Little Women (1978)

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Movie
Original title Little Women
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1978
length 200 minutes
Rod
Director David Lowell Rich
script Suzanne Clauser
production David Victor
music Elmer Bernstein
camera Joseph F. Biroc
cut Jim Benson ,
Donald Douglas
occupation

Little Women is a two-part American TV movie of the NBC from the year 1978 . The novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott served as a literary model .

action

1st chapter

In Concord , Massachusetts , four sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March, lived with their mother Marmee during the American Civil War , while father Jonathan performed his duties as a chaplain in the Union Army . The four girls couldn't be more different. The eldest, Meg, looks after her younger sisters and earns a little extra income as a teacher. Jo, on the other hand, is boyish and rebellious and has the desire to one day become a great writer. Beth, on the other hand, is reserved and sickly, while Amy, the youngest, likes to be the center of attention and only shows real enthusiasm for painting.

After visiting her wealthy aunt March, Jo goes to a Christmas ball with Meg. There she runs into Laurie, the lonely and wealthy grandson of her surly neighbor, Mr. Lawrence. The next day, Jo visits Laurie at his grandfather's house. Laurie tells her about the sad accident of his parents' death, and that his grandfather blames his father, an Italian concert pianist, for the misfortune and therefore does not allow Laurie to play the piano. Meanwhile, Mr. Lawrence has offered Beth, who reminds him of his daughter, to play his piano. When Beth arrives at his house and starts playing, Mr. Lawrence believes it is Laurie and starts scolding. Beth runs away anxiously and leaves behind the slippers she knitted herself and which she wanted to give to Mr. Lawrence.

Amy, who is still in school and was reprimanded with a stick by her teacher, comes home with bruised hands. Her mother is angry and says that Amy should no longer go to school. Jo reacts angrily because from now on she feels disturbed in the attic, where she wants to write her stories in peace. The following morning, Jo searches for her manuscript while her sisters admire the new piano that Mr. Lawrence gave Beth. When Jo finds the remains of her manuscript, which Amy secretly burned in the fireplace the night before, and recognizes Amy as the culprit, she pretends to be unforgivable. As a result, although her mother tries to get Jo to control her temper and overcome her grudges, Jo avoids Amy. When Amy guiltily follows Jo to ice skate with Laurie and breaks into the ice, Jo and Laurie just manage to pull Amy out of the freezing water. After that, Jo blames herself for her dismissive behavior nearly costing Amy her life.

Two years later, Jo decides to show her stories to a publisher. Laurie, meanwhile, clashes with his grandfather, who caught him playing pool in an arcade instead of studying and preparing to inherit the family. Meg and Laurie's private tutor John Brooke get a little closer to each other during a croquet game in which all of the March daughters except the shy Beth participate. Meanwhile, Marmee and Beth receive a telegram informing them that Mr. March is seriously ill. Marmee decides to rush to him at the hospital in Washington, DC . Aunt March is outraged that she wants to go unaccompanied, but still gives her the money she needs for the trip. Jo was gone in the meantime and has her hair cut to collect the money for her mother. On the way back home, she meets Laurie, who has reconciled with his grandfather.

John Brooke finally offers to accompany Marmee to Washington. During Marmee's absence, Beth contracted scarlet fever from her poor neighbors. Amy, who has never had scarlet fever, is supposed to move in with Aunt March. But only when Laurie promises to visit her there and go out with her, she agrees. In order not to worry Marmee, Jo and Meg hide from her in their letters that Beth is sick. But Beth's condition does not improve and the doctor fears the worst. Jo asks Laurie to send a telegram to her mother, but he has already done so without her knowledge. Marmee returns home that night and believes that Beth is already dead. She finally realizes that Beth is only asleep and has overcome the fever. Shortly thereafter, they celebrate Beth's birthday and John Brooke arrives with Mr. March, to everyone's delight. When John Meg wants to confess his love, Aunt March unexpectedly comes to visit and is outraged about their being together. This causes Meg to admit to herself that she loves John and would like to marry him. Jo, whose stories have now been published in the newspaper, blames her aunt for the fact that Meg will soon be gone, and thus gets her aunt to offer Amy to accompany her sister Carol on a trip to Europe instead close.

Part 2

On a horse ride, Laurie confesses his love to Jo, but Jo does not return it, whereupon he rides away disappointed. To cheer him up, his grandfather offers to travel with him to London . Meanwhile, Jo is dissatisfied because everything around her seems to be changing. So she decides to leave home as soon as possible and work as a governess for a friend of her mother's in New York . When Meg and John get married, Concord's bells ring, heralding the end of the Civil War.

In New York, Jo receives a warm welcome from Mrs. Kirke. In the house in which she will live from now on, she meets the German professor Friedrich Bhaer, who earns his meager living by teaching children. Jo continues to write stories, and she manages to sell them to a newspaper for $ 25 each. Meanwhile , in Florence , Amy meets Mr. Lawrence and asks him to send Laurie to her before she travels to Paris . That night Laurie arrives at her place drunk and Amy accuses him of wasting his life.

