Anne of Green Gables

source: Anne of Green Gables

Moviecut—Anne of Green Gables

In cinematic terms, George Nicholls Jr.'s version of the classic tale is very much of its time. There is very little music, and the narrative unfolds in episodic fashion through long takes with characters moving through the frame. To film-goers brought up on more pacey forms of narrative, influenced by advertising, the film might seem slow, even static, but Nicholls' camera-work focuses on the characters' expressions, making us aware of their true feelings lurking beneath the surface. This is especially true of Marilla (Helen Westley), an actress famed for playing unattractive roles, but who lets the mask drop as the narrative unfolds, especially when Anne (Anne Shirley) is about to go away to school. Marilla's forbidding exterior is contrasted with her brother Matthew (O. P. Heggie) who is never without a twinkle in his eye. Thematically speaking ANNE OF GREEN GABLES makes fun of romanticism, especially in Anne's characterization. Having been brought up on a diet of dime novels, Anne is full of extreme emotions; she is not just upset but devastated; she is not happy but ecstatic. When she is reprimanded for being rude to Mrs. Barry (Sara Haden), she believes it is the end of the world; and she will "never" apologize to the older lady. Needless to say Matthew manages to persuade Anne to revise her judgment - not by force, but rather through appealing to her better nature. In a later sequence, Anne is so enamored of the idea of reciting Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" in a rowboat that she doesn't realize the danger she is about to encounter; it is only through Gilbert's (Tom Brown's) timely intervention that she is spared a watery grave. This film is undoubtedly sentimental, advocating family values and love as life's raisons d'etre. Everything ends happily, even though Matthew has a life-threatening illness. In the central role, Anne Shirley thoroughly enjoys herself; she is very good at handling the central character's transition from gawky teenager to idealistic young woman, even if the hairstyles are a little incongruous (her ponytails are almost too pronounced). The ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is quite short - a "B" Picture length of only 75 minutes - but remains thoroughly entertaining.

Anne of Green Gables is directed by George Nichols Jr. and adapted to screenplay by Sam Mintz from the book of the same name written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It stars Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O.P. Heggie, Helen Westley & Sara Haden. Story sees Anne Shirley as an orphan girl who is adopted by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla. That they were expecting a boy means it's quite a surprise, but in spite of Marilla's initial reservations, they accept her into the family home and a good family unit is formed. But can Anne ingratiate herself into school and the village way of life? Having not read the book I personally have no frame of reference in which to judge this film adaptation. What is there for its modest running time is a charming little picture capturing a time period long since past. The acting and English language is very correct, while the innocence of the story, including that of young love blossoming, has a simplicity that's hard to dislike. There's some nice country shots to sample as well, while O.P. Heggie's performance is worthy of investment on its own. Old time film making with old time values, it's a film easily digestible for the undemanding film fan. 7/10

NOTES: This is a re-make of the 1919 version directed by William Desmond Taylor, which starred of course Mary Miles Minter, whose mother is alleged by some Hollywood insiders to have murdered the director on the night of 1 February 1922. The murder - second only to the Roscoe Arbuckle case as Hollywood's most sensational true-life scandal - is still officially listed as unsolved. Until quite recently, I'd never seen a film directed by William Desmond Taylor. You'd think his notoriety alone would guarantee frequent airings on TV. But Unknown Video have now come to the rescue with a fine Kodascope copy - condensed to 5 reels, of course, but tinted - of Tom Sawyer (1917) starring a too-old-for-the-role but otherwise highly plausible Jack Pickford. Anyway, getting back to this movie, it was Big Box-office everywhere in 1935, and did particularly well in city and urban areas. PRINCIPAL MIRACLE: After avoiding this movie for years, I found it quite charming. COMMENT: Refreshing! One of the most remarkable things about the film is that it has dated very little. Montgomery's central idea of making her orphan-sent-by-mistake a dreamy chatterbox, is a strong one. And when that little heroine is so winningly played by an accomplished actress who can manage the transition from girlhood to womanhood with such ease, this movie certainly starts with much in its favor. Aside from Tom Brown who as usual is a bit of a pain, Miss Shirley receives solid support all the way down the line from the beautifully judged portraits delivered by Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie to Sara Haden's irredeemably nosy Rachel and Charley Grapewin's surprisingly brief cameo as a rustic physician. For the most part, the obligatory sentimental scenes are both dramatically effective and commendably restrained. Although production values are moderate, technical credits are extremely able. George Nicholls leads the way with his forceful but almost wholly unobtrusive direction, his skill revealed in such sequences as the introductory close-ups of the wagon wheel turning which serve to punctuate and break up Anne's chattering, the long tracking shot with Anne and Tom, and a few crane shots above the stairs. Deft film editing in which steady patterns of long shots, two-shots and close-ups are not allowed to grow monotonous, must also be commended. As must Lucien Andriot's accomplished lighting which gives the photography such an attractive sheen. Max Steiner's melodious score which the composer cleverly uses to underline selected scenes rather than to drown out the sound track at every opportunity, is yet another major asset of this restrained but movingly realistic play.

