Miss Carrott

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.

In "Anne of Green Gables" (1934), Marilla Cuthbert (Helen Westley) and Matthew Cuthbert (O.P. Heggie), middle-aged siblings who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island, decide to adopt a boy from distant orphanage to help on their farm. But the orphan sent to them is a precocious girl of 14 named Anne Shirley (Dawn Evelyn Paris-a veteran of Disney's series of "Alice" shorts who later would adopt her character's name).

Anne was only 11 in Lucy Maude Montgomery's source novel but the same actress could not credibly go from 11 to college age during the course of the story. The movie suffers somewhat from this concession, as many of Anne's reactions and much of what she says would be far more entertaining coming from an eleven-year-old than from a teenager. As in the book, Anne is bright and quick, eager to please but dissatisfied with her name, her build, her freckles, and her long red hair. Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life, and adapts quickly to her new family and the environment of Prince Edward Island.

In fact Anne is the original "Teenage Drama Queen" and the film's screenwriter elected to focus on this aspect of her character. Which transformed the basic genre from mildly amusing family drama to comedy. A change that delighted audiences and that continues to frustrate reader purists.

Since the comedy is very much in the spirit of Montgomery's story I can see no reason to take issue with the changes, but let this serve as fair warning to anyone expecting a totally faithful adaptation. The comedy element is the strength of the film as it is one of the earliest self-reflexive parodies of Hollywood conventions. The actress Anne Shirley was one of Hollywood's all- time beauties and the film is in black and white. So much of the amusement is in seeing the title character's endless laments about her appearance and hair color contradicted by what is appearing on the screen. Anne regularly regales her no nonsense rural companions with melodramatic lines like: "If you refuse it will be a lifelong sorrow to me". Perhaps the funniest moment is when she corrects the spelling of her name on the classroom blackboard.

Tom Brown does a nice job as Anne's love interest Gilbert Blythe and Sara Haden steals all the scenes in which she appears as the Cuthbert's pompous neighbor.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Director: George Nichols Jr., Novel: Lucy Maud Montgommery, Script: Sam Mintz, Cast: Anne Shirley, O.P. Heggie, Tom Brown, Helen Westley

I bought this film mostly out of curiosity because we have the 1985 Keven Sullivan version which my wife and I both enjoy so we wanted to see what this early version was like. Although the 1985 version is better, this is better than I thought it would be. I haven't had a chance to read the book so I don't know how either film relates to the book but the 1934 version is only about 80 minutes long whereas the 1985 one is 3 hours long. Consequently, much is cut out in this earlier film. Ann's friendship with Diana Berry is way underdeveloped and before you know it, she is already in college! The 1985 version is much more of a coming of age film. A lot of time is spent on the relationship between Ann and Diana.

The acting is pretty good in this film. It doesn't really compete with the 1985 film because that has an absolute perfect cast but they were good here also. Much of the lines in this film are the exact same as the 1985 version. O.P. Heggie and Helen Westly did a fine job as Matthew and Marilla. Their perceived characters are much like Richard Farnsworth and Colleen Dewhurst in the 1985. Anne Shirley was played by--well--Anne Shirley. Her birth name was Dawn O'Day. She changed it to Anne Shirley after this film. She had a cute personality in this film. If you are a fan of the 1985 version, you might want to get this also. The shorter length is another reason to buy this DVD. The 1985 version is of epic length so watching it is more like an event. So this one is good if you want just a small dose of Anne. IMDb also lists a silent version from 1919 but it is stated that there are no known prints of the film. That is a shame.

Precocious orphan Anne Shirley comes to live with an old spinster and her brother in rural Canada. I grew up with the wonderful '80s TV miniseries Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows. It's more faithful to the book and no doubt purists will prefer that. Still, this is an entertaining film with a charming performance from Anne Shirley, who took her stage name from this character. It's amusing that young Anne's being homely is referenced several times when the actress Anne Shirley is one of the prettiest to ever grace the screen. She's also one of classic Hollywood's most underrated talents. I've never seen a bad performance from her. She ended her career at the age of 27. Her last film was the classic Murder, My Sweet. Not a bad movie to go out on. As for this one, the last 15 minutes or so squeezes a lot in and it's not as strong as the start but it's still a very enjoyable film.

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