Our Little Town (1940)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Our little town |
| Original title | Our Town |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1940 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Sam Wood |
| script |
Harry Chandlee , Frank Craven , Thornton Wilder |
| production | Sol Lesser on loan from United Artists |
| music | Aaron Copland |
| camera | Bert Glennon |
| cut | Sherman Todd |
| occupation | |
| |
Our Little Town (Original Title: Our Town ) is the American film adaptation of the theater play of the same name by Thornton Wilder and directed by Sam Wood from 1940.
action
The residents of the small town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, live peacefully and in harmony. Dr. Gibbs, his wife Julie, and their two children George and Rebecca are the neighbors of the Webbs, who have a lovely daughter, Emily. George and Emily fall in love and after three years of advertising they get married. Time goes by and Emily becomes very sick with the birth of her second child. While she is dying, she meets all the people who have left this world in the years before. Emily, who remains in a kind of in-between world, remembers her previous life, but in the end the young woman decides to live and she wakes up from her dream.
background
The piece by critics and audiences alike enthusiastically received Our Town by Thornton Wilder was immediately as an exemplary example of the after its premiere in 1938 Americana understood. The author won the Pulitzer Prize / Theater for the play . After the film rights had been acquired by producer Sol Lesser for 75,000 US dollars in 1939 , he initially planned to realize the film adaptation by Ernst Lubitsch and in Technicolor . The plans came to nothing, as did the idea of handing over the direction of William Wyler .
The film adaptation, directed by Sam Wood , basically follows the play, but at the end differs significantly from the original. The producer was aware that the tragic ending of the play, in which Emily dies, would not be accepted by the mass of moviegoers. In order not to jeopardize the commercial success of the film, the screenwriters asked Thornton Wilder personally for his consent to insert a happy ending. The writer accepted the suggestion and so Emily comes back to life in the film.
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1941 , the film received nominations in the following categories:
- Best movie
- Best Actress - Martha Scott
- Best production design (black and white)
- Best original score
- Best film score
- Best tone
criticism
The lexicon of international film found:
- “The film adaptation of Wilder's theater play, which was premiered in 1938 and borne by the bittersweet pathos of transience, has some sentimental moments in contrast to the original on the stage. A 'small world theater' in a stage setting and sometimes gently ironic pointings, lovingly and sensitively staged. "
Web links
- Our small town in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Our Town at Turner Classic Movies (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Roger Fristoe: Our Town (1940) - Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
- ↑ Our little town. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 9, 2017 .