A Doll’s House *** (1973, Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Anna Massey, Edith Evans) – Classic Movie Review 8437

Director Patrick Garland’s 1973 A Doll’s House was made hurriedly and released in Britain before Joseph Losey’s simultaneously made Jane Fonda version of A Doll’s House.

It is a showcase for Claire Bloom, who re-creates her 1971 A Doll’s House stage triumph from both London’s West End and Broadway as Henrik Ibsen’s famous feminist heroine Nora Helmer, who is forced to rebel against her stifled life and bossy husband, in this stagey but satisfying film version of the play. Bloom’s heart-touching performance ensures that the famous ending is very moving indeed.

There are also fine performances from Anthony Hopkins as Bloom’s authoritarian husband Torvald, Ralph Richardson as Dr Rank, Denholm Elliott as Krogstad and Anna Massey as Kristine Linde, while Evans has a cameo as the nurse, Anne-Marie. Also in the cast are Kimberley Hampton, Daphne Riggs, Mark Summerfield and Stefanie Summerfield.

‘Ibsen’s classic tale of a woman trapped in a man’s world’ was filmed at EMI Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK.

Producer Hillard Elkins was then Bloom’s husband (14 August 1969 – 30 September 1976, divorced). Bloom has one daughter, opera singer Anna Steiger, by her first husband, Rod Steiger. Her second book Leaving a Doll’s House: A Memoir was published in 1996, upsetting her third husband Philip Roth. She won rave reviews for her performance as  Nora in A Doll’s House on Broadway.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8437

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