Main Cast: William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town is given the Hollywood treatment in this adaptation directed by Sam Wood featuring an evocative score by Aaron Copland and outstanding production design by William Cameron Menzies. Frank Craven is Mr. Morgan, the narrator and our guide through the small town of Grover's Corners in the more innocent American times of 1901, 1904, and 1913. Mr. Morgan chronicles the lives of a handful of Grover's Corners citizens, centering upon Emily Webb (Martha Scott), the daughter of the local newspaper editor (Guy Kibbee), and George Gibbs (William Holden), the son of the local doctor (Thomas Mitchell). Emily and George fall in love and the film details their difficult courtship, marriage, and tragic childbirth. The film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, losing out to Rebecca. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Although this film version of Thornton Wilder's classic (and, for its time, innovative) stage play tacks on a dreadful happy ending, the rest of the film is a faithful and moving adaptation of this American classic. Wisely dispensing with any attempt to "cinematize" the play's physical conceit (i.e., that it be performed with essentially no scenery and with props mimed), the movie, by necessity, has a more naturalistic tone to it. Since Wilder's masterwork is about the small moments that make up our lives, however, this is in no way damaging and, in some ways, adds more impact to the proceedings. Simplicity is the key to a successful Our Town, and Sam Wood directs with an appropriate delicacy and warmth. He's helped by a solid cast, headed by Martha Scott's incandescent Emily. The actress is vibrant without becoming overpowering, and her performance in the climactic scene evokes the honest emotion of the script without straying into weepy manipulation. A very young William Holden is not up to the task of matching her portrayal -- he's a little forced and lacks sufficient variety -- but he doesn't damage the film. The rest of the cast -- especially narrator Frank Craven and mothers Beulah Bondi and Fay Bainter -- are top notch. A further bonus is Aaron Copland's magnificent score, which, though it becomes slightly intrusive in one or two instances, possesses such beauty that one easily forgives it for making its presence felt. It has a few flaws, but, overall, this Our Town is a captivating experience. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Guy Kibbee - Editor Webb; Frank Craven - Mr. Morgan, the narrator; Stuart Erwin - Howie Newsome; Doro Merande - Mrs. Soames; Philip Wood - Simon Stimson; Ruth Tobey - Rebecca Gibbs; Arthur Allen - Prof. Willet; Charles Trowbridge - Reverend; Spencer Charters - Constable Warren; Dix Davis - Si Crowell; Tim Davis - Joe Crowell; Douglas Gardiner - Wally Webb; Dan White - Wedding Guest
Credit
Edward P. Lambert - Costume Designer, John Sherwood - First Assistant Director, Sam Wood - Director, Sherman Todd - Editor, Aaron Copland - Composer (Music Score), Irvin Talbot - Musical Direction/Supervision, Harry Horner - Production Designer, William Cameron Menzies - Production Designer, Bert Glennon - Cinematographer, Sol Lesser - Producer, James W. Payne - Set Designer, Harry Chandlee - Screenwriter, Frank Craven - Screenwriter, Thornton Wilder - Screenwriter, Thornton Wilder - Play Author
Our Town is a 1940 film adaptation of a play of the same name by Thornton Wilder starring William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee and Frank Craven. It was adapted by Harry Chandlee, Craven and Wilder. It was directed by Sam Wood. The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. [1] Scott, who repeated her stage role as Emily Webb, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Aaron Copland was nominated for Best Score. The film was a faithful reproduction of the play except for two significant changes: the film used scenery, where the play had not, and the events of the third act, which in the play revolve around the death of one of the main characters, were turned into a dream that she awakens from, able to resume a normal life.
A radio adaptation of the film on Lux Radio Theater used the altered film ending.
The U.S. copyright of the film was not renewed after its first term expired in 1968, although because it is a derivative work from a play that is still under U.S. copyright, it cannot be said to be in the public domain.[citation needed]
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