User reviews

Precocious orphan Anne Shirley comes to live with an old spinster and her brother in rural Canada. I grew up with the wonderful '80s TV miniseries Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows. It's more faithful to the book and no doubt purists will prefer that. Still, this is an entertaining film with a charming performance from Anne Shirley, who took her stage name from this character. It's amusing that young Anne's being homely is referenced several times when the actress Anne Shirley is one of the prettiest to ever grace the screen. She's also one of classic Hollywood's most underrated talents. I've never seen a bad performance from her. She ended her career at the age of 27. Her last film was the classic Murder, My Sweet. Not a bad movie to go out on. As for this one, the last 15 minutes or so squeezes a lot in and it's not as strong as the start but it's still a very enjoyable film.

Similar to Pollyanna in its central character Anne Of Green Gables written in the Edwardian era by Canadian novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery has attained an enduring popularity the world over. It certainly has given Canada's smallest province Prince Edward Island its most famous identity.

In this adaption of the story young Anne Shirley played by Anne Shirley is sent by an orphanage to a sister and brother, Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie instead of a boy. It's a boy they want to help with the farm work as they're not spring chickens. But the orphanage sends a girl instead and Shirley has an innocence and bewitching charm and one lively imagination that captivates Heggie from the start. The crusty Westley takes a bit longer, but she grows to love her like a birth daughter though she takes great pains not to show it too much.

The novel has been adapted many times for the big and small screen and even for a mini-series. We get only the bare bones of a plot, but the skill of the players makes up for a lot of it. Tom Brown is in this too as Anne's boyfriend although their courtship is a bit rocky. They start with Anne busting her school slate on his noggin.

This is a good adaption that has held up well even for today. We'll no doubt see Anne Of Green Gables made many times over still, but this story is timeless as is this film.

Because they are getting older, practical Helen Westley (as Marilla Cuthbert) and her quiet brother O.P. Heggie (as Matthew Cuthbert) decide to adopt a boy from an orphanage in Canada. They expect the lad will help work on their farm "Green Gables". Instead of a boy, Mr. Heggie is presented with spirited 14-year-old Dawn O'Day (as Anne Shirley), a precocious red-haired girl. Determined and fast-talking, she endears herself to Heggie and even thaws Ms. Westley's cool exterior. In school, O'Day meets handsome young Tom Brown (as Gilbert Blythe) and a romance begins. Although she does talk too much, O'Day is endearing. The young actress professionally changed her name to "Anne Shirley" with the release of this film. The popular 1908 novel, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, became a successful "silent" feature film in 1919, starring Mary Miles Minter and directed by William Desmond Taylor. That version appears to be lost, unfortunately, but this one captures the bygone setting beautifully.

******** Anne of Green Gables (11/23/34) George Nicholls Jr. ~ Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, Helen Westley, O.P. Heggie

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.

Anne of Green Gables is directed by George Nichols Jr. and adapted to screenplay by Sam Mintz from the book of the same name written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It stars Anne Shirley, Tom Brown, O.P. Heggie, Helen Westley & Sara Haden. Story sees Anne Shirley as an orphan girl who is adopted by farmer Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla. That they were expecting a boy means it's quite a surprise, but in spite of Marilla's initial reservations, they accept her into the family home and a good family unit is formed. But can Anne ingratiate herself into school and the village way of life?

Having not read the book I personally have no frame of reference in which to judge this film adaptation. What is there for its modest running time is a charming little picture capturing a time period long since past. The acting and English language is very correct, while the innocence of the story, including that of young love blossoming, has a simplicity that's hard to dislike. There's some nice country shots to sample as well, while O.P. Heggie's performance is worthy of investment on its own. Old time film making with old time values, it's a film easily digestible for the undemanding film fan. 7/10

In "Anne of Green Gables" (1934), Marilla Cuthbert (Helen Westley) and Matthew Cuthbert (O.P. Heggie), middle-aged siblings who live together at Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, on Prince Edward Island, decide to adopt a boy from distant orphanage to help on their farm. But the orphan sent to them is a precocious girl of 14 named Anne Shirley (Dawn Evelyn Paris-a veteran of Disney's series of "Alice" shorts who later would adopt her character's name).

