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We just watched the 1943 version Jane EyreBased on the 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë.
As you know, Jane Eyre (the character) is a strong-willed, free-spirited young woman in Victorian England who clashes with authority and potential suitors. He doesn’t suffer through bullshit.
There have been dozens of film adaptations Jane EyreThe first was in 1910. The 1943 version, starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, is often praised for its “grim” atmosphere and appears on many “Best-Jane-Eyre-Movies” lists.
We wanted to love this movie, dear reader. Unfortunately, we felt that in the end it was a rehash of another Joan Fontaine movie. Rebecca (1940).
Now we realize that adapting from page to screen is difficult. A lot of trimming is needed to move the novel into an hour and a half, and sacrifices have to be made – which in 1943. Jane Eyre It painfully informs us.
But before we put that aside entirely, let’s take a look at the amazing cast.
Orson Welles plays Mr. Rochester, the unconventional lord of Thornfield Hall, a gruff, polite man who Jane falls in love with. Watch him move across the screen, cape blowing in the wind, the embodiment of power and wealth.
(Also, Wells said he received negative reviews for his performance, which isn’t entirely unfair.)
The glamorous Joan Fontaine is the titular Jane, playing the exact same character as in the above. Rebecca. It was a surprise because we were expecting a cheerful Jane from the novel. Still, the Fontaine actress really has a way of growing on you, and she looks great in 1840s fashion.
The supporting cast is stellar, including Agnes Moorhead, Margaret O’Brien and (briefly) Elizabeth Taylor. They bring Brontë’s characters to life and we wish they had more screen time. (Yes, we’re looking at you, Agnes Moorhead.)
The film, like the book, begins with Jane as an orphaned child living with relatives. Her wealthy aunt can’t stand Jane and makes life difficult for the poor child.
Jane is soon sent to Lowood Institute, a school prison that tries to break her spirit. You see, the young Jane of the movie is just as cocky as the young Jane of the novel.
But by the time she reaches adulthood, most of Jane’s palate has worn away, leaving a shy, meek soul. It’s a character that Fontaine plays well, but it hurts her relationship with Mr. Rochester. In the novel, Jane and Mr. Rochester are equals, each as intelligent as the other. In the film, Mr. Rochester steamrolls our hapless hero.
Also, Novel Jane is hard-working, resourceful, and hard-working, traits we don’t often see in Movie Jane.
However, these are shortcomings of the script and they do not take away from the excellent technical aspects. The sets are appropriately gothic and, well, gloomy, and Bernard Herrmann’s score helps create the film’s distinct atmosphere.
If you have seen this version Jane EyreYou may have wondered if Welles directed some of the scenes. We wondered the same thing. Welles has no directorial credits, but there are shots so impressive and innovative – in a Welles kind of way – we almost gasped out loud.
Unfortunately, there are very few such scenes. As good a director as Robert Stevenson is, it would be interesting to see if the Welles director could have been more aware of the film’s flaws.
At least three writers worked on the screen adaptation of this film, including director Stevenson, Welles’s former collaborator-enemy (John Houseman), and novelist Aldous Huxley.
With these three important talents in mind, the script can be surprisingly clumsy. For example, in one scene, Mr. Rochester notes, “Fortune has knocked me down, knocked me down with my knees, till I boast that I’m as hard and tough as an india-rubber ball.”
Whatever you say, Mr. Rochester.
this Jane Eyre The project started when the head of the independent studio David O. Selznick bought the screen rights and signed Welles to play Rochester in Fontaine’s Jane. He then sold it as a package to Twentieth Century-Fox.
IMDb says Selznick originally wanted to cast Vivien Leigh, so his daughter could play Jane as a child, which would be intriguing. But Leigh’s ex-husband stepped in and responded.
We recommend it Jane Eyre (1943) only if you are a full-fledged Welles or Fontaine. If you’re looking for a movie adaptation that sticks more closely to the novel, I suggest you look elsewhere.
This post is part of the 2026 CLASSIC LITERATURE ON FILM BLOGATHON hosted by Silver Screen Classics.
Jane Eyre Starring Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O’Brien. Directed by Robert Stevenson. Written by Aldous Huxley and Robert Stevenson. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1943, B&W, 97 min.
