Beverly Marsh | |
---|---|
It character | |
First appearance | It (1986 novel) |
Last appearance | It Chapter Two (2019 film) |
Created by | Stephen King |
Portrayed by | 1990 TV mini-series: Emily Perkins (young) Annette O'Toole (adult) 2017 film and 2019 sequel: Sophia Lillis (young) Jessica Chastain (adult) |
In-universe information | |
Nicknames |
|
Occupation | Fashion designer |
Family | Alvin Marsh (father) Elfrida Marsh (mother) |
Spouse | Tom Rogan (ex-husband) Ben Hanscom (husband; TV mini-series and 2019 film) |
Significant other | Bill Denbrough (kissed; childhood sweetheart) |
Home | Derry, Maine, United States Chicago, Illinois, United States |
Beverly "Bev" Marsh is a fictional character created by Stephen King [1] and one of the main characters of his 1986 horror novel It . The character is seen as a member of "The Losers Club" and a romantic interest of fellow members Bill Denbrough and Ben Hanscom.
She is portrayed in the 1990 TV mini-series adaptation by Emily Perkins as the young version and Annette O'Toole as an adult. In the film adaptions of 2017 and the 2019 sequel, Sophia Lillis and Jessica Chastain portray Beverly Marsh as the younger and adult version, respectively. [2]
Beverly Marsh was born in 1947. She is the daughter of Alvin and Elfrida Marsh. Her mother's presence in her life differs among the three continuities.
Beverly is a classmate of Ben Hanscom, who harbors a secret crush on her. Ben writes her an anonymous love poem which states, "your hair is winter fire, January embers, my heart burns there too." Beverly is led to believe that the poem was written by Bill Denbrough, who grows up to be a professional writer.
Beverly eventually joins "The Losers Club" and befriends Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon and Stanley Uris. Beverly has her first encounter with Pennywise in her bathroom when she hears voices coming from her sink chanting "We All Float Down Here". A balloon-like construct begins growing from her sink and bursts, covering her bathroom with blood. Beverly's screams attract the attention of her father, who cannot see the blood. She confides in The Losers Club, who can all see the blood and help her clean the bathroom.
The Losers Club each approach Neibolt Street to destroy Pennywise once and for all. After the group finishes off the clown, they find themselves lost. After they escape the sewers, the Losers make an blood oath that if Pennywise hasn't been defeated, they will all return to Derry to finish him.
In her adulthood, due to the power of Pennywise and the town of Derry, Beverly forgets about The Losers Club and her childhood. She becomes a fashion designer and enters an abusive relationship with her husband, Tom Rogan. After she gets a call from Mike asking her to return to Derry, she stands up to Tom and finally leaves the relationship. She returns to Derry and reunites with The Losers Club. Beverly returns to her old home, now inhabited by an old woman named Mrs. Kersh, who informs her that her father has been deceased for five years. She apologises and begins to leave, only to be invited in by Mrs. Kersh for tea. However, Mrs. Kersh is revealed to be a form of Pennywise and Beverly escapes. She reunites with Ben, and shares a romantic encounter with him, but Ben realises that Beverly is another form of Pennywise. The Losers Club return to Neibolt Street to face Pennywise for the final time. Unfortunately, the confrontation results in Eddie's death, but the Losers are able to overcome and kill Pennywise. After the confrontation, Ben is finally able to confess his feelings for Beverly, and they begin a relationship. [3]
Beverly is portrayed in the 1990 TV mini-series by Emily Perkins as a child and Annette O'Toole as an adult. This interpretation remains fairly faithful to the novel. Perkins' portrayal of Beverly was met with a relatively positive reception, but O'Toole's portrayal was met with a more negative one. [4]
The portrayal of Beverly in the 2017 film and its 2019 sequel by Sophia Lillis as a child and Jessica Chastain as an adult were much more positively received. This interpretation shows Beverly as being the moral compass of The Losers Club and playing a key role in defeating Pennywise in both films. [5] [6]
In the novel Beverly was born in 1947, however in the TV mini-series she was born in 1948 and in film adaptions in 1976.
