The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

88% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(4,496 ratings)

Based on the novel by Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie stars Maggie Smith in the title role. Smith won an Academy Award for her delicately textured portrayal of an eccentric teacher at an exclusive Scottish girl's school. Miss Jean exhorts her "gels" to follow their hearts and never lose… More Based on the novel by Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie stars Maggie Smith in the title role. Smith won an Academy Award for her delicately textured portrayal of an eccentric teacher at an exclusive Scottish girl's school. Miss Jean exhorts her "gels" to follow their hearts and never lose their youthful idealism. Unfortunately for her, she also stumps for her favorite political figures: Mussolini and Franco. In addition, she can't keep the innermost details of her private life a secret, and in fact boasts about her sex life to her students. Her prize pupil (Pamela Franklin) becomes so much a clone of Miss Jean that she ends up a threat to the teacher. Ultimately, Miss Jean loses her position, but not the hearts of her students. The box-office success of Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was due in great part to the popularity of the title song, as recorded by Rod McKuen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Ronald Neame
Written By: Jay Presson Allen, Muriel Spark
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Mar 2, 1969 Wide
On DVD: Jul 6, 2004

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Maggie Smith's tour-de-force performance as a school-teacher slipping into spinsterhood is one of several notable achievements in this sentimental and macabre personal tragedy.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Maggie Smith in one of those technically stunning, emotionally distant performances that the British are so damn good at.
Jason Best, Movie Talk
As is so often the case, you can't help thinking that Oscar voters are easily impressed. Watching the film today, Maggie Smith's flamboyant acting looks awfully hammy,
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Maggie Smith deservedly won the 1969 Best Actress Oscar for playing a charismatic, authoritarian teacher in a Scottish girls school in the early 1930s.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Maggie Smith is handed a part in the eccentric, trite, purposeful and finally pathetic Jean Brodie which allows her to play to all her considerable strengths.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...stripped of [star Maggie Smith's] presence, there's no doubt that the film would be a complete bore.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Smith is excellent -- and won an Oscar for the role -- helping to elevate the film above what can often be a somewhat stuffy character study.
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Some memorable performances don't quite make Jean Brodie feel like real cinema.

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jim H

A tyrannical but occasionally charming teacher indoctrinates her students at a boarding school. This is a profoundly interesting film. The educator initially appears to be of the "nurturing love" variety, but as we get to know Jean Brodie, we realize that her support of… More
A tyrannical but occasionally charming teacher indoctrinates her students at a boarding school. This is a profoundly interesting film. The educator initially appears to be of the "nurturing love" variety, but as we get to know Jean Brodie, we realize that her support of Mussolini and Franco isn't just the absent mutterings of a naive teacher but the cornerstone of her pedagogy. As my colleague explained, after we watch films like Dead Poets Society we think, "If only those stuffy administrators would leave geniuses alone to genius-ify their students ..." But after we watch films like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, we think, "For God's sake, don't leave teachers alone with students." Maggie Smith's almost irresistible charm makes our introduction to Brodie smooth, but her phenomenal characterization make Brodie more interesting, more tragic, and more frightening as we get to know her. If ever there was a performance that deserved an Oscar, this is it. The supporting performance by Pamela Franklin as Brodie's one disloyal charge is also excellent, but the supporting work by the male actors leaves something to be desired as they are often stale cliches. Overall, this is a must-see in the genre of educator films, and Maggie Smith makes it quite an enjoyable time.
Lanning :

It's been many years since I've seen this movie starring Dame Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for Best Actress in the titular role. I'm reminded once again of how powerful an acting force she is, how amazingly all encompassing and robust she is in delivery, in… More
It's been many years since I've seen this movie starring Dame Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for Best Actress in the titular role. I'm reminded once again of how powerful an acting force she is, how amazingly all encompassing and robust she is in delivery, in expression, in gesture. A consummate acting professional is every sense. If you only know Smith from her more recent supporting work in the Harry Potter series, you must seek out some of her earlier work to understand just how stunning a screen presence she is. Here, as the aging, unwed teacher, shaping her students according to her passionately insular mindset, Smith is staggering in her determined, although blinded, pursuit of "true" education. When her high-minded yet sadly naive and idiosyncratic curricular bent leads to a student's unfortunate death, she must face the truth of her shortcomings in a world far more dangerous than she could ever bring herself to realize. Offbeat and perhaps harmful though her life lessons may be, you cannot help but admire Miss Brodie's iron-willed dedication to teaching them, her absolute conviction of the necessity of peculiarly shaping young, susceptible minds, hearts, and spirits. Maggie Smith is a living treasure who must be cherished for every appearance she makes on screen.
Mark H

Astonishing performance from Maggie Smith highlights this somewhat stuffy character study about a forward thinking schoolteacher who refuses to follow the school's curriculum. Miss Jean Brodie's liberated views of love, politics and art are too much for a conservative… More
Astonishing performance from Maggie Smith highlights this somewhat stuffy character study about a forward thinking schoolteacher who refuses to follow the school's curriculum. Miss Jean Brodie's liberated views of love, politics and art are too much for a conservative girls' school in 1930s Scotland. Maggie Smith's tour de force performance deservedly won an Oscar for the title role, however actress Pamela Franklin is also memorable as Sandy, the student who becomes her biggest threat.
Daniel P

A classic of character development - the four girls in this film are outstanding, and so is Robert Stephens. I just wonder how many times Joan Cusack watched this film preparing for School of Rock - Celia Johnson invented the headmistress archetype as we know it.
Dimitris S

Funny till you can't stop yelling!No,honestly.Smith tactically reserves the best for the class moments,it's such a sardonic humorous entity,the dramatic influence of this film overshadows the brisk tone.By Jove,Smith IS the film,Neame would have plunged on the depths of… More
Funny till you can't stop yelling!No,honestly.Smith tactically reserves the best for the class moments,it's such a sardonic humorous entity,the dramatic influence of this film overshadows the brisk tone.By Jove,Smith IS the film,Neame would have plunged on the depths of mediocrity if it weren't for the totalitarian and all the more satanic smiles of Maggie Smith.
Sunil J

Excellent. Maggie Smith totally earned her Oscar for this.
David S

A brilliant performance from Maggie Smith makes this a 'must' actors film. A shame she's been stuck with boring eccentric characters since on screen. This is far removed from Harry Potter (although they share the same accent)!