This is a short, sentimental highlights package that turned out to be RKO's sleeper hit of 1934. Anne Shirley is Anne Shirley (she used her character's name for the rest of her screen career), the cheery, melodramatic, eternally appealing redhead created by L. M. Montgomery. Mistakenly placed with adoptive parents who were rather hoping for the boy they'd requested, her hot temper proceeds to get her into scrapes with friends, neighbours and that cheeky, good-looking boy in her class. There are production and pacing issues. The first hour is a little lacking in atmosphere, then - upon finding loads of the stuff - the film proceeds to race through the rest of the narrative at breakneck speed, with a succession of short scenes that cover five years in about five seconds. It also omits the most memorable bit of the book: Anne dyeing her hair green. For all that, this is a really gentle and rewarding movie, with absolutely charming performances, particularly from Shirley and O. P. Heggie, best-known for his turn as the blind hermit in Universal's seminal Bride of Frankenstein the following year.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS I caught this on TCM (Turner Classic Movies, a.k.a the "old movie channel") and I found it to be clean, cute, funny at times, and it had a nice happy ending. It's a good film, not great, but not horrible, either. The film does some justice to L.M. Montgomery's novel, however, in the book, "Anne of Green Gables," Matthew experiences a heart attack (or stroke...can't remember) and he dies. It's completely the opposite in the movie. Gilbert and Anne didn't hook up in "Anne of Green Gables" book. They finally got together in the third book titled "Anne of Windy Poplars." In the film, it shows a budding romance between the two of them. It's also amazing that they try to squeeze 3 years of Anne's life into 90 minutes. In the book, Anne was 11 years old; in the film, she's 14. The film wasn't entirely true to the novel, which was disappointing, however it still was enjoyable. It's much different than the 1985 Disney version. In Disney's version, Marilla is much more gentle and nice than the one in the 1934 version. Matthew was pretty much the same, personality-wise. From both the book and Kevin Sullivan's 1985 movie, Diana Barry has black hair. In the old 1934 film, she's a blonde. In this movie, Anne annoyed me a little bit due to her excessive talking, which makes me wonder about the people who hang around me (since I talk too much as well....LOL). All in all, I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars. Still, the 1985 version with Megan Follows as Anne is much better than this movie. However, for all you purists (like me) out there, I suggest renting the 1985 movie since it is much more truer to the book.

Because they are getting older, practical Helen Westley (as Marilla Cuthbert) and her quiet brother O.P. Heggie (as Matthew Cuthbert) decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage in Canada. They expect the lad will help work on their farm "Green Gables". Instead of a boy, Mr. Heggie is presented with spirited 14-year-old Dawn O'Day (as Anne Shirley), a precocious red-haired girl. Determined and fast-talking, she endears herself to Heggie and even thaws Ms. Westley's cool exterior. In school, O'Day meets handsome young Tom Brown (as Gilbert Blythe) and a romance begins. Although she does talk too much, O'Day is endearing. The young actress professionally changed her name to "Anne Shirley" with the release of this film. The popular 1908 novel, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, became a successful "silent" feature film in 1919, starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by William Desmond Taylor. That version appears to be lost, unfortunately, but this one captures the bygone setting beautifully. ******** Anne of Green Gables (11/23/34) George Nicholls Jr. ~ Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, Helen Westley, O.P. Heggie

As a big fan of the books before I even saw the 80's versions of the movie, I think that the 1934 movie is a fairly good depiction. There is one deviation that they made which bugged me throughout the whole movie. Diana Barry's mother was Miss Rachel in the movie instead of them being 2 separate people. Also Diana had blonde hair, but that I could get past. I'm amused that the actress who played Anne Shirley (with an "e") just so happened to be named Anne Shirley, and she does an excellent job playing the character...it's almost as if the character Anne was modeled after the actress Anne. This movie sticks to the storyline very well, so as to quote many lines from the book. Also, Gilbert is still fairly handsome :)

Similar to Pollyanna in its central character Anne Of Green Gables written in the Edwardian era by Canadian novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery has attained an enduring popularity the world over. It certainly has given Canada's smallest province Prince Edward Island its most famous identity. In this adaption of the story young Anne Shirley played by Anne Shirley is sent by an orphanage to a sister and brother, Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie instead of a boy. It's a boy they want to help with the farm work as they're not spring chickens. But the orphanage sends a girl instead and Shirley has an innocence and bewitching charm and one lively imagination that captivates Heggie from the start. The crusty Westley takes a bit longer, but she grows to love her like a birth daughter though she takes great pains not to show it too much. The novel has been adapted many times for the big and small screen and even for a mini-series. We get only the bare bones of a plot, but the skill of the players makes up for a lot of it. Tom Brown is in this too as Anne's boyfriend although their courtship is a bit rocky. They start with Anne busting her school slate on his noggin. This is a good adaption that has held up well even for today. We'll no doubt see Anne Of Green Gables made many times over still, but this story is timeless as is this film.