Her mother Elfrida is present in the novel, but she is mostly too preoccupied with her job to be much of a parent to Beverly; however, she does have concerns about her husband Alvin abusing her daughter, and even asked Beverly one time if her father has ever "touched" her.
In the TV mini-series, she is never seen or mentioned. A flashback in the 2019 film reveals that her mother has died when Beverly was young; her death is implied to have been suicide due to mental illness, possibly postpartum depression. Alvin blames Beverly for her mother's death, and abuses her physically and sexually throughout her childhood.
During production of the 2017 film, actress Chloë Grace Moretz was a frontrunner for the role of Beverly. However as the project remained in development hell, the actress eventually became too old to play the role of a child. Eventually, Moretz became attached to a different Stephen King adaptation in the role of Carrie White for the 2013 remake of Carrie . [7]
Beverly appears in a brief cameo in King's novel 11/22/63 . In the novel, she appears dancing with Richie Tozier preparing for a talent show a few months after fighting Pennywise. The two are approached by time-traveller Jake Epping, who enquires about the Dunning family. Afterwards he teaches the two how to dance properly. However, this meeting is erased by the end of the novel as Epping removes his mark on history. [8] Interestingly in the TV mini-series adaptation of '11/22/63' although the storyline in Derry and scenes with Beverly and Richie Tozier are omitted; Annette O'Toole (adult Beverly in the 1990 TV mini-series) appears as Edna Price - Jake Epping's landlady, in The Episode: "The Kill Floor", Set in Holden, Kentucky, which is a stand-in in-lieu of Derry, Maine.
The characterization of Beverly in King's novel has received acclaim from critics. Lillis was nominated for multiple awards for her portrayal of the character, including a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor, a MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance, and a Teen Choice Award for Breakout Movie Star. Lillis was also nominated for Breakthrough Artist by the San Diego Film Critics Society and for Best Youth Performance by Seattle Film Critics Society and by the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. The portrayal of adult Beverly by Annette O'Toole in the 1990 miniseries received more negative reception. [2] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
The scene in the novel where preteen Beverly has sex with the rest of the members of The Losers Club in the sewers of Derry after defeating Pennywise for the first time has become one of the more controversial in the novel. The scene was omitted from Andy Muschietti's film series as well as the 1990 miniseries. The scene was reportedly meant to take place in Cary Joji Fukunaga's original screenplay, but was removed once Muschietti became involved. [3] [18] [19] [20] [21] O'Toole has admitted to disliking the removal of the Losers' orgy scene in the miniseries: "This was their greatest attachment to one another – she thought they were all going to die, and this was a gift she was giving to each one of them, and I thought it was the most beautiful, generous love-filled gift, and it tied them all together in such an amazing way." [22]
Throughout the novel, Beverly is consistently abused by the men in her life. As a child, she is physically abused by her father, Alvin. As an adult, due to the repressed memories of Derry, she marries Tom Rogan, who is physically, sexually, and emotionally abusive towards her. The abuse Beverly faced at the hands of her father has been described as one of the more disturbing elements of the novel due to the realistic undertones. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]
As with Bill Denbrough, Beverly reflects the novel's themes of maturity and loss of innocence. While this is most blatantly noticeable in the controversial sexual encounters in the sewers, Beverly also faces maturity in different ways throughout the novel. Beverly is struggling with her budding womanhood, and is beginning to deal with different problems. This is more explicitly shown in the 2017 film adaptation, where Beverly attempts to purchase tampons from the local pharmacy. In this scene, Beverly first encounters Bill, Eddie and Stan. Beverly comes across the boys in an attempt to avoid Greta Bowie (re-named Greta Keene in this adaptation), to avoid further humiliation from her, as Keene had earlier dumped a bag of trash on Beverly and "slut-shamed" her. Beverly attempts to hide the products from the boys to save her from embarrassment, and later attempts to hide them from her abusive father, to no avail. After being asked by her father if she's "still his little girl", Beverly cuts her hair in her bathroom in an act of defiance. Beverly has to face more of the ideas of maturity than the other members of The Losers Club due to the abuse she faces at home, and the rumors of promiscuity that follow her at school. Beverly has to find her own way of maturing into womanhood, which has helped the character to stand out for many readers. [29] [30] [31]
It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was King's 22nd book and the 17th novel written under his own name. The story follows the experiences of seven children as they are terrorized by an evil entity that exploits the fears of its victims to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown to attract its preferred prey of young children.
