Tea and Sympathy

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

A new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife.

Play trailer2:53

1 Video

51 Photos

Drama

A new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roomm... Read allA new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife.A new senior at a boy's prep school, finds himself harassed by the machismo culture of his classmates and the unfeelingly behavior by his father, only being treated with decency by his roommate and with affection by the coach's wife.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:53

Trailer

Photos51

+ 46

More like this

7.4

Home from the Hill

7.0

Mrs. Parkington

7.2

The Chalk Garden

7.3

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

6.7

6.5

6.7

7.2

6.0

Take the High Ground!

6.3

The Cobweb

8.0

A Patch of Blue

7.1

Vacation from Marriage

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
This film was adapted from a Broadway play that originally starred Deborah Kerr, John Kerr and Leif Erickson, who recreate their stage roles in this film. Also in the Broadway cast in supporting roles were Alan Sues (who later appeared on TV's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)) and Dick York (the first actor who played Darrin on TV's Bewitched (1964) starring Elizabeth Montgomery). Joan Fontaine and Anthony Perkins also later appeared in the stage version of "Tea and Sympathy" as cast replacements during its long run. The stage production opened on Sept. 30, 1953 at the Ethel Barrymoore Theatre and ran for 712 performances.

Goofs
While Tom Lee (Class of 1946) is still in school, Laura Reynolds drives a 1950 Dodge.

Quotes
Laura Reynolds: Manliness is not all swagger and mountain climbing. It's also tenderness and gentleness and consideration.

Connections
Featured in Homo Promo (1991)

Soundtracks
The Joys of Love
(Plaisir d'Amour)
Music by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini
French lyrics by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian
English lyrics by Richard Dyer-Bennett
Performed by John Kerr (dubbed by Gene Merlino)

User reviews62

Review

Featured review

8/10

Kudos to Deborah Kerr for a marvelous performance.

Conformity is a drag, especially when it's imposed on someone. That is the theme of this movie. It's no joke being the target of a smear campaign, especially when the smearing is groundless. Overall, this is a good movie. John Kerr and Deborah Kerr give excellent performances as two persons who discover that they have a lot in common. Metaphors abound in this movie; characters take on sociological meaning. The movie is both subtle and powerful. The movie portrays the kind of repressiveness that can literally drive one to despair. Of course, being based a stage play, the movie itself is also stagy. Nevertheless, the actors succeed in bringing the story to life. Although the story revolves around the relationship between a married woman and a young teenage boy in a boarding school, it is more about the woman and less about the boy who is an instrument through which the woman gets in touch with her own feelings. The movie deals with this storyline in a forthright manner and for that reason alone this movie is worth watching. Kudos to Deborah Kerr for a marvelous performance.