Our Town

Having two of our favorite TV moms--Sada Thompson of Family and Barbara Bel Geddes of Dallas--in the roles of Mrs. Gibbs and Mrs. Webb was inspired casting. Charlotte Rae is adorable as the scatterbrained Mrs. Soames, and Robby Benson as George is appropriately naive and cute. The third act, where Emily returns briefly to life after dying in childbirth, must be difficult to perform convincingly, but Glynnis O'Connor beautifully conveys the many levels of emotion and meaning in this segment of the play.

This was intended as the "definitive" version of Our Town, and it could have been that. But the stylized stage sets are really hokey, and Hal Holbrook may be just a bit too "folksy" in his interpretation of the Stage Manager role (compared to Spalding Gray's more subdued performance in the 1989 version).

I love this play--and I like this version of it despite its flaws.

I was lucky enough to see this in its first broadcast, and have never forgotten it, especially Act III. I agree in retrospect with the criticism of Hal Holbrook being too "folksy", only because I am currently involved in a stage production in which the Stage Manager's narration is more detached -- not cold, but not as personally involved.

There are many plays that will move me to tears, or to anger, but the emotional response is usually FOR the characters portrayed. That is, it is a detached response, with little or no sense of personal participation in the milieu that is creating the response. In "Our Town", the paucity of set decoration and the inclusion of us, the audience, in the action through our being addressed directly by the Stage Manager, makes this a personal experience.

In the presentation of which I'm a part just now, I'm merely an extra -- one of the dead in Act III without lines, Farmer McCarthy. I found there is just one difficult aspect of that role: Enforcing on myself the rule that dead people don't cry. Takes discipline.

This film made me think better, and made me come to terms with life in a way that few movies ever have or could. To put it simply, it changed me forever, for the better. It has that kind of power. The cast is stellar from top to bottom. The directing is genius. I can't recommend this more highly. If you think that Robby Benson couldn't act, or that his type of acting style could never be suited for a film that mattered, see this one. He and Glynnis O'Connor are *made* for these parts. They had such chemistry in this film that it is truly a shame that they didn't go on to become a regular acting duo (this was their third, and last movie together). I always cry during the last part. Why in heaven hasn't someone put this out on DVD yet? The owners don't seem to know what a gem they have here.

I remember falling in love with Thorton Wilder's wonderful play when I was in high school and I still love it today. This is probably that best play ever written and this adaptation really does it justice. Hal Holbrook is wonderful as the stage manager. He was a great Mark Twain and I don't think I have ever seen an actor who can bring to his roles the everyman and folksy quality that he does. Because this play is really pantomime and done without props, it is really a challenge for the actors and all of them do really well. Robby Benson has often been ridiculed and I feel this is unfair because he does a great job as George (if you overlook the funny way he says "fahmer") Our Town deserves to be called an icon of our culture and I wish everyone could see this superb version. Thorton Wilder would have been very proud.

My Dad showed this version to me when I was little. It always amazes me how talented the cast had to be to have no props and very little set. I saw Paul Newman as the Narrator on Broadway, but this version is my favorite.