Major Barbara (1941)

100% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(102 ratings)

George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy about wealth and poverty is brought to the screen with wonderful performances by Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller. Hiller plays Major Barbara Undershaft, a major in the Salvation Army who is also a socialist and stridently attacks capitalists -- in particular her… More George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy about wealth and poverty is brought to the screen with wonderful performances by Rex Harrison and Wendy Hiller. Hiller plays Major Barbara Undershaft, a major in the Salvation Army who is also a socialist and stridently attacks capitalists -- in particular her father Andrew (Robert Morley), the head of a munitions plant. In love with Barbara is the young Greek scholar Adolphus Cusins (Rex Harrison), whose attentions go unreturned since Barbara spends all her time on her crusade against wealth. To show up his daughter, Andrew donates 50,000 pounds to the Salvation Army which, to Barbara's horror, the Army's general (Sybil Thorndike) happily accepts. Barbara, in protest, quits her post and it is left to Adolphus to take her on a tour of her father's munitions plant and prove to her the benefits of capitalism. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Gabriel Pascal (I), Gabriel Pascal
Written By: George Bernard Shaw, Anatole de Grunwald
Genres: Drama, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1941 Wide
On DVD: Feb 23, 2010
Studio: Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Good intro to corporate social responsibility.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
... preserves the social debate and witty dialogue of the play and succeeds on the personality brought to the screen by a top-notch cast.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Uma fascinante discussão sobre moralidade, religião (no sentido de redenção pessoal) e sacrifícios ideológicos em prol de princípios maiores.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Splendid translation of Shaw's play.