writers_reign I know there are several well-known-to-verging-on-classic books targeting young girls, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, What Katy Did, Little Women etc; I've never read any of them and being male had no real desire to but I did watch this 1934 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables when it was shown on television earlier today and overall I was enchanted by it's innocence and depiction of an idyllic rural life impossible to replicate outside hard covers or on strips of film with perforations down the side. Ann Shirley is exceptional as the eponymous character but all the cast are excellent and contrive to make a storyline simplistic in the extreme believable. Sara Haden would, within the decade, be appearing in an entire series set in a mythically perfect America, the Andy Hardy films and this is a worthy comparison in a similar genre. If examined under too harsh a light flaws will be detectable but if you're prepared to surrender to it's charm you will be well rewarded.

Richard Burin This is a short, sentimental highlights package that turned out to be RKO's sleeper hit of 1934. Anne Shirley is Anne Shirley (she used her character's name for the rest of her screen career), the cheery, melodramatic, eternally appealing redhead created by L. M. Montgomery. Mistakenly placed with adoptive parents who were rather hoping for the boy they'd requested, her hot temper proceeds to get her into scrapes with friends, neighbours and that cheeky, good-looking boy in her class. There are production and pacing issues. The first hour is a little lacking in atmosphere, then - upon finding loads of the stuff - the film proceeds to race through the rest of the narrative at breakneck speed, with a succession of short scenes that cover five years in about five seconds. It also omits the most memorable bit of the book: Anne dyeing her hair green. For all that, this is a really gentle and rewarding movie, with absolutely charming performances, particularly from Shirley and O. P. Heggie, best-known for his turn as the blind hermit in Universal's seminal Bride of Frankenstein the following year.

dav07dan02 Director: George Nichols Jr., Novel: Lucy Maud Montgommery, Script: Sam Mintz, Cast: Anne Shirley, O.P. Heggie, Tom Brown, Helen Westley I bought this film mostly out of curiosity because we have the 1985 Keven Sullivan version which my wife and I both enjoy so we wanted to see what this early version was like. Although the 1985 version is better, this is better than I thought it would be. I haven't had a chance to read the book so I don't know how either film relates to the book but the 1934 version is only about 80 minutes long whereas the 1985 one is 3 hours long. Consequently, much is cut out in this earlier film. Ann's friendship with Diana Berry is way underdeveloped and before you know it, she is already in college! The 1985 version is much more of a coming of age film. A lot of time is spent on the relationship between Ann and Diana.The acting is pretty good in this film. It doesn't really compete with the 1985 film because that has an absolute perfect cast but they were good here also. Much of the lines in this film are the exact same as the 1985 version. O.P. Heggie and Helen Westly did a fine job as Matthew and Marilla. Their perceived characters are much like Richard Farnsworth and Colleen Dewhurst in the 1985. Anne Shirley was played by--well--Anne Shirley. Her birth name was Dawn O'Day. She changed it to Anne Shirley after this film. She had a cute personality in this film. If you are a fan of the 1985 version, you might want to get this also. The shorter length is another reason to buy this DVD. The 1985 version is of epic length so watching it is more like an event. So this one is good if you want just a small dose of Anne. IMDb also lists a silent version from 1919 but it is stated that there are no known prints of the film. That is a shame.

Spuzzlightyear First things first, I have never read or seen any of the Anne Of Green Gables movies or TV specials or books or whatever until I saw this, the 1934 version starring Anne Shirley. So I'm approaching this, excuse my saying so, from a somewhat-outsider's point of view here.For those unfamiliar, Anne Of Green Gables is the massively popular tale about an orphan who is sent to live with a brother / sister pair of farmers who are getting along in their years, who decide to adopt a boy so that he can be put to work in farming, as the male farmer in the household needs the help. I can imagine how that would go over if you put THAT on your adoption request today. Anyhow, instead of a boy, they get a girl, and that is, of course Anne.We follow Anne throughout life as she goes from plunky little teenager to college student. We see her friends, suitors and somewhat-enemies come and go. The story itself is pretty formulaic actually, since this is geared towards little girls. I am not really sure of this, but from the looks of things, they seem to have compressed several of the books for the movies, as the film jumps a lot in her life from her, ahem, transitional years.Of course, the person playing this role has to pull this role off, playing someone from 12 til about 18 or 19 or so. Anne Shirley had me fooled alright. It's a bit scary when I look back on it actually, how convinced I was that Anne was played by an actual 12 year old. Mind you, the part is played so ANNOYINGLY syrupy sweet that you just want to lock the kid up after a while. The MINUTE she appears on the screen, after being transferred from the orphanage, I predicted, and I was right, that Anne was going to be an annoying brat that would be a "Gee Willickers!" type of person and not be traumatized at all from the whole transfer from the asylum to her new home. As a matter of fact, one wonders if the asylum made the boy/girl mistake intentionally, just to unload Anne outta there lol.