The Children's Hour (1961)
William Wyler's second film adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play.
A deceptively simple premise (malicious small-town boarding-school pupil accuses the two teachers who own and run the school, of lesbianism) becomes an absolutely cracking film, which, rather like Brokeback Mountain, is not so much about homosexuality as it is about class, prejudice, hypocrisy and a whole host of "stuff".
For an adaptation of a play which is mostly "people talking in rooms", it is remarkably cinematic (it did receive an Oscar nomination for its cinematography.
It is by nature melodramatic at times, but it's great melodrama giving the entire ensemble cast a chance to really shine. It's the best work I've ever seen from Hepburn and Maclaine, and even James Garner's wooden acting style works to everyone's benefit here. It's also fairly unpredictable - you can't really tell where it's going next....in a really good way.
9/10