Our Town [Blu-ray]

Director: Sam Wood Sam Wood

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/19/2023
UPC:	0850049732086
Original Release:	1940
Source:	Classicflix
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	10,261

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

William Holden	Geogre Gibbs
Martha Scott	Emily Webb
Beulah Bondi	Mrs. Webb
Guy Kibbee	Mr. Webb
Frank Craven	Mr. Morgan, the Narrator
Fay Bainter	Mrs. Gibbs
Thomas Mitchell	Dr. Gibbs
Stuart Erwin	Howie Newsome
Philip Wood	Simon Stinson
Doro Merande	Mrs. Soames
Ruth Tobey	Rebecca Gibbs
Douglas Gardiner	Wally Webb
Arthur Allen	Prof. Willet
Spencer Charters	The Constable
Tim Davis	Joe Crowell,Si Crowell
Dan White	Wedding Guest
Charles Trowbridge	Reverend
Aaron Copland	Composer

Technical Credits

Frank Craven

Harry Chandlee

Thornton Wilder

Sol Lesser	Producer
Sam Wood	Director
Frank Craven	Screenwriter
Harry Chandlee	Screenwriter
Thornton Wilder	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

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.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler