When this film began, it sure seemed like the script was written by whoever was responsible for the 1937 version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", as Hester Prynne was very little like she was in the story. This Hester runs and skips and talks to the animals on the Sabbath and is punished for this(?). In the process, she is taken under the wing of the local minister--changing the story significantly from the Hawthorne of the tale. In the original story, it begins with a pregnant Hester being labeled an adulteress and ostracized by the community--how she fell in love and the sort of woman she was before this was never really part of the original story--here, there is a lot of back story--so much that who the father is of the illegitimate child never is in question. It's obvious that the minister is the sperm donor and the film is much more about WHY the affair began.
Aside from this unusual reworking of the story, this MGM production is first-rate. The costumes are excellent, the direction very good and the acting (aside from just a couple times where Gish over-acted--in a style that would have been fine in her early films--when such reactions were the norm) was very good. In fact, it's probably the best version I have seen--far better than the 1930s version or the god-awful Demi Moore version (where they gave this bleak story a happy ending!!!). So, even with an odd reworking and an incomplete ending (the film stopped at the death of the minister--whereas the book continued beyond this), it's about as good as you may find. Now there COULD be a better version out there and I'd love to hear any suggestions about a more definitive version (if it's available).
By the way, although the print looks great, at about the one hour mark it really deteriorated. Instead of the clear and near-perfect print, it was very washed out for about five minutes--like they forgot to restore this portion. Bear with it--it does improve...a bit.
Aside from this unusual reworking of the story, this MGM production is first-rate. The costumes are excellent, the direction very good and the acting (aside from just a couple times where Gish over-acted--in a style that would have been fine in her early films--when such reactions were the norm) was very good. In fact, it's probably the best version I have seen--far better than the 1930s version or the god-awful Demi Moore version (where they gave this bleak story a happy ending!!!). So, even with an odd reworking and an incomplete ending (the film stopped at the death of the minister--whereas the book continued beyond this), it's about as good as you may find. Now there COULD be a better version out there and I'd love to hear any suggestions about a more definitive version (if it's available).
By the way, although the print looks great, at about the one hour mark it really deteriorated. Instead of the clear and near-perfect print, it was very washed out for about five minutes--like they forgot to restore this portion. Bear with it--it does improve...a bit.