changed plot points (changing the homosexual attraction to a regular straight crush as well as the ending) but both and the quality of the acting and the film itself, which is well paced, energetic and not stagy, is massively better than the newer version.Two young women straight out of university fix up a house inherited by one of them to start up a girl's prep school.
Instead of two dykes making out, Bonita Granville claims she peeked through a key hole and saw Miriam Hopkins getting it on with McCrea, the fiancé of Merle Oberon.
Similarly, the brat here is played by Bonita Granville, while a better performance is turned in by Karen Balkin.One of the most interesting factors in comparing this film and "The Children's' Hour" is that where Miriam Hopkins is one of the female leads in this film, in the latter film she plays the part of the aunt and aging actress (which in this film is played by Catherine Doucet.
While Lilian Helman's controversial play "The Children's Hour" was censored of lesbian themes due to the Production Code, and made into a triangle drama of two women in love with the one man, this is still a marvellous adaptation.
The three leads are Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea.
The "these three" of the title is a pretty mundane triangle with only Miriam Hopkins excelling as the sensitive Martha, caught up in a love affair between her dear friend Karen (Merle Oberon) and husky he-man, Dr. Cardin (Joel McCrea).