Annette O'Toole is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in the television series Nash Bridges, adult Beverly Marsh in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It, Lana Lang in Superman III, Kathy in the romantic-comedy film Cross My Heart, and Martha Kent on the television series Smallville.
Derry is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Maine that has served as the setting for a number of Stephen King's novels, novellas, and short stories, notably It. Derry first appeared in King's 1981 short story "The Bird and the Album" and has reappeared as recently as his 2011 novel 11/22/63.
Tony Dakota is an American actor known for his roles as Clavo on the television series 21 Jump Street and Georgie Denbrough in the 1990 television mini-series version of Stephen King's epic horror novel It. He also had voice roles in the animated television series Captain N: The Game Master, and had minor roles in television series such as MacGyver. In 2019, Dakota reprised his role as Georgie Denbrough in the short fan film, titled Georgie, based on the It television mini-series.
Anthony Samuel Magistrale is a professor in English at the University of Vermont since 1983. He received a B.A. in 1974 from Allegheny College, and from the University of Pittsburgh an M.A. in 1976 and a PhD in 1981. He has written several books about Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe.
It also known as Pennywise, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is the titular antagonist in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel of the same name. The character is an ancient, shape-shifting, trans-dimensional evil entity who preys upon the children of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years, using a variety of powers that include the ability of shapeshifting and manipulation of reality. During the course of the story, It primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. "The Losers Club" becomes aware of Pennywise's presence after it kills Bill Denbrough's little brother, Georgie.
Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. He is known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Other horror appearances were the series Hemlock Grove (2013–2015) and Castle Rock (2018–2019) and the film Barbarian (2022).
Megan Charpentier is a Canadian actress, best known for her roles as the feral child Victoria in the horror film Mama (2013), as the Red Queen in Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and for her role as Gretta Keene in It (2017) and the sequel It Chapter Two (2019).
It is a 1990 ABC two-part psychological horror drama miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from Stephen King's 1986 novel of the same name. The story revolves around a predatory monster that can transform itself into its prey's worst fears to devour them, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims. It mostly takes the humanoid form of Pennywise, a demonic clown. The protagonists are The Lucky Seven, or The Losers Club, a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise and vow to kill him by any means necessary. The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first confront Pennywise as children in 1960, and the second when they return as adults in 1990 to defeat him a second time after he resurfaces.
Andrés Walter Muschietti is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who had his breakthrough with the 2013 film Mama. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It film series, the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel and its 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two. In 2023, he directed the DC Extended Universe film The Flash.
It is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. It is the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King, primarily covering the first chronological half of the book. It is the first film in the It film series as well as being the second adaptation following Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries. Starring Jack Dylan Grazer and Bill Skarsgård, the film was produced by New Line Cinema, KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, and Vertigo Entertainment. The film, set in Derry, Maine, tells the story of The Losers' Club, a group of seven outcast children who are terrorized by the eponymous being which emerges from the sewer and appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Skarsgård), only to face their own personal demons in the process.
