March Special Subject – Henry James Book Club – THE HEIRESS (1949) & THE INNOCENTS (1961) + reading Washington Square (1880) and The Turn of the Screw (1898)

In this Book Club edition of the podcast, we finally have a chance to explore the work of Friend of the Pod Henry James. We look at James's short novel Washington Square (1880) and long short story "The Turn of the Screw" (1898), and two of their adaptations, The Heiress (1949, directed by William Wyler) and The Innocents (1961, directed by Jack Clayton). We focus on the arcs of the heroines in the two works and the very different directions in which the adaptations take them, as well as the acting opportunities they present for Olivia de Havilland and Deborah Kerr. We also praise the performances of Ralph Richardson as Austin Sloper and Martin Stephens as Miles, two very tricky, eminently Jamesian roles. But is Henry James unadaptable? We give our verdict.  Time Codes: 0h 01m 00s:    Henry James: Quantum Romancer 0h 09m 30s:    Washington Square & THE HEIRESS (1949) [dir. William Wyler] 0h 43m 38s:    The Turn of the Screw & THE INNOCENTS (1961) [dir. Jack Clayton] +++ * Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s * Intro Song: "Sunday" by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive) * Read Elise's latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating. * Check out Dave's new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist's 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!  Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at [email protected]