Two friends both live a double life. If their double lives start to intertwine and they fall in love with women who are obsessed with the name Earnest, the problems begin.
Oscar Wilde (1889)
This comedy of Oscar Wilde was first performed in London in February 1895. It was the sequel to three previous 'social comedies', namely 'Lady Windemere's Fan', 'A Woman of No Importance' and 'An Ideal Husband', which all are set in English society. Of these four plays, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is by far the best known and it is seen as Wildes best drama. It would be the last play of Wilde, because it became known that he was homosexual and he would be sentenced to imprisonment for it not much later. Although the play initially was very successful, due to this scandal, after 86 shows the curtain came down. Although definitive? No, the play was regularly performed since October 1895 and many films have been made of it since then.
Allan Aynesworth, Evelyn Millard, Irene Vanburgh and George Alexander (1895)
'The importance of being Earnest' was different because it did not deal with serious social and political issues, unlike the current plays of that time. Striking is the absence of decency and malice. In 'The importance of being Earnest', nobody really shows sympathy for another, but a real bad guy is not in it either. Algernon's voracity is the only thing that comes close to indecent behaviour. You would think it would be a tame play, but the opposite is true. Wilde shows himself a true wizard with language, or maybe I should say a true poet. The dialogues are clever and compact. There is no word too much or too little said, everything is in balance. Closer W.H. Auden wrote that it was a pure verbal opera. Theater reviewer A. B. Walkley wrote that it was compact nonsense and better nonsense than before. Many critics found it so airy-fairy that they found it more a comic opera than drama.
Wilde told Robert Ross that the purpose of the play was to take the trivial things in life very seriously and the more serious things with a thoughtful triviality.
There has been a constant speculation about the deeper meaning of this play. For example, there would be a gay subtone in it. The name Earnest would be a gay inside joke. In 1892 John Gambril Nicholson published a homosexual tinted bundle entitled 'Love in Earnest'. Also, Earnest could have been a code word for gay as in 'Is he earnest?' As is also said, 'Is he so?'.
It is of course possible, but I do not think it is important, because it’ not relevant for on the story.
Allan Aynesworth and George Alexander (1895)
In view of the success of the play, I was surprised that it was only filmed in 1937 for the first time. In 1946, another version was made. Unfortunately, this film is lost.
Six years later, in 1952, a film was made of the play. Saillant detail is that director Anthony Asquith was the son of H. H. Asquith who, as Minister of the Interior, accused Wilde of immorality, which led to Wildes imprisonment.
John Gielgud as Jack Worthing
John Gielgud, who had success with his role as Jack Worthing on stage, was asked for the same role in the film. Although Gielgud thought that this was his best performance, he declined it because he preferred to play on stage.
Michael Redgrave as Jack Worthing
The role went to Michael Redgrave. Although Redgrave was mainly in the theaters, he still had a lot of movies on his name before starting this production. Redgrave plays his role as charming dandy and professional lier most splendidly. He sees his behaviour more like a necessary evil to get what he wants. And because he is so charming, I do not mind that a bit.
Michael Denison as Algernon Moncrieff
The part of Algernon Moncrieff is played by Michael Denison. Denison was a celebrated stage actor, he did a lot of plays with his wife. In addition to his stage career, he also made a whole series of films. He had also been on Broadway with Oscar Wilde's play 'An ideal husband'. He was known as the king of comedy and that can be noticed this film. He is a real teaser for his best friend Jack Worthing. Though best friend, best friend, as his "best" friend gets in the way of what he wants, he does not care about getting him into trouble. He does this in such a cool and humourous way that I can’t help but smile.
Joan Greenwood as Gwendolen Fairfax
Joan Greenwood plays Gwendolen Fairfax. She is so charming that I can imagine that Jack lies and cheats to win her heart. Greenwood has something innocent about herself, she can say the most ambiguous things without being vulgar. You can ask yourself; is she aware of the fact that the things she says are ambiguous. In 1949, Greenwood played the role of Cecily Cardew in the TV film of the play. From the beginning of her career, Greenwood was already recognized as a very talented actress, but in the old studio system, producers, because she could not be cast a stereotype, did not know what parts to give her. Unfortunately, that’s why she remained not that well known.
