Product Details

• Actors: June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh
• Directors: Mervyn LeRoy
• Writers: Andrew Solt, Louisa May Alcott, Sally Benson, Sarah Y. Mason, Victor Heerman
• Producers: Mervyn LeRoy
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Cantonese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Taiwanese Chinese
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Run Time: 121 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009RDGF
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,986 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Little Women" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This sumptuous 1949 film adaptation of the beloved Louisa May Alcott novel isn't as good as the 1933 Katharine Hepburn version, or even the 1994 remake starring an Oscar-nominated Winona Ryder, but it does offer its own pleasures, especially in seeing an all-star cast put through its paces. Erstwhile tomboy June Allyson stars as Alcott's famed heroine Jo, the budding writer in Civil War New England who pines for adventure, independence, and her own career. With Father off to war, it's up to Jo, practical older sister Meg (Janet Leigh), frail sister Beth (Margaret O'Brien), and vain sister Amy (Elizabeth Taylor) to help Marmee (a saintly Mary Astor) keep the home fires warm while dealing with the rigors of adolescence. It's all poured on with a generous amount of syrup, including lavish sets, hoop skirts, and petticoats, but anyone who's ever read Alcott's book will take comfort in its familiar story line. The dialogue is clunky but earnest, but you'd have to have a heart of stone not to get caught up in Jo's plight. And rarely do you get to see such stars go at it with such gusto: Allyson and Peter Lawford (as neighbor and rich boy Laurie) are a match made in B-movie heaven, Taylor is spunky and hilarious in an early comic performance, and Leigh does the matronly thing with aplomb. And nobody, but nobody, cries and suffers like Margaret O'Brien! Watch it in the wintertime, with a fire roaring. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

Louisa May Alcott's famous novel of the March family, brought to the screen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 133 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Version Closest to Book November 12, 2000

By R. Tiedemann

Format:VHS Tape

This version of Louisa May Alcott's classic book, "Little Women," starring June Allyson, Janet Leigh, Liz Taylor and Margaret O'Brien, was the first remake of the film (which originally starred Kathryn Hepburn) and the version that is truest to the book.

The Wynona Ryder film, the third and latest version, was seriously flawed, especially by the inclusion of "politically correct" and contemporary social views like the scene in which Ryder, playing Jo, expresses feminist sympathies to young men in a bar. I've read the book: there's nothing like that in it. In fact, the book is practically a morality play and in the earlier film versions the girls' struggle to improve their characters is portrayed, if somewhat lightly. These struggles, which are necessary to the accurate portrayal of each character and the time in which they lived, was totally deleted from the most recent version.

Both the Hepburn version and the Allyson version use quite a bit of Alcott's original text in the screenplay and characters in both films follow the book almost to the proverbial "T." The Ryder film, on the other hand, is a blatant and successful attempt to "modernize" Louisa Alcott, resulting in a totally inferior production.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Version Even Though They Made Beth Younger Than Amy! March 17, 2006

A Kid's Review

Format:DVD

This is my favorite version of Little Women despite that fact that they made Beth younger than Amy when it was the other way around in the book. Amy was actually younger than Beth in the book but even with that it is still my favorite movie version and as much as I liked the 1933 Katharine Hepburn version I liked this 1949 version better and I found June Allyson to be a more convincing Jo.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A 10 star winner..... December 13, 2005

By Beth DeRoos HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

As someone named after Beth from Little Women and having sisters and my family roots on our Mothers side being in Maine, I was a lover of this film from the first time I ever saw it. Thankfully we now have it on DVD and can watch it any time we wish. It is very true to the book authored by a favorite author of mine, Louisa May Alcott.

As a woman I like the book and the movie because of the strength of the March women in an era when most women were expected to live a certain role. I also like how each of the daughters Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg along with the mother who is a widow are all spirited females and not at all wimpy or whiny. Remembering at all times that the story was/is set in Civil War times.