Anne was only 11 in Lucy Maude Montgomery's source novel but the same actress could not credibly go from 11 to college age during the course of the story. The movie suffers somewhat from this concession, as many of Anne's reactions and much of what she says would be far more entertaining coming from an eleven-year-old than from a teenager. As in the book, Anne is bright and quick, eager to please but dissatisfied with her name, her build, her freckles, and her long red hair. Being a child of imagination, however, Anne takes much joy in life, and adapts quickly to her new family and the environment of Prince Edward Island.

In fact Anne is the original "Teenage Drama Queen" and the film's screenwriter elected to focus on this aspect of her character. Which transformed the basic genre from mildly amusing family drama to comedy. A change that delighted audiences and that continues to frustrate reader purists.

Since the comedy is very much in the spirit of Montgomery's story I can see no reason to take issue with the changes, but let this serve as fair warning to anyone expecting a totally faithful adaptation. The comedy element is the strength of the film as it is one of the earliest self-reflexive parodies of Hollywood conventions. The actress Anne Shirley was one of Hollywood's all- time beauties and the film is in black and white. So much of the amusement is in seeing the title character's endless laments about her appearance and hair color contradicted by what is appearing on the screen. Anne regularly regales her no nonsense rural companions with melodramatic lines like: "If you refuse it will be a lifelong sorrow to me". Perhaps the funniest moment is when she corrects the spelling of her name on the classroom blackboard.

Tom Brown does a nice job as Anne's love interest Gilbert Blythe and Sara Haden steals all the scenes in which she appears as the Cuthbert's pompous neighbor.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

In cinematic terms, George Nicholls Jr.'s version of the classic tale is very much of its time. There is very little music, and the narrative unfolds in episodic fashion through long takes with characters moving through the frame. To film-goers brought up on more pacey forms of narrative, influenced by advertising, the film might seem slow, even static, but Nicholls' camera-work focuses on the characters' expressions, making us aware of their true feelings lurking beneath the surface. This is especially true of Marilla (Helen Westley), an actress famed for playing unattractive roles, but who lets the mask drop as the narrative unfolds, especially when Anne (Anne Shirley) is about to go away to school. Marilla's forbidding exterior is contrasted with her brother Matthew (O. P. Heggie) who is never without a twinkle in his eye.

Thematically speaking ANNE OF GREEN GABLES makes fun of romanticism, especially in Anne's characterization. Having been brought up on a diet of dime novels, Anne is full of extreme emotions; she is not just upset but devastated; she is not happy but ecstatic. When she is reprimanded for being rude to Mrs. Barry (Sara Haden), she believes it is the end of the world; and she will "never" apologize to the older lady. Needless to say Matthew manages to persuade Anne to revise her judgment - not by force, but rather through appealing to her better nature. In a later sequence, Anne is so enamored of the idea of reciting Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" in a rowboat that she doesn't realize the danger she is about to encounter; it is only through Gilbert's (Tom Brown's) timely intervention that she is spared a watery grave.

This film is undoubtedly sentimental, advocating family values and love as life's raisons d'etre. Everything ends happily, even though Matthew has a life-threatening illness. In the central role, Anne Shirley thoroughly enjoys herself; she is very good at handling the central character's transition from gawky teenager to idealistic young woman, even if the hairstyles are a little incongruous (her ponytails are almost too pronounced).

The ANNE OF GREEN GABLES is quite short - a "B" Picture length of only 75 minutes - but remains thoroughly entertaining.

Vivacious & irrepressible, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES brings unlooked-for happiness into the lives of a lonely old sister & brother on Prince Edward Island.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's well-loved novel comes to life in this wonderful little movie. Excellent production values, a literate script and first class performances gives the story exactly the touch of quality it deserves.

Taking her professional name from the character she portrayed, actress Anne Shirley is a joy as the red-headed fourteen-year-old orphan who completely alters the lives of her new guardians. Completely assured in her starring role, Miss Shirley is a delight, entertaining the viewer with Anne's boundless imagination, quick temper and not-so-secret sorrows.

Playing the stern spinster who gives the girl a home, Helen Westley also completely commands her role; the viewer will enjoy seeing this sharp-tongued woman slowly unbend to Anne's affection and child-like innocence. Australian character actor O. P. Heggie gives one of his finest performances as Westley's shy, gentle brother who welcomes Anne into his heart from the moment he arrives to fetch her from the railroad station.

Tom Brown most agreeably plays the schoolboy who quickly grabs Anne's attention. Sara Haden is appropriately prickly as a nosy neighbor. Charley Grapewin makes the most of his few moments as Avonlea's doctor.

It's the classic Lucy Maud Montgomery story about 14 year old orphan Anne Shirley. Elderly siblings Matthew Cuthbert and Marilla Cuthbert are adopting a boy to help with farm work but they're surprised to find a girl instead. It concentrates more on the relationship with Gilbert Blythe and limits Diana Barry. It ends with Anne going away to school and coming back for the sick Matthew. It's an odd place to end.

First, I can't believe she changed her stage name to Anne Shirley. Would Henry Cavill change his name to Clark Kent? The actress looks a little old for the role although I'm surprised that she was still a teenager at the time unless... The black and white movie has the problem of not able to show her bright red hair. She is still one of the great literary characters. It is fascinating to realize that the book was published only 26 years earlier. This is almost contemporary although there is a 1919 silent film. It's a fine adaptation and its success probably helped the book in return. I would like more of Diana and Anne but something has to be trimmed for a theatrical movie. A better place to end is probably a little earlier after Gilbert saved Anne. That would give the Diana Anne friendship more time to breath.

This production of Anne of Green Gables Is a Hollywood take on a much loved story about a fictional Canadian girl whose story has made her beautiful home province a popular tourist destination. The quality of the film I saw on TCM is excellent. I expected a grainy-looking movie with background static. The production, like many 1930's movies, seems like a theatrical play transferred to the screen with excellent acting and perfect diction. Anne Shirley (name taken from the main character), Helen Westley as Marilla, O.P. Heggie as Matthew and Tom Brown as Gilbert are excellent as the main characters.

One notable omission I noticed is that the ride by horse wagon through the "Avenue" is ignored in the script, amid the lovely scenery. In the book, Anne enthuses about it. The sets are prettified with perfect houses and English country gardens, unlike the reality of rural Prince Edward Island in the early 20th century. Hairdos are the style of the 1930's celebrity set and are totally out of place for the setting.

Anne Shirley plays her role like an older version of Shirley Temple and the ending does come on very abruptly with significant parts left out of the story. Still, for all its flaws, the movie played a role in establishing this iconic Canadian character and the best selling book on which the story is based has become a Canadian classic.

As a big fan of the books before I even saw the 80's versions of the movie, I think that the 1934 movie is a fairly good depiction. There is one deviation that they made which bugged me throughout the whole movie. Diana Barry's mother was Miss Rachel in the movie instead of them being 2 separate people. Also Diana had blonde hair, but that I could get past. I'm amused that the actress who played Anne Shirley (with an "e") just so happened to be named Anne Shirley, and she does an excellent job playing the character...it's almost as if the character Anne was modeled after the actress Anne. This movie sticks to the storyline very well, so as to quote many lines from the book. Also, Gilbert is still fairly handsome :)

It's nice to see how different some films try to represent the classic book, I'm not too concerned about any cinematic visuals it is the characters that differ from the book, at the heart of it they're similar but they got some executions of the characters wrong particularly of Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe and mathew cuthbert. The romance between Anne and Gilbert wasn't much like the book as she hated the boy with stubbernous intensity for quite some time only to later discover she might have feelings for him. Gilbert doesn't have to be thaat dumb I'd rather they just had use of some of the books charm concerning this. Anne fighting for Gilbert's attention in the early stages just isn't Anne. Also the merged Diana's parents with marillas friend oh I forget her name but she was quite the nosy character (good thing; like in the book) as in the film but Diana is from a richer family it was abit surprising to see that creative choice. Well I give it a 6 cause it's a charming story in the format of a film it can easily feel too rushed. Oh and could've given Anne some freckles, I mean she says she's a little freckled but u can't see them.

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.

