August 8 movie: These Three. This, the first movie adaptation of the play The Children's Hour, starred Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea. The basic plot is the same: two young women run a school for girls and one of the students tells a vicious lie with just the tiniest kernel of truth, which ruins the teachers' lives. But in this version they removed all references to lesbianism (duh, the movie was made in the 30s) and gave it a somewhat happy ending.
The 60s version of this story starred Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn, and I've heard it's more true to the play. I've kind of been putting off watching it because it sounds too tragic. I've seen a clip where the teacher confesses her lesbian desires by shrieking about how "dirty" she feels and I don't know if I could handle a whole movie like that.
I've heard that although everyone talks about Bette Davis' rivalry with Joan Crawford, it was Miriam Hopkins who Davis saw more as a professional rival. Which I never understood until seeing this movie. Hopkins' part would have been perfect for Davis. Which is not to say Hopkins wasn't good; she was. Just that I can imagine Davis thinking that part should have been hers. It's not that easy to find Miriam Hopkins movies on TCM. I wonder if they're going to do a day for her this month? I'm going to check their online schedule and find out.
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