Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henrietta, but feels stifled by the domestic tyranny of her wealthy widowed father. When she meets fellow poet Robert Browning in a romantic first encounter, her heart belongs to him. However, her controlling father has no intention of allowing her out of his sight.
Acting
Laughton's tyrant dad: terrifyingly soft-spoken, absolutely unhinged.
Production
Lavish MGM sets make emotional suffocation look gorgeous.
Writing
The actual Brownings' letters turned into swoon-worthy dialogue.
Director
Sidney Franklin
Norma Shearer
Elizabeth Barrett
Fredric March
Robert Browning
Charles Laughton
Edward Moulton-Barrett
Maureen O'Sullivan
Henrietta Barrett
Katharine Alexander
Arabel Barrett
Ralph Forbes
Captain Surtees Cook
Ian Wolfe
Harry Bevan
Marion Clayton Anderson
Bella Hedley
Leo G. Carroll
Dr. Ford-Waterlow
Ferdinand Munier
Dr. Chambers
Una O'Connor
Wilson
Vernon Downing
Octavius Barrett
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
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