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Major Barbara
Price: $145.99 Prices subject to change.
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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302969849
Format: Black & White, NTSC
ISBN: 6302969840
Label: Homevision
Languages: English (Original Language), Analog
Manufacturer: Homevision
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Homevision
Release Date: June 13, 2000
Running Time: 131 minutes
Studio: Homevision
Theatrical Release Date: 1941
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Editorial Review:
Producer Gabriel Pascal brought the undiluted wit and wisdom of Bernard Shaw to world cinemas, and the world is grateful. But for all Shaw's philosophical irreverence and bracing ironies, as a screenwriter he had a lot to learn about structure and movement. Major Barbara made the transition to film less fluidly than Pygmalion (1938). Production took a year and a half. Pascal made himself director but left the real work to assistants Harold French (acting) and David Lean (visuals). The initial designer and cameraman had to be replaced, one actor died (Donald Calthrop), and oh yes, there were German air raids. Still, what a dream cast: Wendy Hiller as Salvation Army crusader Barbara; Robert Morley as her arch-fiend millionaire father Undershaft, preaching the gospel of money and munitions; Rex Harrison as Barbara's classics-professor suitor, Adolphus Cusins; plus Robert Newton, Emlyn Williams, Marie Lohr, and 18-year-old Deborah Kerr as sweet Jenny Hill. --Richard T. Jameson
Laced with ironic humor and social satire, this well-known classic film is the story of Barbara Undershaft, daughter of a wealthy munitions manufacturer and an ardent member of the Salvation Army. Filmed in war-torn England, Gabriel Pascal's screen translation of George Bernard Shaw's play is brilliantly directed and magnificently acted.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - One of the most striking comedies of the British Golden Decade!
Once more the irreverent vision of Georges Bernard Shaw, carves in relief with this story about a rich girl who decides to join the Salvation Army. Wendy Hiller one of my beloved "brides" of the screen makes a delightful and terrific performance in this satire of mistakes where she will discover the other side of the life.
Rating: - Food for Thought
A previous reviewer noted that the film was basically a platform to expound on George Bernard Shaw's views on munitions, war and other issues of the day, and rated it with one star.
I found that Shaw's social views, brilliantly elucidated by Robert Morley in a better acting performance than many of us have ever seen him in, are what make this a great film; whether you agree with them or, like Morley's estranged screen daughter Wendy Hiller in the title role, disagree, the dialogue is ... Read More
Rating: - Worth Watching For Cast Alone
I am a hugh fan of Robert Newton, made famous as Long John Silver in Disney's Treasure Island. Seeing him in his younger days as would-be tough guy Bill Walker, was very interesting. You can clearly see glimpses of his future characters such as Long John Silver, Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist and so on. Having seen him mostly play rough guys it was aslo fun to see what a cutie his really is. The film isn't the greatest but I would definatly recommend see it despite critics pointing out its cinematic ... Read More
Rating:  - A perfect film of GB Shaw.
When one watches a George Bernard Shaw play, one does not expect three-dimensional characters with social roles and inner lives. As the author puts it in a pompous forward to this film, 'Major Barbara' is a 'PARABLE' (his capitals), and the preaching never lets up. The title character (Wendy Hiller) is the daughter of a millionaire arms manufacturer (Robert Morley); she is a zealous Salvation Army officer, trying to convert the destitute of London with enthusiasm, sympathy and 'a bribe of bread'. ... Read More
Rating: - Based on the Krupp family.
I first came on this movie while reading "The Arms of Krupp" by William Manchester ISBN: 0736607161 the paragraph that mentions this film is:
"Yet war ministers abroad were still very much aware of the family. So were the critics, as George Bernard Shaw demonstrated brilliantly in December 1905 when his "Major Barbra", a thinly veiled satire largely based on the Krupps, opened in London. In the play Barbara is substituted for Bertha, the head munitions family is named Sir ... Read More
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