The movie never lags but blends smoothly from one scene to the next. The cinematography has held up well over the decades and the movie doesn't show its age visually. Each of the actors went on to be major successes with some being major stars when the movie was made. Its a movie that is timeless and is a favorite especially during the winter months in out home.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Christopher Columbus! January 17, 2004

By kristy cacciapaglia

Format:VHS Tape

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as the 1994 version with Ms. Ryder as Jo March--I was surprised. The only slight scarring to this 1949 version of the film was the small appearances of Mr. March, his acting was quite horrible. But, June Allyson does fill the screen with perfection as Jo March. I thought that Margaret O'Brien portrayed a wonderful Beth also. I was very moved to tears when she shook off her shyness to thank the elder Mr. Laurence for the piano. Elizabeth Taylor played Amy March to all her selfish perfection. It was defintitely the most delightful to watch June Allyson though.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Movie! October 6, 2005

A Kid's Review

Format:DVD

I love to read books and I love movie adaptations of books! I saw the 1933 black and white movie adaptation of Little Women that starred Katharine Hepburn as Jo and I think it's a very good movie and she was very good as Jo but then I watched this 1949 color movie adaptation for the first time and I liked it even more than I liked the 1933 movie. This 1949 movie starred June Allyson as Jo and I think this movie is wonderful and while there are a couple of changes like making Beth younger then Amy when in the book Amy is younger then Beth I still felt like it was pretty close to the book and I think June Allyson was a very good Jo and was exactly what I pictured Jo to be like and I also liked Margaret O'Brien as Beth and I think she really captured the sweet, shy Beth from the book. The other Actors were good too, Elizabeth Taylor was a perfect Amy, Janet Leigh was very good as Meg, Mary Astor was a good Marmee and I loved the underappreciated Peter Lawford as Laurie and I also liked Rosanno Brazzi as Professor Bhaer who I think was very convincing as the German Mr. Baher and I very highly recommend this wonderful movie and this DVD to fans of the book! I have seen complaints written that the actors in this movie are too old to be playing the young Jo, Meg, Amy, Beth and Laurie but it is such a beautifully filmed and acted movie that if you get past the age thing you will see that the acting is very good and that it makes up for it and you forget about the ages of the actors but I have also seen the same age complaints written about some of the actors from the 1933 and 1994 versions too and to me the age of the actors is just a minor thing and I don't think the actors looked all that old!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the quintessential family movie November 4, 2005

By bookloversfriend

Format:DVD

If you want to know what family can mean and should mean, this movie will show you. None of the other four movie versions will do that. This is the one that is true to the spirit of the book. It is also the best movie.

The members of the cast were superb in their roles. Margaret O'Brien gives a definitive performance as Beth. Mary Astor is the Marmee of the novel brought to life on the screen. Sir C. Aubrey Smith gives a moving performance as Mr. Lawrence. The scene between him and Beth would make a statue cry. (Unfortunately, this was the last film of his distinguished career. He died six months after the film was completed.)

The 1933 version had Katherine Hepburn but not much else.

The 1971 BBC version with its three and a half hours included more of the book, but the acting was lamentable, and even the BBC departed from its policy of faithfulness to literary works by substituting feminist advice when Marmee advises Meg on her marital problems. (Read this passage in Alcott's book. Its wisdom would save many a modern marriage.)

The 1994 version throws the book away, replaces all the characters with contemporary teenager types and turns Marmee into a radical feminist.

(Note that a novelization of this 1994 movie was published when the movie was released. It is simply the filmscript written into novel form, a hundred pages or so and, like the movie, bears little resemblance to Alcott's novel. Many people read that book, thinking they were reading the 800 page Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Possibly, this is the version that the Amazon reviewer read. Otherwise, it is impossible to explain his rather bizarre review. There are also abridgments in print. Caveat emptor. Such literary crimes ought to be against the law....)

But whether you care about the book or not, if you want a good family movie, this is it. Read more ›