Stolz und Vorurteil (1940)

Stolz und Vorurteil: Directed by Robert Z. Leonard. With Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver. The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.

“The last movie I watched before this one was the Mystery Science Theater edition of Devil Doll, and Iu0026#39;m hard pressed to say which movie has less to do with Jane Austen. Everything about this film screams MGM Assembly-Line, from the astonishing banality of the script (Huxley Shmuxley!) to the insufferable u0026quot;musicu0026quot; to the look-at-us-weu0026#39;re-vaguely-19th-century costumes. Olivieru0026#39;s performance is so fey itu0026#39;s a wonder he doesnu0026#39;t float off the screen, Garson tiptoes around Lizzy as though terrified she might say something offensive, and Melville Cooper accomplishes the superhuman task of making Mr. Collins unfunny. This monstrosity is to the 1995 BBC mini-series as a comic-book version is to the novel itself.”