Major Barbara

Major Barbara is a 1941 British film starring Wendy Hiller and Rex Harrison. The film was produced and directed by Gabriel Pascal and edited by David Lean. It was adapted for the screen by Marjorie Deans and Anatole de Grunwald, based on the 1905 stage play Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw. It was both a critical and a financial success. Plot In this social satire, Barbara Undershaft (Hiller), an idealistic major in the Salvation Army, is deeply troubled by the fact that her father, Andrew Undershaft (Robert Morley), is a wealthy weapons manufacturer. Meanwhile, Andrew is looking for an heir for his industrial empire, in particular a foundling like himself. Cast Wendy Hiller as Major Barbara Undershaft Rex Harrison as Adolphus Cusins Robert Morley as Andrew Undershaft Robert Newton as Bill Walker Sybil Thorndike as The General Emlyn Williams as Snobby Price Miles Malleson as Morrison, the butler Donald Calthrop as Peter Shirley (died during filming) Marie Lohr as Lady Britomart Stanley Holloway as a Policeman Marie Ault as Rummy Mitchens Penelope Dudley-Ward as Sarah Undershaft Walter Hudd as Stephen Undershaft David Tree as Charles Lomax Deborah Kerr as Jenny Hill Torin Thatcher as Todger Fairmile Felix Aylmer as James Kathleen Harrison as Mrs. Price Edward Rigby as Man on Quayside Production Major Barbara was filmed in London during The Blitz bombing of 1940. During air raids, the crew and cast repeatedly had to dodge into bomb shelters. The film's producer-director, Pascal, never stopped the production and the film was completed on schedule.