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