Publisher's Synopsis
Based on the play by Lillian Hellman, which in its time was considered controversial owing to its implicit theme of lesbianism, this film is a second attempt by the director William Wyler to tackle Hellman's screenplay: his first attempt, 'These Three', had to be sanitised to comply with the Hays Code in place at the time. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine play two young women who are realising their dream of running a private girls' school when one of the girls causes a scandal by vindictively spreading a rumour that the two women are having a lesbian relationship. As the gossip spreads, the future of the school is brought into question, and Karen (Hepburn) faces losing her fianceé, a handsome doctor (James Garner). Martha (Maclaine) is also forced to rethink her future and face up to some difficult personal truths.