It Chapter Two is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to It (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel It by Stephen King. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. In addition to the latter, several cast members from the previous film also reprised their roles including Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Molly Atkinson, Stephen Bogaert, Jake Sim, Logan Thompson, Joe Bostick, and Megan Charpentier. Set 27 years after the events of the previous film, the story centers on the Losers Club and their relationships as they reunite to destroy It once and for all.
Sophia Lillis is an American actress. She starred as Beverly Marsh in the horror films It (2017) and It: Chapter Two (2019), as well as a teenager with telekinesis in the Netflix drama series I Am Not Okay With This (2020). Lillis has also appeared in the HBO psychological thriller miniseries Sharp Objects (2018) and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023).
William "Bill" Denbrough is a fictional character created by Stephen King and the main protagonist of his 1986 novel It. The character is considered to be the leader of "The Losers Club" and initiates finding and killing Pennywise the Dancing Clown after his younger brother Georgie is killed by the clown. The character was first portrayed in the 1990 TV mini-series by the late Jonathan Brandis as a child, and by Richard Thomas as an adult. In the 2017 adaptation and its 2019 sequel, the character was portrayed by Jaeden Martell as a child and James McAvoy as an adult.
Richard "Richie" Tozier is a fictional character created by Stephen King and one of the main characters of his 1986 novel It. The character is a member of "The Losers Club" and is seen to be the comic relief of the group; however, his loudmouthed antics often get him in trouble, leading to him being called "Richie 'Trashmouth' Tozier" and his friends often using the phrase "Beep Beep Richie" when they want him to be quiet. He is known for being a closeted gay character and he is teased by antagonist, Pennywise, who sang the words "I know your secret, your dirty little secret!" to him because of this. He is secretly in love with Eddie Kaspbrak, which is hinted in a scene in It Chapter Two, which shows R+E carved into the kissing bridge. He was portrayed by Seth Green as a child and Harry Anderson as an adult in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of the novel, and by Ankur Javeri as a child and Nasirr Khan as an adult in the novel's 1998 television series adaptation. He was later portrayed by Finn Wolfhard as a child and Bill Hader as an adult in the 2017 film and its 2019 sequel.
Jackson Robert Scott is an American actor known for playing Bode Locke in the Netflix series Locke & Key (2020–2022) and Georgie Denbrough in the films It Chapter One (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).
George "Georgie" Elmer Denbrough is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1986 epic horror novel It. Georgie is the younger brother of Bill Denbrough, and falls prey to Pennywise the Clown. He is used by Pennywise to taunt Bill throughout the novel. Georgie is portrayed by Tony Dakota in the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation and by Jackson Robert Scott in the theatrical film series. Dakota also reprised his role for a 2019 short fan film based on the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of the novel, titled Georgie, which shows a "What If" scenario if Georgie had survived his encounter with Pennywise. He returns in the 2022 TV series, where he is portrayed by Prashant Rane.
Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel The Shining. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is also telepathic, and learns that the evil spirits of the hotel have taken control of Danny's father, Jack.
It: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2017 American film It. An adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King, the first of the two-cinematic parts is directed by Andy Muschietti, and featured musical score composed by Benjamin Wallfisch. Wallfisch had influenced several works from film composers, notably John Williams and Alan Silvestri's works, while creating the score for It, and uses orchestral music to reflect the period of 1980s setting. A preview of the song list was released by WaterTower Music on August 25, 2017 and the soundtrack album consisting 38 tracks, were digitally released on September 1. A limited edition double LP was released on October 27, that consisted of a 18 tracks in the original score and remaining 29 tracks, that was released separately. The score received positive response from critics, appreaciting Wallfisch for the orchestral approach for the soundtrack.
It: Welcome to Derry is an upcoming American horror television series developed by Andy and Barbara Muschietti alongside Jason Fuchs. It is a prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), which is based on Stephen King's 1986 novel It. It stars Jovan Adepo, Chris Chalk, Taylour Paige, James Remar, and Stephen Rider, with Bill Skarsgård reprising his role as It / Pennywise from the films.