Wednesday, May 7, 2014

May 7 - Our Town (1977)

Today’s movie is a drama with a scene set on May 7. I hope you will enjoy this motion picture and watch t tonight.

OUR TOWN                       

The Stage Manager introduces the audience to the Town of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire on May 7, 1901. [4:52 to 45:10] It’s an ordinary day and milk is delivered, Dr. Gibbs returns from a birth and children go to school. Mrs. Gibbs can’t decide if she should sell her grandmother’s highboy for $350.00. A professor talks about the geologic and ethnographic history of the town and Mr. Webb , the newspaper editor gives some demographic info and answers audience questions about alcoholism, social justice and culture.  The stage manager notes a time capsule is going in the cornerstone of the new bank and a copy of the play will give info about ordinary people. Emily Webb gives homework hints to her neighbor George Gibbs. The ladies go to choir practice and gossip about the organist, who drinks. Dr. Gibbs has a conversation with George and makes him feel guilty for not doing his chores. Three years pass and Emily and George are getting married. George has an awkward visit with his in-laws. The stage manager takes us back a year and we see the conversation where Emily takes George to task over his pride and they start to fall in love. At the ceremony, both George and Emily think that they are not ready to marry, but the services goes on. We now jump ahead nine years to the day of Emily’s funeral, as she has died giving birth to her second child. Emily talks to some of the other dead in the cemetery, but against their advice takes up the Stage Manager on his offer to let her relive one day. Emily picks her 12th birthday, but it soon becomes too emotionally painful and she returns to the graveyard. She laments that most people never life live to the full and the story concludes. 

A good if somewhat depressing drama. This version uses minimal props and relies on sound effects. The stage Manager often breaks the “fourth wall”.

Our Town: A Play in Three Acts by Thornton Wilder (Perennial Press, New York, 1998) at page 4 and the film at 3:15 to 3:18 give this date

Awards – It won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Any Area of Creative Technical Crafts Emmy. It was nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Tape Sound Mixing, in Technical Direction and Electronic Camerawork, Art Direction for a Dramatic Special, Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy, Lead Actor in a Drama or Comedy Special(Holbrook), Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special(Thompson) and Outstanding Special - Drama or Comedy Emmys at the 30th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Director - George Schaefer                         

Producer - George Schaeffer        
                                 
Screenplay - Thornton Wilder    

Running Time - 2 hours   

Released - May 30, 1977
                              
Starring –

Hal Holbrook as the Stage Manager
Ned Beatty as Dr. Gibbs
Sada Thompson as Mrs. Gibbs
Barbara Bel Geddes as Mrs. Webb
Glynnis O’Connor as Emily Webb
Robby Benson as George Gibbs

Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014.




                       


No comments:

Post a Comment