Never viewed this film and consider it a great Classic with great veteran actors. In the period that this film was made, people in America were different, there was no TV or all the modern things we have today, except the Radio and the starting out of great films being made in Hollywood. Sweet innocent tales of young romance between a young girl or guy was viewed differently than it is today. Ann Shirley,"Murder My Sweet",'44 played a young orphan gal who was called Carrot Top because of her red hair and found herself being taken into a home of two elderly folks, who were like two wise owls and watched over Ann Shirley. It was a small town and everyone knew everyone and if anything happened, the entire town found out about it within minutes. It is a down to earth film with nice decent people trying to help each other in a very very simple way of living. Today, it seems very corn ball and stupid, but believe me, this was the way people were in America during the 1920'. & 30's and they were a great generation that loved good family films.

RKO did a great job in adapting the story of Anne, and the picture was one of its biggest hits of 1934. Also interesting is that actress Anne Shirley took her final screen name from the character she so beguilingly played. Before that, she was a child actress known as Dawn O'Day! This film is enchanting and Anne Shirley, always an underated actress and poorly served by the RKO brass during her career, is arresting in the part. Helen Westley as Marilla is excellent as is O.P. Heggie as Matthew. This film is a real charmer!

Anne Shirley -- who adopted the character's name after her appearance here -- is charming as the imaginative and sweet orphan of Lucy Maud Montgomery's book. O. P. Heggie as the kind and sly Matthew Cuthbert, and Helen Westley as the dour Marilla Cuthbert complete the household.

This seems to have been conceived as a follow-up to RKO's LITTLE WOMEN, and Katherine Hepburn is said to have longed for the role. The art department arranged the sets to suggest 19th century woodcuts here too. Although not the classic the older movie was, this one is beguiling too.

Rare is the actress who changes her name to the character she plays either on the stage or in the movies. Anne Shirley is one who did just that when she took up the character of an orphan girl in November 1934's "Anne of Green Gables." Born Dawn Paris, she remarkably was earning money for her widowed mother at four years old, appearing in early 1920s silents by her stage name Dawn O'Day. After a string of films as a childhood actress, Dawn fell so in love with playing Anne Shirley in "Anne of Green Gables," she permanently changed her name to the main character in Lucy Montgomery's 1908 novel. Set in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, farmer Matthew Cuthbert (O. P. Heggie) and his sister Marilla (Helen Westley) had contacted an orphanage for a young boy to help them on the farm. Instead, when Matthew arrived at the rail station to pick him up, a mixup by the orphanage had a bubbly, enthusiastic eleven year old girl greet them instead. On the trip back to the farm, the farmer is enchanted by the girl's charm, but Marilla needs some convincing.

Dawn was sixteen when she was selected from hundreds of applicants to play the popular character, a role Katherine Hepburn dreamed about having. Only 5"2" in height, Dawn's smallish figure tilted in Dawn's favor. Another older actress in a younger role in the movie was Anne's 11-year-old friend, Diana Barry, played by 23-year-old Gertrude Messinger. The first talkie and the second movie version of Montgomery's book, 1934's "Anne of Green Gables," covers several years in Anne's life, focusing on her love life, both as an adolescent and as a college student. The drama pits Anne's affair with Gilbert Blythe (Tom Brown), the son of Matthew's former girlfriend who jilted him many years ago. Matthew had long forgiven her and her family, but his sister Marilla is still bitter about the split.

"Anne of Green Gables" turned out to be an unexpected hit for RKO Pictures, becoming the studio's fourth most popular movie for the year. The film also created a buzz for the now-named Anne Shirley, an unusual feat for a silent movie childhood actress to make the transition to talkies. She had been one of four Alices in Walt Disney's first live-animated series, "Alice in Cartoonland," performing in one episode, 1925's 'Alice's Egg Plant.' She remained busy in movies after playing Anne, highlighted by her Academy Award nomination performance in 1937's "Stella Dallas" with Barbara Stanwyck. "Anne of Green Gables" also marked the screen debut of actress Ann Miller, an 11-year-older who, like Dawn O'Day, was the main support for her nearly deaf divorced mother who moved from Texas to Los Angeles. The young Miller can be spotted as one of Anne Shirley's fellow schoolmates.

B-picture-level adaptation from RKO, modestly budgeted, with OK performances. Anne Shirley (who took her screen name from this role) looks rather older here than in some of her contemporary appearances. Film is much too rushed (the ending posits and wraps a major medical and romantic crisis in about 5 minutes), and the all-indoor shooting is no plus. No match whatever for the lovely Canadian miniseries version of 1985, whose leisurely pacing allowed better character development.