Professor Bhaer, who tries in vain to teach Jo the German language, discovers one of her stories in the newspaper and frankly tells her that he doesn't think much of such adventure stories. When Jo learns Meg is pregnant and decides to return home, Professor Bhaer finds another of Jo's stories in the newspaper and is furious that Jo is wasting her talent in such a way. Before Jo leaves the next morning, Professor Bhaer is remorseful, and Jo assures him that she had no intention of writing these kinds of stories any more. He hopes to write her letters and Jo invites him to visit her in Concord. After Meg gives birth to a pair of twins, Jo travels to the sea with Beth, who has never fully recovered from scarlet fever. However, Jo doesn't want to admit to herself how bad Beth is actually doing. A letter from Professor Bhaer finally leads her to talk to Beth about it. Beth asks Jo, instead of mourning for her, to enjoy the remaining time with her. After Beth's death, Jo is encouraged by her mother to write about Beth.

Amy meets Laurie again in Vienna , who has already found out about Beth's death. Amy's admirer Frank Vaughn finds the two kissing on the hotel terrace shortly afterwards. Amy and Laurie return to Concord as a married couple. Jo gives them her blessing, but fears for herself that she will soon be an old maid. Especially since she receives fewer and fewer letters from Professor Bhaer, who is hoping to get a job at a university. In a magazine he reads one of Jo's new stories, inspired by Beth, and is very impressed with it. He finally arrives at Concord at Christmas. In the pouring rain, to her sorrow, he tells Jo that he has got a job at a college in far-off Ohio . When he promises her to stay there for only one year and then to marry her, Jo falls happily into his arms. Together they return to the March family home and announce their wedding plans to everyone present, including Laurie, his grandfather and aunt March.

background

Little Women is based on the novel of the same name (1869) by Louisa May Alcott, who partly processed her own experiences during the Civil War and thus celebrated her first great success as a writer. The story of the four sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy has been filmed several times. This two-part NBC adaptation for US television was very well received by viewers, which is why the station tried in 1979 to continue it with a series. Some of the original cast members, including Dorothy McGuire , William Schallert , Robert Young and Ann Dusenberry , re-played their roles; the main role of Jo March, however, was re-cast with Jessica Harper . However, the series was discontinued after only four episodes.

Reviews

Maryann Johanson of Flick Filosopher found that Little Women was a "beautiful production" that had "costumes by the legendary Edith Head , music by Elmer Bernstein and an eye for authentic details of the Civil War", but "shaped by the style of the 1970s" be. William Shatner plays Jos "academic admirer with the worst German accent that television has ever seen". But do not divert this from "Alcott's wonderful story" nor from "the inner strength and attraction of their characters".

According to dvdverdict.com, the two-part TV series was “staged with a solid level of quality and class” and “always endeavored to remain true to the spirit of the novel”. The actors are "all competent, if not wonderful". Meredith Baxter and Eve Plumb are both "absolutely fitting" cast, even if they are little to see in contrast to the "quite effective" Susan Dey. Dorothy McGuire is "really good in the role of Marmee" and Greer Garson is "even better than brisk Aunt Kathryn". Robert Young deliver "a moving performance as the grumpy, but still nice James Lawrence". William Shatner, on the other hand, exaggerated and spoke “a grotesquely bad German accent”. TV Guide wrote that Susan Dey was "appropriately spirited" as Jo, but Greer Garson as bossy Aunt March managed to "steal the show from everyone".

Awards

Little Women was nominated for the Golden Globe in the category Best mini-series or TV movie . The equipment by Howard E. Johnson and Richard C. Goddard received an Emmy Award . There was also an Emmy nomination for the camera work by Joseph F. Biroc .

Further film adaptations of the novel

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “This beautiful production features costumes by the legendary Edith Head, music by Elmer Bernstein, and a dedication to authentic Civil War-period detail […] but it can't help but feel a little 70s-riffic […]. William Shatner takes a turn as Jo's professor beau, complete with the worst German accent TV has ever seen […]. But [it] can't detract from the loveliness of Alcott's tale, and the inner strength and inescapable appeal of her characters. " Maryann Johanson: Little Women on flickfilosopher.com, November 27, 2007.
  2. ↑ “It is acted, directed, and produced with some measure of general quality and class, and is always cautious to stay faithful to the spirit of the original novel. [...] The acting is all quite competent, if not wonderful. [...] Susan Dey has the majority of the screen time as Jo. While Dey is quite effective […]. Meredith Baxter Birney and Eve Plumb are both perfectly fine in their roles […]. Dorothy McGuire is quite good in the role of Marmee, and Greer Garson is even better as the saucy Aunt Kathryn. Robert Young turns in a touching performance as the crusty but kind James Lawrence. [...] Shatner is not only in over-the-top ham mode, he also sports a ridiculously awful German accent. " See Little Women (1978) ( memento from March 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on dvdverdict.com
  3. ↑ "Susan Dey is adequately feisty as Jo, but it's Greer Garson, as bossy Aunt March, who steals the show." TV Guide quoted after Michael Troyan: A Rose for Mrs. Miniver. The Life of Greer Garson . The University Press of Kentucky, 1999, p. 335.