Customer Reviews
Excessively Diverting! - By: fineeyes, 09 Nov 2007 
I hadn't seen this film since I was a child, & didn't have the highest expectations having heard throughly mixed comments surrounding it. I can honestly say that it was an absolutely lovely surprise. No, it isn't completely faithful to the novel, but neither is any other adaptation (not even the much loved 1995 version- I don't remember any scene in the novel where Darcy takes a bath or a dip in the lake), & it's true that the costumes are far more Civil War than English Regency, but this is one of the rare examples in which it doesn't reallly matter because it's just so charmingly done.
Greer Garson is simply magnificent as Elizabeth Bennet- poised, intelligent, gracious & witty & is excellently matched by Laurence Olivier's Darcy. These two prove that you don't need a wet shirt to create sizzling chemistry. The supporting cast is excellent, particularly a brilliant performance by Mary Boland as Mrs Bennet, who perfectly embodies the character's comedy & desperation without descending into caricature. Maureen O'Sullivan is a charming Jane, Edmund Gwynne a most sympathetic Mr Bennet, & Marsha Hunt is great fun as the bluestocking sister Mary.
This will probably never be my definitive P&P, but there's still so much in it to enjoy & I think it captures the gentle humour of the novel perfectly. Enjoy it for what it is, rather than what it isn't.
Not faithful but delightful! - By: Lili_K, 21 Nov 2005 This adaptation of Jane Austen's novel P&P is definitely not faithful to the original plot. Still I cannot help, but be surprised at the disappointment some of the fellow reviewers expressed over this fact. They seem to have forgotten what film making was in 1940. I am not an expert on the history of film industry, but I am well aware - as opposed to some other reviewers - that it was definitely NOT about staying truthful to the original book when adapting it on film. As a result, it did not come as a shock for me when I saw it for the first time. On the contrary: I simply accepted that this was the way it used to be & then nothing could stop me from enjoying the film immensely.
I think that the Greer Garson - Laurence Olivier duo as Elizabeth & Darcy was fantastic. Garson was original & spirited & Olivier was attractive & aloof at the same time. The chemistry between them worked just fine. So did the chemistry between Jane & Mr Bingley, excellently characterized by Maureen O'Sullivan & Bruce Lester.
Mary Boland was delightful as Mrs Bennet & Edna May Oliver great as Lady Catherine, it was not her fault that she was given a very different character to play (yes on this point I have to say that her pretending to be formidable while she is good at heart was a bit far-fetched). Frieda Inescort was a deliciously snooty Caroline Bingley.
OK, so the costumes seem like they were borrowed from "Gone with the wind", still, it couldn't destroy the delightful, light atmosphere of the film as a whole. It is a delightful comedy of manners & thus one should treat it as such.
It's just alot of fun - By: , 08 Oct 2004 
I know this reallly is a bad adaptation of Pride & Prejudice if you feel you have to be faithfull to the book,but taking that into account they made it reallly a lot of fun!! Olivier is fantastic whatever you do!!Even if you're a maniac about the book (which by the way I am) you have to enjoy this version
A true disappointment - By: , 24 Feb 2004 
Though I like Greer Garson very much indeed, this version of Pride & Prejudice is a total dsappoinment. It is not true to the story & neither the characters & there were definately gaps & the womans' costumn is definately wrong. I do not recommend this movie unless you are a Greer Garson fan.
an old favourite - By: , 19 Oct 2003 i haven't seen this film in about five years, but i can still conjure up any scene i choose, due to the fact that i have probably watched it about 50 times whilst growing up.
it is a comedy of manners, with beautifully polite insults; delightful charicatures of the foolish, charming, bumbling, aristocratic & intellectual surround the main believable characters of elizabeth & darcy.
although not historicallly accurate, & although some liberties have been taken in adapting the book, it is perfect sunday afternoon, just after a big dinner, raining outside, next to a fireplace viewing
