Anne of Windy Poplars

Delightful follow up to Anne of Green Gables. The acting by all concerned was very effective, especially the luminous Anne Shirley as...Anne Shirley, and Joan Carroll as the child Betty. Marcia Mae Jones, usually seen as Shirley Temple's usual nemesis is perfectly cast as Jen Pringle. Well worth searching for. One of the last "lost" movies on my want to see list. It is not available on DVD and even the Anne Shirley marathon of TCM did not show it. I found it by means of a link which downloaded it to my computer. You can find it as a link on You Tube posted by an angel named Susannah.

Ann Shirley returns in her best known role in this sequel to ANNE OF GREEN GABLES. Indeed, it was such a hit that the former Dawn O'Day changed her name to Lucy Maud Montgomery's character. Miss Shirley comes to town straight out of teacher's college, to take a post as vice-principal, only to find out that the principal has decided she is an enemy. This dislike has penetrated to her vicious aunt, Ethel Griffies, and what Miss Griffies says goes, for the family and the town. Only at Windy Poplar, where such actors as Henry Travers and Elizabeth Patterson reside, can she find a room to lay her weary head down.

I have no idea how closely this movie hews to the book, but it -- the movie -- isn't very good. People are mean for the pure pleasure of it, various subplots are wrapped up by no effort whatsoever, and character change being out of the question apparently, we have Miss Griffies drop dead and the house burn down, with a daring rescue by James Ellison, and Miss Shirley talking to people out of dying. Miss Shirley is sweet and winsome, but I call that hooey.

I managed to miss the film of "Anne of Green Gables", which was shown first, so I may be the only person on the IMDb to have watched "Anne of Windy Poplars" without actually having seen its predecessor!

I liked it a good deal; I felt that the melodrama at the end was rather less effective than the character studies in the beginning, where the interest lies in discovering just why the Pringle clan are behaving so strangely towards Anne, rather than in matters of life and death, and I have a hard job picturing the lead actress ever playing the irrepressible child-Anne of the original book, but it was definitely worth tuning in for. I did find the presentation of the series of lurid disasters (or threatened disasters) in the finale somewhat hard to swallow in what had been to date a very low-key, gentle film...

Not great for those spoiled by the Sullivan versions but not bad either. Like Sullivan's, this completely bypasses "Anne of the Island" and bases the movie on "Anne of Windy Poplars/Willows". Neither movie version was faithful to that book.

Anne takes a teaching job in a town controlled by the powerful Pringle clan. Of course, she changes their bitter attitudes and finds some kindred spirits. There are some interesting male and female characters and the actress who plays Anne Shirley is adequate but not charismatic. However, her character/acting is more likable than first time round in "Anne of Green Gables" (1934).

As expected, there isn't much of Gilbert. I believe he's played by a different actor. This Gilbert is handsomer but duller.

I found this more watchable, and better quality, than its predecessor but won't be buying this one (I caught it on TV).