It is 171 years since the death of novelist and poet Charlotte Brontë. She wrote The Professor, Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette. Jane Eyre is her most enduring novel, with numerous adaptations over the years.
Here’s a quick run-down of the ones I have seen, and which are the most widely available. There are many others, including a handful of silent films that have reportedly survived.
Sound films I have seen
- 1934: Jane Eyre, starring Virginia Bruce and Colin Clive
- My view: “manages to change the Bronte novel to such a degree that after the first ten minutes I had to stop laughing, forget about the book, and enjoy the film for what it is – essentially a film using characters from Jane Eyre.”
- Star rating: Jane **; Rochester **.
- 1943: I Walked with a Zombie, a horror movie loosely based on Jane Eyre, starring Frances Dee and Tom Conway
- Director Jacques Tourneur: “One day I said to Val Lewton: ‘I have an idea. We are going to take Jane Eyre and we’re going to do a remake of it without telling anyone, simply by radically changing the setting’. And that is how I Walked with a Zombie came about. In fact, it is Jane Eyre.”
- Star rating: “Jane” ***, “Rochester” **.
- 1943: Jane Eyre, starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles
- Fontaine: “I was bewildered and upset when people said I was too pretty to play a plain governess.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ****.
- 1952: Sangdil (also known as Jane Eyre), an Indian Hindi-language version, starring Madhubala and Dilip Kumar
- Conversations Over Chai on Madhubala: “plays Jane with an innocence and vulnerability that makes her extremely appealing,”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***.5
- 1968: Bedi Bandavalu, an Indian Kannada-language film adaptation starring Chandrakala and Kalyan Kumar
- Chandrakala’s performance is cited as one of the definitive portrayals of the character in South Indian cinema
- Star rating: Jane ***.5, Rochester ***
- 1970: Jane Eyre, starring Susannah York and George C. Scott
- “Susannah York brings a quiet intelligence to Jane, though the production itself limits the emotional depth of her performance.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ****.5
- 1996: Jane Eyre, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt
- “Jane has a strength to her that is very appealing to play. She puts up a defensive barrier to other people because of the terrible disappointments of her childhood.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***
- 2011: Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender
- Wasikowska: “Jane Eyre is timeless in her relevance – and her resilience. Instead of letting her situation grind her down or becoming damaged, she becomes a stronger person.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ****
Television
- 1949: Studio One in Hollywood – Jane Eyre, with Mary Sinclair and Charlton Heston
- IMDb review: “Heston comes off better than the actress playing Jane, who makes the woman far more passive and cheerful than the original book’s quiet rebel.”
- Star rating: Jane **.5, Rochester ***
- 1952: Studio One in Hollywood – Jane Eyre, with Katharine Bard and Kevin McCarthy
- My view: “Katharine Bard grows into the role and portrays the hidden passions within the plain governess.”
- Star rating: Jane ***.5, Rochester **.5
- 1956: Jane Eyre, a BBC series starring Daphne Slater and Stanley Baker
- My view: “a satisfying version which raises some smiles and gives a touching ending.”
- Star rating: Jane ****.5, Rochester ****
- 1957: Jane Eyre, an NBC Matinee Theatre production starring Joan Elan and Patrick Macnee
- My view: “A weird interpretation with a drunken, lecherous Rochester and a Jane who is only a hair breadth away from the piety of St John Rivers”
- Star rating: Jane ***, Rochester **
- 1957: Jane Eyre, an Italian television miniseries starring Ilaria Occhini and Raf Vallone
- Lit Lovers and Corset Laces: “Ilaria Occhini gives a sensitive and restrained interpretation of Jane, in keeping with the intimate, theatrical style of early Italian television drama.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***.5
- 1961: Jane Eyre, a TV movie, starring Sally Ann Howes and Zachary Scott
- The Eyre Guide: I don’t think Sally was the perfect Jane – there was still somewhat of a too submissive quality to her portrayal, but I think she did a creditable job and I enjoyed the touch of asperity she brought to the character.
- Star rating: Jane ***, Rochester **.
- 1963: Jane Eyre, a BBC series starring Ann Bell and Richard Leech
- This series was partially lost, but the remaining 2 episodes have now been discovered
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***.5
- 1971: Jane Eyre, part of Novela (TVE, Spain), starring María Luisa Merlo and Rafael Arcos
- The Eyre Guide: “a unique, charming and thought-provoking adaptation to watch”.
- Star rating: Jane ***.5, Rochester ***
- 1972: Jana Eyrová, produced by Czechoslovak television, starring Marta Vančurová and Jan Kačer
- Lit Lovers and Corset Laces: “Marta Vancurová is a mystical Jane who captivates Jan Kacer’s melancholy Rochester, and their scenes together are hypnotic.”
- Srae rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***.5
- 1973: Jane Eyre, a BBC series starring Sorcha Cusack and Michael Jayston
- Cusack: “Jane Eyre was my first TV job and… I felt I was rather hopeless… my performance was flat.”
- Star rating: Jane *****, Rochester *****
- 1983: Jane Eyre, a BBC series starring Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton
- Clarke: “Jane Eyre is the ultimate poisoned chalice. Everyone remembers the Rochesters, but no one recalls the Janes.”
- Star rating: Jane *****, Rochester *****
- 1997: Jane Eyre, an ITV film starring Samantha Morton and Ciarán Hinds
- Morton: “I really admire people… who are honest and good. I love this person.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester *
- 2006: Jane Eyre, a BBC series starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens
- Wilson: “She’s not a passive heroine… she’s very strong and knows her own mind.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ****
Stage
- 2015: National Theatre Live: Jane Eyre, starring Madeleine Worrall and Felix Hayes
- Guardian: “Madeleine Worrall’s terrific, fervent Jane is no pinched little waif. She is sturdy and strong-minded.”
- Star rating: Jane *****, Rochester ***.5
- 2019: Blackeyed Theatre: Jane Eyre, starring Kelsey Short and Ben Warwick
- “Passionate, forthright and utterly believable, Kelsey Short might be the best Jane I’ve seen.” [The Stage].
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***.5
- 2024: Theatre Raleigh: Jane Eyre the Musical, by Paul Gordon, starring Julie Benko and Matt Bogart
- Broadway World: “Benko is absolutely sublime as Jane Eyre.”
- Star rating: Jane ****, Rochester ***
- 2026: Southwark Playhouse Elephant: Jane Eyre The Musical, by Paul Gordon. Upcoming production.