Fox is a studio I have great regard for, especially in the 40s, and "Jane Eyre", impeccably performed with art/set direction that is first-rate, is just another example of how to present a Gothic drama, setting mood and atmosphere right from the start. We are immediately sympathizing with orphan Jane because she has no one and seems to be the epitome of mistreatment and symbolizes the disregarded child who must somehow sustain and rise above the despicable mores and religious bigotry of the era for which she was born, 10 years in an orphanage where its headmaster, whose pomposity and sense of order/control would have anybody crawled into a fetal position questioning why God would punish them for winding up under his iron fist. Jane, at adult age, will leave this orphanage, hoping to become a governess (considered by the aristocratic Londoners as a lowly position to be frowned upon),landing a job at a depressing, darkened castle, owned by a man (Orson Welles, whose character is borderline bi-polar the way he switches personalities constantly going from controlling to sweet, from ill-mannered to well-mannered, often speaking to and for Jane while addressing her in conversations) burdened with guilt, self-loathing, and shame, yet also forward and honest with her about his "condition" and life's woes. While he does keep a secret from Jane, the grand mystery of the plot concerning a scary woman with a witch's cackle who is kept locked away in a room at the other end of the castle, Edward Rochester wants to stay in constant contact with her and shares intimate feelings and anecdotes that slowly draws her into an emotional attachment to him and the new place for which she now lives. Will the two become romantically involved?

Damn, is Jane Eyre a good-looking movie, but without the superb Joan Fontaine, an actress I think is one of the best of her generation without the due respect she deserves (although, she did win an Oscar for her excellent work in Suspicion, and her performance in another Hitchcock classic, Rebecca, is essential viewing for those who want to know how to communicate to us a groundswell of emotion without saying a word through posture, expressive eyes, and an aching/distress that just tells us how she feels),I think this 1943 version of the classic novel would be pretty visually, lavish sets, costumes, lighting, all the technical achievements a five-star studio could muster, but lack the emotional depth it so richly depends on. We need to identify and love the lead character for she seems to be leveled with unjustified harsh insults and defamations; cruelty is all she ever seems to experience. When someone is kind to her, a little girl with black curly hair (played by a gentle, tender, adorable) Elizabeth Taylor in the orphanage, Daniell's loathsome magistrate leaves open shutters and makes her walk a circle out in the rain, causing her to succumb to pneumonia. Then Fontaine, as an adult, gives us the kind of quality performance that the character needs so we can feel her pain, her adoration, and overwhelming love for a man who may never belong to her. The camera awesomely captures faces: it's as if the background has little purpose and all that is left are the raw emotions pouring from the characters of Fontaine and Welles (Welles has never been more handsome). I think when you are able to get great performances and capture visually just the right bit of Gothic beauty, it's a perfect balance I admire and relish. I love my Gothic horror, to be sure, and Jane Eyre has areas that are part and parcel to this sub-genre I hold so close to my heart. This has a flawless cast, top to bottom. I think what this movie does well is illustrate the separation in classes and how love can sometimes bring two together despite this. If there was a flaw it will perhaps criticized by the literary community for maybe not covering more of the novel.

I think of the film adaptations of Jane Eyre, this film is the best one. Is it the best adaptation overall? No not for me, the 1973 and 1983 versions just beat it. But I do prefer this 1943 film to the 1970 version which was compensated by the production values, the score and the performances but could've done with more conflict(particularly between Jane and Brocklehurst) and a better VHS/DVD transfer, the 1997 version which had a great cast on paper but too short, too rushed and under-characterised and the Zeffirelli film which had its moments such as the way it was made but dull.

This Jane Eyre is excellent though. I do agree about the last 3 lines of the film hinting at a happier denouncement, which will have divided some people, I would have preferred it personally if they had maintained the "grimmer" tone of the book. That said, I had no problem with everything else. The book is so wonderful, and I think this is a solid enough adaptation of it. On its own terms it excels even more, particularly in the beautiful production values, the crisp black and white cinematography helps convey a genuine atmosphere, and Bernard Hermann's haunting score, his second best of the 40s after The Ghost and Mrs Muir.

Charlotte Bronte's story is so timeless, and I liked the passion the film exuded, how well-measured the pace was and the conflict between Jane and Brocklehurst was kept intact. The dialogue is suitably literate and intelligent, and Stevenson directs imaginatively as he always did.

I loved the performances. Orson Welles's Rochester is brooding and boisterous though I do understand why some may find that he overdoes it, I personally think he is more subtle than some of his other performances, and Joan Fontaine is a delicate, dignified and attractive(if slightly wan) Jane. Agnes Moorhead, Hilary Brooke and Elizabeth Taylor give superb performances even if their performances are brief, Henry Daniell is appropriately icy which makes his and Jane's conflict even the more interesting, Peggy Ann Garner is a very believable young Jane and Margaret O'Brien is cute.

Overall, I loved this film and adaptation. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is certainly one popular item for adaption to the big screen and small. I count 22 versions on the Internet Movie Database, but this one starring Joan Fontaine as plain Jane Eyre and Orson Welles as the brooding Rochester is probably the best known.

I had previously reviewed a 1934 version that starred Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive had done for Monogram. And as befit that studio the budget for the project was pretty anemic. And no one could possibly have believed the glamorous Ms. Bruce could be a plain Jane.

Also Joan Fontaine fresh off her Oscar for Suspicion was a far better actress. Fontaine has played glamor roles, but she dialed down the surface beauty to give a finely etched performance as the shy young thing brought up in cruelty by her aunt Agnes Moorehead and schoolmaster Henry Daniell in the institutional school she is sent.

Fontaine is great, but she is also building on the performance of Peggy Ann Garner as the young Jane Eyre who has enough resiliency to overcome a really horrible childhood. In many ways the Garner/Fontaine character of Jane Eyre echo how Joan's sister Olivia DeHavilland as Catherine Sloper was brought up in The Heiress. The miracle is that Jane Eyre doesn't become as twisted as Catherine Sloper.

Orson Welles with his stage training and magnificent voice and pieces of subtlety in his manner scores well as Mr. Rochester who carries a secret tragedy within him. He engages Fontaine to be governess for his 'ward' Margaret O'Brien and love cannot take its course because of some really big barriers. What they are you have to see Jane Eyre for.

I'm sure that 20th Century Fox must have had Suspicion in mind when casting Joan Fontaine. In both films she goes off to live in a big estate a bit apprehensive about what she's getting into. And in both films she has reason to be apprehensive.

One young actress who received no billing, but got real notice was eleven year old Elizabeth Taylor. She plays Peggy Ann Garner's friend in Henry Daniell's school and her death scene must have not left a dry eye in any theater Jane Eyre was playing.

This version of Jane Eyre sets a very high standard for those before or since to follow.