Which writer co-wrote the 1940 Pride and Prejudice screenplay with Jane Murfin?

Aldous Huxley co-wrote the 1940 Pride and Prejudice screenplay with Jane Murfin.

The screenplay was written for MGM’s 1940 film adaptation, directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet and Laurence Olivier as Mr Darcy. Huxley and Murfin were credited with the screenplay, while Helen Jerome received credit for the earlier stage dramatization on which the film also drew.

Huxley may seem an unexpected name in a romantic comedy, because he is best known for novels such as Brave New World and for essays on society, science, and culture. His involvement illustrates how major literary adaptations often brought together writers from very different backgrounds. Jane Murfin, meanwhile, was an experienced screenwriter and playwright whose credits included other Hollywood productions.

The film does not reproduce Austen’s novel in every detail. Hollywood altered aspects of the period setting, costumes, tone, and presentation, giving the production a more stylized version of Regency England. Nevertheless, its central story remains Austen’s: Elizabeth and Darcy must overcome pride, prejudice, social pressure, and mistaken judgments before they can marry.

The film was released in the United States on 26 July 1940 and became one of the best-known early screen adaptations of Austen’s novel.