March 26 - The Scarlet Letter

Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene on March 26. I hope you will enjoy this film and watch it tonight.   

THE SCARLET LETTER          

Nathaniel Hawthorne tells how he found some documents at the Boston Custom House and used them as the basis for the story that follows. In 1642 Boston Hester Prynne is brought out of jail with her infant daughter, Pearl to be publicly berated for having committed adultery. She must also wear the red letter “A” on her dress. She spots her husband who she thought to be dead in the crowd watching her. Hester refuses to name Pearl’s father and her partner in adultery. Her husband calling himself, Roger Chillingworth says that Hester’s lover should also be punished and vows to himself to find the man. Chillingworth, claim to be an herb doctor visits Hester in prison and is angered when she refuses to name the man. He forces her to agree to never reveal he is her husband or else he will destroy her lover. After her release from jail, Hester lives alone with her child and works as a seamstress. Her daughter Pearl is fascinated by the “A” her mother wears and grows up to be a mischievous and wild child. Community leaders plan to take Pearl from her, but listen to a plea by Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale to leave Pearl with her mother.  Dimmesdale’s health begins to fail and Chillingworth moves in with him to treat him. However Chillingworth applies psychological pressure on Dimmesdale as he has begun to suspect he was Hester’s lover and one night learns the truth. On March 26, 1649 [40:20 to 51:48, Pt 2] the night Governor Winthrop dies, Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold where Hester was humiliated all those years ago. He confesses to Hester and Pearl that he is Hester’s lover and they see a meteor make a red “A” in the sky. Chillingworth comes along and Hester tries to persuade him to give up his planned vengeance. Later Hester tells Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband and persuades Dimmesdale to sail to Europe in secret.  Then she learns Chillingworth is sail on the same ship. On Election Day, Dimmesdale gives his most inspired sermon and then climbs to the scaffold and publicly confesses he was Hester’s lover. He dies in her arms. When Chillingworth dies soon thereafter he leaves his money to Pearl, which Hester and she use to sail to Europe. Hester returns to Boston years later and ministers to afflicted women. Later she is buried beside Dimmesdale with a single marker that just has an “A”.
   

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Houghton Mifflin Co., NY) at page 182 and the film at 46:36 Part 2 identify this scene as occurring on the day that Governor John Winthrop died, which was on this date. 

Producers - Rick Hauser and Herbert Hirschman

Director - Rick Hauser

Screenplay - Allan Knee and Alvin Sapinsley

Runtime - 4 hours

Released  - March 3, 1979

Starring –

Josef Sommer as Nathaniel Hawthorne

Meg Foster as Hester Prynne

Elisa Erali as Pearl Prynne

John Heard as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale

Kevin Conway as Roger Chillingworth    

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.