Dorothy Tutin as Cecily Cardew
The part of Cecily Cardew was for 22-year-old Dorothy Tutin who made her debut with this performance. Although Gwendolen has some innocence about her, she is definitely a woman who knows how the world works. By contrast, Cecily is a naïve young girl who lives on a pink cloud. Thus she has more interest in the fictional romance she writes in her diary than the German lessons of Miss Prism. Although this film debut could have been a promising start to a successful film career, after a few films, she decided to switch to the theater. She did some films over the years and her performance in them was memorable. In 1967 she became Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 2000, one year before her death, if she could call herself Dame.
Edith Evens as Lady Bracknell
Edith Evens plays the deciphered Lady Bracknell. Of all versions made of this play, the actresses who played this Lady are the most criticized. In particular, the scene in which Lady Bracknell questions miss Prism about the disappearance of her brother's and sister's baby seems to be crucial for determining whether the performance was played well or badly. I have to admit that this scene is also very important to the film. If I think of 'The Importance of Being Earnest' then this scene is the first to come up with me. The Lady Bracknell by Edith Evens is a woman who has definite ideas about what is proper and what not. She never hesitates and always has immediate comments. When she catches Jack, who makes a marriage request to Gwendolen, on his knees, she tells the couple that she will decide when and with whom Gwendolen will marry. For appearances, she also mentions her husband, but we all know that it is symbolic, because he remains remarkably absent in this story. She mentions his weak health, but you can wonder if that's not an excuse for withdrawing from his dominant woman. He even has to eat upstairs when people are invited to diner.
Edith Evens also played this role in the 1949 TV version, so she has practiced a lot and it’s paying off. I see her as the embodiment of Lady Bracknell.
Margaret Rutherford as Miss Prism
Then we come to the last important role in this piece; Miss Prism in this version played by Margaret Rutherford. She played the role of Lady Bracknell in the 1946 version. We all know her comic miss Marple performances from the 1960's. She is also the comedian in Miss Prism's role. So I can hardly imagine her as the deciphered Lady Bracknell. Although I admire Rutherford and certainly enjoyed her performance as Miss Prism, I have to admit that I do not think her miss Prism is very absent-minded. Miss Prism has to be very distracted to switch such important things that are crucial to human life. To prevent spoilers, I will not mention why this is the case.
Wendy Hiller as Lady Bracknell
The successful film of 1952 was the kick off for a whole series of other film adaptations. The television version of 1958 was not well received by critics, but the producers did not let that stop them making more television productions in 1964, 1966, 1974, 1986 and 1988. In the 1985 version, Wendy Hiller played the role of Lady Bracknell. After seeing her in the role of Princess Dragomiroff in 'Murder on the Orient Express' (1974), I can imagine her vividly as Lady Bracknell. The 1988 version was worst received by critics. They wrote that the creators had made a sitcom of Wildes play. In 1953, a lp was made of the play.
In 1992, director and writer Kurt Baker made a version that consisted entirely of a black cast. In the same year, Australian television made a version that was recorded for a live audience.
Ten years later, in 2002, directed director Oliver Parker, who had previously made a film of Oscar Wild play; 'An ideal husband’, made a very memorable version of the now legendary play. The film was received differently by critics. The Chicago Sun Times gave three out of four stars. The Rotten Tomatoes site found the volatile entertainment helped by an impressive cast, but also said it suffered from certain directional choices that have a negative effect on the entire movie. But that did not stop people from going to watch it because the film became a modest box office success with a total return of over $ 17,200,000 while the movie cost $ 15 million.
In this version, Earnest has to flee because he has debts. For the first time, Parker uses scenes that were deleted from the original script before the play was first performed in 1895. I don’t understand why this scene was cut, but I imagine it could be under pressure from the producers. It could make the leading man less sympathetic and it could prevent the audience from identifying whit him. Perhaps it is the sight of the times that this is now viewed in a different light because the audience does not perceive a "criminal" by definition as bad. Think of series like the Soprano's where all protagonists are criminals and yet these series are unprecedentedly popular.
