Little Women
Directed by George Cukor
Written by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman from the novel by Louisa May Alcott
1933/US
RKO Radio Pictures
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Every version of this timeless story makes me weep. This is a particularly good one.
Four teenage girls in Massachusetts and their wise and kind mother “Marmee” hold down the fort at the March house while their preacher father is comforting troops during the American Civil War. The family has fallen on hard times, but somehow finds it possible to be charitable to those still more unfortunatel. The girls are Meg (Frances Dee), the maternal one; Jo (Katharine Hepburn), the clever one; Beth (Jean Parker), the shy one: and Amy (Joan Bennett), the conceited one. During the course of the story, the girls will be given many opportunities to fight against their little vices and become virtuous young women (This is not near as pious as it sounds!).
The Marches live next door to wealth, stern Mr. Laurence (Henry Stephenson). He shares his home with grandson “Laurie” (Douglass Montgomery) and Laurie’s tutor John Brooke. Jo is a free thinker and a tom boy who is up for anything and becomes fast friends with Laurie. She works for her even more cantankerous Aunt March (Edna May Oliver). The aunt is impossible but has all but promised Jo she will take her along on her next visit to Europe.
I will stop here.
I don’t know what it is about this story that chokes me up so but I cry at every version. This time I was in tears almost all the way through. It’s kind of hard to rate a movie that hits you so deep. I probably read the novel 10 times as a child.
Any way, all the acting is superb with Katharine Hepburn having been born to play her character and Edna May Oliver so perfect as a crusty aunt with a heart of gold. Cukor did a fine job with this material.
The damn trailer makes me cry! (Several spoilers)
Montage of scenes from early in the movie featuring Hepburn.
***********************************
I also watched Blessed Event (1932), a very good “newspaper” movie starring Lee Tracy as an unscrupulous gossip columnist. I saw it the last time I did a Pre-Code binge. It is reviewed here.
