Devotion

Devotion

5/4/1946 1h 47m 5.7/10

Overview

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.

Director

Jesse Hibbs

Top Billed Cast

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland

Charlotte Brontë

Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino

Emily Brontë

Arthur Kennedy

Arthur Kennedy

Branwell Brontë

Paul Henreid

Paul Henreid

Rev. Arthur Nicholls

Sydney Greenstreet

Sydney Greenstreet

William Makepeace Thackeray

Nancy Coleman

Nancy Coleman

Anne Brontë

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

7/7/2022

7/10

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.

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