Carrie (1952)

Carrie: Directed by William Wyler. With Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert. A young girl from a provincial town learns the bitter reality of a big city and great love.

“This is a superb film, directed with great style by William Wyler. A tough film for romantics, itu0026#39;s about how following your heart will not always lead to living u0026quot;happily ever afteru0026quot;. A very mature film about becoming middle-aged but still yearning for romance – and a very uncompromising film in which love and forgiveness are sometimes just not enough. An unusual film to come out of Hollywood in the Fifties, it now emerges as one of the finest American films of that period.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJennifer Jones, Eddie Albert and Miriam Hopkins all deliver top-notch performances – subtle, believable, multi-dimensional and real. Hopkins remains one of the most under-rated of all Hollywood stars – her reputation sadly damaged by her real-life feud with Bette Davis. But she was a brilliant actress. Jones looks stunning, and portrays her characteru0026#39;s development from naivety to worldliness with intelligence and strength. Albert is likeable, but also quite menacing, as her salesman lover.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut towering above all is the great Laurence Olivier, in what I venture to say is his best screen performance. As the ageing restauranter who finds true love too late, he gives an unbearably moving performance. His astonishing physical transformations match perfectly his characteru0026#39;s downward fortunes – but there is also a complete truth to his emotion here. One wonders how much he was drawing on his own tragic marriage to Vivien Leigh to find that truth.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a ten star film.”