Customer Reviews

Anne of Green Gables [VHS]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This rare 1934 version of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is completely charming, and more than complements the range of miniseries done by Kevin Sullivan (with Megan Follows as Anne).

In this version Dawn O'Day (who later turned her legal name to Anne Shirley) plays the spirited orphan who comes to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie) at their Green Gables farm on Prince Edward Island.

Anne quickly makes friends with Diana Barry (Gertrude Messinger)...and makes enemies with Gilbert Blythe (Tom Brown) when she famously breaks a slate over his head! Their childhood rivalry soon turns into love, as Gilbert and Anne confess their real feelings for each other.

This version stays pretty close to the L.M. Montgomery novel...for the most part. Purists will object to certain liberties taken with the story (Anne and Gilbert's blossoming love almost reaches 'Romeo and Juliet'-style proportions with Marilla trying her best to keep them apart), and the ending seems rushed and in no way follows the timeline of the novel (for instance, Matthew dies in the book wheras he lives here).

Anne Shirley (or Dawn O'Day) gives a splendid performance as Anne, Helen Westley (best remembered for her roles in several Shirley Temple movies) is a fantastic Marilla and O.P. Heggie beautifully downplays the role of thoughtful Matthew. Tom Brown and Gertrude Messinger provide good support as Gilbert and Diana, with Sara Haden as Diana's mother Rachel (the movie combines the roles of Rachel Lynde and Mrs Barry into one character).

The lovely music is provided by the one and only Max Steiner. The print for this DVD seems to have been culled from a well-worn Public Domain (TV broadcast) print.

This transfer to DVD is terrible. There are horizontal grey-scale bands moving up the screen the entire movie, as though they had "filmed" this straight off a video monitor and not from a 35mm print. A wonderful movie spoiled by this annoyance.

This is a very good adaptation of the classic L.M. Montgomery novel and it's worth having this black and white classic version as well as the classic 1986 version. So Marilla caught Anne and Gilbert smooching in the woods, that didn't bother me at all and I would hardly call it a bad adaptation because Anne kissed Gilbert in the woods! If you get a chance to watch this movie take it and if you have an open mind and small changes don't annoy you than you won't be disappointed as afterall they also made small changes in the 1986 adaptation.

This is the original movie adaptaion of Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne Of Green Gables and though I prefered the remake from the mid 1980's that starred Megan Follows I loved this 1930's version too. The actress who played Anne Shirley used to be called Dawn O'Day but when she read the Anne Of Green Gables book to research her role she liked the character so much she decided to change her name to Anne Shirley. I recommend this classic movie to any Anne Of Green Gables fan, it is very worthy to be included in a Green Gables video collection right along Anne Of Green Gables and Anne Of Avonlea starring Megan Follow.

I read the books, they were spendid and I saw the Canadian mini-series movies and they were splendid and then I watched the 1934 movie and it too is spendid! There are a couple of things in the movie that aren't part of the book like making it that Marilla as a young woman was once in love with Gilbert's father but he jilted her for Gilbert's mother but it is such a small part of the movie that it really doesn't even matter. The girl who plays Anne is very charming and even changed her name from Dawn O'Day to Anne Shirley in honor of the character she played. I highly recommend this beautiful movie!

I love the Anne Shirley books by L.M. Montgomery and this is the 1934 black and white version of Anne Of Green Gables and while the 1986 Canadian miniseries remake starring Megan Follows is definitely better this is also a great movie! I read that actress Dawn O'Day found the character of Anne Shirley so charming and delightful and a kindered spirit that she changed her name to Anne Shirley, not sure if she legally changed it to Anne Shirley or just used it as her stage name but all I know is that she was splendid in this movie and really captured the charm and spunk of Anne that L.M. Montgomery created in her superb novels! The actress who played Marilla though giving a fine performance wasn't quite as good as Colleen Dewhurst but then who could possibly be a better Marilla then her? This movie is definitely recommend to fans of the novels and of the Anne movies that star Megan Follows. I willl definitely have to think about getting this movie on DVD!

This movie was cute but didn't follow the book very much. I would have liked to have seen the scene where Anne has her teacher over and finds a mouse in the jam. The biggest problem I had with the movie was that they combined Diana Barry's mom with Rachel Lynde to form RACHEL BARRY. Could they not afford two actreses? Rachel Lynde is essential to the story and all her children were grown and she was at least in her fifties in the book. Plus, they made Marilla much too harsh. And then there was a scene where Anne and Marilla kissed and it was sure a long kiss. Strange!

However, the acting was above par. I loved Anne Shirley and the guy who played Gil was charming.

If you really want to see ANNE at its best, I suggest that you buy the version with the supremely talented Megan Follows.

I'm a huge fan of the books and of The Canadian mini series but I also love this old b/w version from 1934. It's really very charming!

This is a very enjoyable adaptation of the classic story, and Anne Shirley is absolutely wonderful as the title character. However, I think the film probably would have been a little stronger had it been made four or five years later when Hollywood filmmakers had really mastered their craft. This version still shows the theatrical influence left over from the silent era (note the focus on facial expressions and the heavy eye makeup on Marilla). Nonetheless, it's still a fine little movie for kids of all ages.

As for this DVD edition, the film appears to be taken from an old television print rather than the original negative. The picture quality is acceptable, but there is no evidence of any restoration work and there are gray bands that scroll down the screen throughout the movie. In other words, don't expect the crisp image quality you'd expect from a DVD released by one of the major studios.

I don't mind when filmmakers take small liberties with a book when producing a movie, but for fans of the Anne of Green Gables series, or even the 1985 movies, this version is completely unrecognizable. The only thing the movie has in common with the book are the names...mostly. I can forgive them combining the characters of Mrs. Barry and Rachel Lynde; I can forgive them aging Anne 4 years. But the wholesale re-characterization of Anne and her relationship with Gilbert is unforgivable. Even if you didn't know the story of Anne, the complete re-write of the scene where Gilbert rescues Anne in the river comes off as eye-rollingly cheesy. In the books and 1985 film, Gilbert is charming and sweet; in this version, he's cheeky and silly. Matthew Cuthbert in this version does not resemble in any way, shape or form the sweet, anti-social and super-shy Matthew of any other version of this story. Marilla comes off as a shrew instead of just the strict and austere way the author writes her. All in all, an EPIC FAIL. They shouldn't have put L.M. Montgomery's name anywhere near the cover of the dvd.