It was also a clever move from Parker to open up such a scene because you’re drawn into the story right from the start and get’s you to sympathise with the leading man.
Colin Firth as Jack Worthing
Colin Firth plays the charismatic Jack Worthing. He plays Worthing's part very good and certainly is a match for Michael Redgrave. I have to say that Firths Worthing is a more innocent and sympathetic than Redgrave’s. Firths Jack just does not know any better, while Redgraves Jack knows deep down better, but he just wants to get his way.
Rupert Everett as Algy Moncrieff
Rupert Everett plays Algy Moncrieff. Everett had previously worked with Parker on the film 'An ideal husband'. For Everett, the same applies to Firth; Everett definitely is a macht for Michael Denison. What I notice is that Everetts Algy is more cunning than the Algy of Denison. I do not know what Parker thought, but Algy's scene with a hot air balloon on Jack's estate, I totally think is over the top and absolutely does not match the subtlety of the story as a whole.
Frances O’Connor as Gwendolen Fairfax
Gwendolen Fairfax is played by Frances O'Connor. Unlike Greenwoods Gwendolen, O'Connors Gwendolen realizes it when she says something ambiguous. I can hear her thinking 'nudge, wink, wink' when she says something ambiguous. I think that’s a pity, I like more subtlety.
Reese Witherspoon as Cecily Cardew
The 26 year old Reese Witherspoon plays Cecily Cardew. I do not know if it’s because of her age, but I feel that Witherspoons Cecily is more sophisticated than Dorothy Tutin's Cecily. But in itself she delivers a good performance performance.
Judi Dench as Lady Bracknell
Judi Dench, admired by me, plays Lady Bracknell. This is the third time she plays the role. The first time was in 1982 with the National Theater and the second time in 1995 for BBC Radio 4. Dench's Lady Bracknell, like Lady Bracknell by Edith Evens, is a determined lady, but unlike Evens Lady Bracknell there are in Dench's Lady Bracknell to see hesitation at times. We see her very briefly thinking and then make a hard comment. Once, when she asks where Jack lives, she hesitates a little longer. We even see her hand go to the bell to call a clerk to put kick him out, but she thinks again and says that things can be adjusted. There is also a scene in which Lady Bracknell thinks of her youth when she was a young dancer. In this flashback, Finty Williams plays the young Lady Bracknell. In real life, Williams is Dench's daughter.
I have to say that I think Dench's performance in this film is the best of all actors who take part in this version, but if she is better than Evens, I do not dare to say so.
Anna Massey as miss Prism
And finally, I come to Miss Prism, played by Anna Massey. Massey is a dreamy and absent Miss Prism. That makes her a better miss prism than Rutherford's Miss Prism. When she tells Cecily she wrote a three-piece novel that had been lost, she dreams away. It makes her reaction when she realises she made a terrible error later on in the film more credible. On the other hand, Rutherford's Prism is more credible when she is confronted with the lost handbag and she says; “It has been a great inconvenience being without it all these years.” Because she’s confronted with a huge tragedy, the triviality of this comment is so absurd. This absurdity is then Rutherford's specialty. Massey exploits this situation lesser than Rutherford.
Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell
In 2011, director Brian Bedford made a Broadway registration of Wildes play. Remarkably, Bedford himself took on the part of Lady Bracknell's and received raving reviews. It would be Bedford's latest movie. It was not for the first time that Lady Bracknell was played by a man, it had been done twice before, the version played at the Abbey Theater in Dublin was played entirely by men. A reviewer even wrote, with a wink to a Lady Bracknell quote, about Bedford's film; 'It's one of the great performances of the season; To miss it would most definitely look like carelessness. '
There have already been so many versions of 'The importance of being Earnest' that you can wonder which added value it would have to make a new version. But considering the successes of both the stage plays and the movies, I do think that a new version will still be made from time to time. And why not? Let each generation make its own version so that young people can also learn of the genius Oscar Wilde. Let's make him immortal. Because as long as we know who he was he is not dead.
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