Devotion (1946)
Overview
In Victorian England, literary siblings Emily and Charlotte Brontë vie for the affection of the Rev. Arthur Nicholls. Along with their sister Anne, Emily and Charlotte also try to help their tormented brother Branwell, a gifted artist whose life is being destroyed by alcohol.
Cast
Ida Lupino
Emily Brontë
Paul Henreid
Rev. Arthur Nicholls
Olivia de Havilland
Charlotte Brontë
Sydney Greenstreet
William Makepeace Thackeray
Nancy Coleman
Anne Brontë
Arthur Kennedy
Branwell Brontë
May Whitty
Lady Thornton
Victor Francen
Constantin Heger
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CinemaSerf
Based (very) loosely on real events, this is quite an entertaining tale of two strong willed Brontë women - Charlotte (Olivia de Havilland) and Emily (Ida Lupino) and of their enthusiasm for local curate "Nicholls" (the rather decent but insipid Paul Henreid) and for getting their wonderfully imaginative stories published. In that aspiration, they are joined by their sister Anne (Nancy Coleman) and all of this takes place as they must try and save their artist brother Bramwell (Arthur Kennedy) from a future at the bottom of a bottle. The cast and the writing deliver an engaging and authentic tale of family, a strong and close family that found itself struggling to satisfy the needs of its constituents - and as with many films set around this period, it demonstrates just how difficult it was for a woman to be given the opportunity to do just about anything that did not fit with her marital duties. There are a couple of scenes stolen by the avuncular Sydney Greenstreet's portrayal of William Makepeace Thackerey - whose "Vanity Fair" was contemporary with this timeframe - and by the end I felt I understood a little more of the complexities of this family and of the times. Well worth a watch.
