Little Women (1949)
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Honors:
Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Production Design)
Louisa May Alcott’s 1968 novel is reintroduced to a new
generation of movie goers with this adaption of the American classic,
presenting the coming of age story about a group of sisters in vibrant
Technicolor. Sixteen years after the previous adaptation that featured Kathrine
Hepburn in the leading role of Jo March, this variation proves to be more of a
remake of the 1933 picture than a retelling of the novel. Banking on the
distance from the prior edition, filming in celebrated color, and featuring a
cast of bright, young MGM performers the film would not be quite the success as
it predecessor, but was utilized as one of the studio’s prestige pictures
during a year of cinematic celebration to their celluloid ego.
Little Women is a drama/comedy
about four sisters experiencing the difficulties and pleasures of life in 1860s
America. The story shares the tale of Jo (June Allyson), Meg (Janet Leigh), Amy
(Elizabeth Taylor), and Beth (Margaret O’Brien), four sisters living in New
England during the years directly affected by the American Civil War when money
was tight and times tougher for them and their mother, Marmee (Mary Astor), while
their father is away at war. Our story revolves primarily around the second eldest
sibling Jo as she attempts to keep the family together through struggles by
sacrifice and hard work. Jo’s frustration grows from her wanting things to
return to what was once normal while the world and life changes around her.
Life finds Jo moving to New York in aspiration towards becoming a writer and
begins a romance with a German tutor, Prof. Bhear (Rossano Brazzi), who
encourages her in her literary endeavors. However, Jo races home, leaving Bhear
behind, to help her mother during a great illness that strikes Beth.
Jo becomes emotionally overwhelmed by her own lack of
progress in life and personal loneliness. Through the years Beth had passed
away, Meg’s had wedded and is starting a family, and the news of Amy’s
engagement to Laurie (Peter Lawford), a long time love interest to Jo whom she
turned down out of stubbornness, leaves Jo feeling she had missed her chances
in life. Bhear surprises Jo on her doorstep with publishing one of her works, a
moment of great accomplishment as she shares affection with him as the two become
engaged, beginning a new, happy chapter in her life.
The film makes for a very pretty period piece that shines
visibly brighter than its successful predecessor, but overall lacks a certain
depth than would make the feature feel fully bodied as a cinematic experience.
Mervyn LeRoy enriches the story with marvelous Technicolor visuals that one
would come to expect from a glamorous studio like MGM when working with one of
the more famous literary works in American history. The cast is filled with
strong performers from June Allyson as a 31 year-old portraying a teenager, to
C. Aubrey Smith in what was sadly his final role as the lovable patriarchal
neighbor of Jame Laurence. However, the picture is pair with uninspiring
writing and flatter performances that come together as bland compared to the extravagance
of its visuals. Filled with moments of good humor and dripping with nostalgia
for the period it depicts, the picture does far more to deliver us visually to
a place and time than make us feel for overall drama.
David O. Selznick began the original intention to produce a
remake of the well-received George Cukor directed feature, where he was to retell
the story with modern motion picture technology. However, after with ordeal of
filming Duel in the Sun (1946) Selznick would sell the rights of the picture to
MGM where the studio would showcase its young female talent while retaining the
rights to use the filmmaker attached to direct, Mervyn LeRoy.
Starring as the March sisters were June Allyson, the 21
year-old up and comer Janet Leigh, established 16 year-old actress Elizabeth
Taylor in her fianl role juvenile role before taking on more mature parts, and
MGM’s little darling Margaret O’Brien. Only eleven years Allyson’s senior was established
actress Mary Astor as the mother of the girls delivering a somewhat flat
performance typical of a heavily literary inspired matriarchal role. Peter
Lawford delivers a charming performance as the entitled, yet sensitive Laurie,
the love interest to Jo that gets away. The picture marked the Hollywood debut
of Italian actor Rossano Brazzi as Prof. Bhear, the eventual emotional
supporter and eventual suitor of Jo that helps her bridge an important time in
her life.
For MGM this casting allowed the studio to showcase a new generation
of talent in the post war era of stars. Here the old style meets the new
generation in a sadly sub-par delivery, allowing the newer performers to get
themselves front and center on of one for the bigger pictures for the studio for
the year before they would branch out and find their own voices that defined
their careers. For Allyson her career would grow. Elizabeth Taylor would shed
her childish roles and quickly become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars of the
century. Pater Lawford would become one of great leading men of his day. And
Janet Leigh would ascend to great stardom, best remembered for a low budget
horror film that that defined filmmaker and a genre in Psycho. Not all actors saw success in their future as Margaret
O’Brien following a very successful youthful acting career would meet the fate
of many aging child actors finding work drying up for her, only to eventually
finding work in television in her later years.
MGM had filmed the picture with an original intent to
release Little Women in late 1948,
but with consideration of the the upcoming 1949 as a year to celebrate MGM’s 25th
anniversary the studio held back the feature to coincide with the year long
celebration of he studio as one of its prestige pictures. Little Women was a moderate success for MGM bringing in good
profits, undoubtably do to the publicity and marketing surrounding its source
material and the studio. Critically the feature was praised for its beautiful
depiction of a period piece. Critical reception was merely good to mixed
towards the performances. Many critics found the film charming and loved its
overall depiction of the time period as well as praised the production’s young
talent, but for those looking past the bright lights of MGM movie marketing
they saw a group of performances that lack a genuine depth. Despite these minor
criticisms, the film was an overall success, garnering an Academy Award for
Best Art Direction in the process for the beauty of its production.
If one was looking a “best adaption” of Little Women, outside of visuals I would say one would not find it
here. It is certainly very enjoyable to look at, stirring up the classic
feelings that novel was attempting to deliver. Many have stated the 1933
version of the movie is a better production on a whole with performances and
adaptation of the original work. Here much of what we see was inspired by the
1933 film more than the novel itself as it focuses a bit more on visuals that
substance. That is not to say this film is bad, in fact it too is very
enjoyable. We can easily see how this was a MGM prestige picture, and it is
often time enjoyable to watch the studio bring their own magic to these types
of productions. It was worth a watch, but may not be one that will be sought
out for a follow up viewing, but if seen again in passing is worth stopping and
taking note again.
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