Pride And Prejudice (1940)

In a small English country village, a mother (Mary Boland) is eager to marry off her five eligible daughters and sets her cap on two gentlemen of means: a newly arrived neighbor (Bruce Lester) and his even richer friend (Laurence Olivier). But the friend's pride clashes with the prejudices of the second daughter (Greer Garson) in spite of an attraction between the two. Of all the major film studios of the Hollywood "Golden Age", MGM was the most literary minded. Adaptations of Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy among others were filmed on a regular basis. Despite some changes, this adaptation of Jane Austen's novel is fairly faithful to the book and it's quite entertaining. Garson hadn't yet settled into her great lady of MGM mold and she's charming here while Olivier brings a genuine aristocratic authenticity to his Darcy. Of course, it looks great as it gets the full A budget MGM deluxe treatment but the screenplay (co-written by Aldous Huxley) is full of vinegar and wit. Tastefully directed with Robert Z. Leonard. With Edmund Gwenn, Mary Boland (stealing whole scenes), Maureen O'Sullivan, Marsha Hunt, Ann Rutherford, Frieda Inescort, Heather Angel, Karen Morley, Melville Cooper and Edna May Oliver.