Major Barbara

Major Barbara is my favorite Bernard Shaw play, which makes the 1941 film version's mediocrity that much more disappointing. Despite Shaw taking a hand in the adaptation, a fine David Lean cutting job and the always-wonderful Wendy Hiller in the lead, the resulting film is weak and unsatisfying.

Scholar and activist Adolphus Cusins (Rex Harrison) is smitten with Major Barbara Undershaft (Wendy Hiller), a young Salvation Army worker. The two engage to be married, but Adolphus learns that Barbara is the daughter of Andrew Undershaft (Robert Morley), an infamous arms merchant. Undershaft visits Barbara's shelter, impressed with her sincerity towards her patients, then offers to buy the cash-poor Salvation Army. Much to Barbara's horror, the Army accepts her father's offer. She is even more horrified when Andrew taps Adolphus as his putative heir, though Adolphus hopes to use the company for good rather than Undershaft's evil.

1938's Pygmalion is a wonderfully economical film: it trimmed the fat of the Shaw's play, making it suitably cinematic without losing its message or strength. Major Barbara is the polar opposite: its 121 minutes feel a lot longer, with a stilted pace and endless dialogue scenes resulting in a painfully draggy film. Gabriel Pascal's boring direction does it no favors; aside from some lively montages towards the end, there's nothing remotely cinematic here.

The play is a sharp socialist satire of England, and some of that comes across. Undershaft is a wholly unscrupulous man, unconcerned with the destruction wrought by his wares and relishing his role as Britain's unofficial policy maker. The Salvation Army is naive, helpful but unworldy, and betrays its principles by selling out to its supposed enemies. Shaw also critiques lay-abouts and thugs like Bill Walker (Robert Newton) who take advantage of the Army's naive charity. Few people come off looking good here, with the idealistic Barbara completely at sea, and Cusins ultimately absorbed by the system.

However, the film errs in watering down the drama. Undershaft is a wonderfully amoral, devious character in the play, the very embodiment of ruthless capitalism. In the film, however, he is a charming, doddering old man in a disreputable profession. Whether the fault of Shaw, Pascal or Robert Morley, this interpretation is all wrong, removing most of the story's dramatic force. A montage at the munitions factory perversely reinforces the righteousness of Undershaft's endeavors. The denoument where Cusins and Undershaft negotiate terms seems bland rather than dramatic, and the happy ending an afterthought rather than a triumph. This leads to a garbled message completely at odds with the play's cynicism and modestly-hopeful conclusion.

Wendy Hiller is a Groggy favorite, and she's near-perfect here: strong, forceful and beautiful, she carries the film through sheer will. In contrast, Robert Morley is close to bad; he's a fine actor but his interpretation of Undershaft is all wrong. Rex Harrison is fine, although I'm starting to wonder if he had much range beyond the snarky professor role (cf. My Fair Lady, Blithe Spirit). David Tree hilariously revives his gormless idiot schtick from Pygmalion, and it's not remotely tiresome. Deborah Kerr (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp) and Stanley Holloway (Brief Encounter) have small but noticeable roles.

Major Barbara is a huge disappointment. The source material is excellent, but nothing is done to make it work as a film. I would rather see an actual theatrical performance than a boring "filmed play."