The Children's Hour

The Children's Hour (released as The Loudest Whisper in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) is a 1961 American drama tragedy film produced and directed by William Wyler from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the 1934 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman. The film stars Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner, with Miriam Hopkins, Fay Bainter (in her final film role), and Karen Balkin. In the film, two women open their own boarding school for girls. A female student overhears an argument about an "unnatural" relationship between the two partners, and then starts spreading tales about the duo being lesbian lovers. The women's reputation is consequently ruined by the slander.