TV Review: Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter (1980)

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter (1980) directed by Dezso Magyar

As part of The American Short Story series that aired on PBS in the 1970s and 1980, this production of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale gives a faithful adaptation to the story of doomed love. Young student Giovanni (Kristoffer Tabori) moves to Padua to study literature at the university. He rents a room that overlooks the idyllic garden of Senor Rappaccini, a botanist who used to teach at the university but now does his research at home. He's helped by his daughter Beatrice (Kathleen Beller), who tends all the flowers and plants in the garden, including the ones that the old Rappaccini is too sensitive to attend to. Giovanni catches her eye and she catches his. They start meeting when they think Rappaccini is not aware. Giovanni also meets a professor who is a friend of his father's and a rival of Rappaccini's. The friend wants to help Giovanni unravel the mystery of Beatrice (like why she's never left the house in her whole life) and maybe something more.

The production makes good use of a seemingly limited budget. The story doesn't have too many locations, mostly the garden and Giovanni's room, but uses them well and has some interesting camera work. The performers are okay, with Beller capturing the young innocent beauty of Beatrice quite well though her delivery of lines is a little flat at times. Giovanni has too many voice overs that communicate what's clearly on screen. Maybe they were trying to get more of Hawthorne's words into the script. The tragic ending is touching as ever.

Slightly recommended.

I watched this on Hoopla, a streaming service available through my local library. Maybe your library has it too?

The short story was discussed on A Good Story is Hard to Find #194 (along with Young Goodman Brown, another classic Hawthorne short).