The Importance of Being Earnest - Criterion Collection (1952)

Missed the Play, Enjoyed the DVD of It.

Written by Oscar Wilde, as a comedy of manners and more's of his time, it's about deception and using aliases, creating a non existent brother (or so it seems) as an excuse for a gentleman named Jack to take numerous trips to London. In actuality, the visitations are to young Cecily as Ernest. A British cast lend respectability to a controversial subject along the lines of 'Dangerous Liasions.'

Filmed in 1952, the costumes were beautiful in my beloved technicolor. Michael Redgrave played the role of Jack and Edith Evans (very hard to understand) was Lady Bracknell who had been the same character on stage. Margaret Rutherfolrd and lovely Joan Greenwood were also prominent in this odd story.

When Jacks gets upset at complications due to his double live, he decides to let Earnest die a natural death. A local school presented a reputable version and I must say hearing the British dialogue with a Southern accent enhanced the comedy of a serious matter. Since Wilde never married, it is hilarious having two women contemplating marrying the same rogue. Both are lovely, despite the age difference of Cecily at only 18 when the legal age is 35 and Jack at 28 years of age. Twenty-eight years ago, a baby had disappeared in Miss Prism's handbag. "I will wait for you all my life." The vital importance of being earnest is that Jack really did have a younger brother, in the play called Algernon, whose Christian name was Ernest Moncrieff. See this version to learn who is who. It's quite a game. August 12, 2008

Fun romp with tradition script

With very few exceptions, this is a screen production of the traditional stage show. As such, it is very faithful to the Wilde script, which is very helpful for those who want to see the traditional staging. The pair of Prism and Chasuble were perhaps [SPOILER NOTICE] a little old for the sudden romance that springs up between them [SPOILER ENDED], and the humor perhaps a little subtle for many American audiences, especially younger audiences, but it is a fun, faithful performance. May 27, 2008

The Essential Earnest

Thank God for the DVD! For, without the invention of this miracle of communication, how on earth would the future generations ever know the real joy of watching and witnessing some of the most wonderful moments in the history of the world!

Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest" is the absolute epitomy of the writer's art and the Anthony Asquith production of the film with the wonderful Michael Redgrave, the superb Dame Edith Evans and the equally marvellous talents of Dame Margaret Rutherford, Michael Denison and Joan Greenwood is now and (hopefully) forever available for many generations to come.

One can only thank the Lord and those extraordinarily clever I.T. people who, through His grace, came up with the concept of preserving these masterpieces forever on a tiny, thin and miraculous piece of metal we call the Digital Versatile Disc!

January Williams-Brindle - a true believer! May 25, 2008

The best of Oscar Wilde.

This 1952 version of Wilde's most popular play benefits greatly from its great cast. Dame Edith Evans had been performing Lady Bracknell for years on stage before finally bringing her characterization to the screen, thank goodness. The technicolor is breathtaking. May 15, 2008

It Really Is Important To Be Earnest

Jack "Earnest" Worthing (Michael Redgrave), a sometime London socialite and othertime country gentleman who desires the hand of the lovely Gwendolyn, is willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Gwendolyn Fairfax is Earnest's love interest and is played by Joanne Greenwood. I developed a crush on Ms. Greenwood after seeing her in Kind Hearts and Coronets. I love her smokey voice and understated "I'm smoldering under my petticoats" glances. Edith Evans - a powerful performer - plays the Lady Augusta Bracknell, Gwendolyn's mother and monitor. She's an intimidating and clever woman who is principally concerned with satisfying the social requirments (however they're obtained) for her daughter's marriage. She's the personification of superficial Victorianism, only funnier. I also enjoyed Michael Denison's portrayal of Wilde's alter-ego in the play, the rougish Algernon Moncrieff, Earnest's friend. Denison plays the character with a delightful, brightness. Finally, young Cecily, Worthing's ward at the country estate, is superficially an innocent thing, but actually very quick. The repartee between her and Gwendolyn is some of the best in this work.

This adaptation of the play is excellent. Wilde's gift for poking at Victorian mores and sensibilities is his gift. He knew all of the rules and protocols, and scrupulously violated them during the course of his very interesting and tragic life. This is so well-written, and this adaptation appears to my untrained sensibility to be true to the spirit of Wilde's work (which I originally read decades ago). March 21, 2008

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