The Children's Hour

"Mrs. Lily Mortar: God will punish you. Martha: He's doing all right."





A classic (and, at the time, very much controversial) 1934 play that was the debut work of Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour was adapted for the screen twice by director William Wyler. The first version was a bowdlerized adaptation called These Three, starring Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon, and released in 1936. The second version, starring Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn, was subject to less censorship by the time it came out in 1961.

The story of the play concerns Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, best friends who are also headmistresses of a private girl's school in New England. Martha's ex-actress and narcissist aunt Mrs. Lily Mortar acts as an elocution and vocal teacher at the school, though she spends most of her time lecturing, showing off, and telling stories about the golden days. They couldn't be happier, especially with Karen about to wed her longtime gynecologist boyfriend, Joe.

One day, however, the school's resident bad seed, Mary Tilford, decides to extract revenge on Karen by spreading gossip that Karen and Martha are involved in a love affair. Her grandmother, the town matriarch, leads the charge against the two, resulting in nearly all students getting pulled from school. Karen and Martha sue the Tilfords for libel; yet, even if they win, they really won't be "victorious."

This work features examples of:
" Don't you see? I can't stand to have you touch me! I can't stand to have you look at me! Oh, it's all my fault. I have ruined your life and I have ruined my own. I swear I didn't know it! I didn't mean it! Oh, I feel so damn sick and dirty I can't stand it anymore!"
 * Adaptation Distillation: The second adaption still isn't completely true to the play, and lacks the "power" driven plot of said play, but is still the closest to it.
 * All There Is to Know About "The Crying Game": The movie is most well-known for the ending.
 * Bittersweet Ending:
 * Blackmail: Mary uses this to turn fellow student Rosalie into her collaborator.
 * Bowdlerise: The first film is this to the play, completely changing what happens in it (the first film replaced the rumors of a lesbian love affair with one about the two women dating the same man). The second film includes a little of this too, though for simplification reasons.
 * Bury Your Gays:
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Enfante Terrible: Mary Tilford.
 * Gayngst:  has her fair share, near the end.


 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Bonita Granville, the first actress to play Nancy Drew on screen, was Mary Tilford in These Three.
 * Inspired By: The play was inspired by an actual Scottish court case.
 * Malicious Slander
 * Market-Based Title: The film versions, at least, were called The Loudest Whisper in the UK.
 * My God, What Have I Done?:
 * One-Gender School
 * Pull the Thread: Mary's scheme is only uncovered when
 * Remake Cameo: Miriam Hopkins played Lily Mortar in the 1961 film, after having played her niece Martha in the 1936 version.