Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 American romance film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome, in addition to Jane Austen's novel.
The story is about five sisters from an English family of landed gentry who must deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions.
The film was released on July 26, 1940 in the United States by MGM and was critically well received. The New York Times film critic praised the film as "the most deliciously pert comedy of old manners, the most crisp and crackling satire in costume that we in this corner can remember ever having seen on the screen."
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Plot
Mrs. Bennet and her two eldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, are shopping for new dresses when they notice two gentlemen and a lady arriving outside, exiting from a very expensive carriage. They learn that the men are Mr. Bingley, who has just rented the local estate of Netherfield, and Mr. Darcy, both wealthy eligible bachelors, which excites Mrs. Bennet's interest. Collecting her other daughters, Mrs. Bennet returns home, where she tries to convince Mr. Bennet to visit Mr. Bingley, but he declines, explaining to her minutes later that he has already made his acquaintance.
