Our Town (1940)

Change comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century. People grow up, get married, live, and die. Milk and the newspaper get delivered every morning, and nobody locks... See full summary »

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Thornton Wilder (play), Thornton Wilder (screenplay),

Stars:

William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Holden	...	George Gibbs
Martha Scott	...	Emily Webb
Fay Bainter	...	Mrs. Gibbs
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Webb
Thomas Mitchell	...	Dr. Gibbs
Guy Kibbee	...	Mr. Webb
Stuart Erwin	...	Howie Newsome
Frank Craven	...	Stage Manager / Mr. Morgan
Doro Merande	...	Mrs. Soames
Philip Wood	...	Simon Stimson
Ruth Tobey	...	Rebecca Gibbs (as Ruth Toby)
Douglas Gardner	...	Wally Webb
Arthur B. Allen	...	Professor Willard (as Arthur Allen)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Dr. Ferguson
Spencer Charters	...	Constable Warren

Storyline

Change comes slowly to a small New Hampshire town in the early 20th century. People grow up, get married, live, and die. Milk and the newspaper get delivered every morning, and nobody locks their front doors.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | professor | life cycle | student | childbirth | 

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Taglines:

Their love affair was the talk of our town!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 May 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unsere kleine Stadt

Filming Locations:

Fort Bragg, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sol Lesser Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 89 min (Hypercube restored)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on May 6, 1940 with William Holden and Martha Scott reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

Studio lights are reflected on the mourners' rain-soaked umbrellas.

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Quotes

Mrs. Julia Hersey Gibbs: It seems to me, once in your life, before you die, you ought to see a country where they don't speak any English and they don't even want to.

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Connections

Version of Art Carney Special: Our Town (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Languid?"
(1868)
Music "Stephanos" by Henry W. Baker (1868)
Greek words by Stephen of Mar Saba (Judea) (8th century)
Translated from Greek to English by John M. Neale (1862)
Played on an organ in church by Philip Wood and sung by the choir

User Reviews

Beautiful and lyrical albeit not what Thornton Wilder intended!

Having first seen this movie as a small child on TV I was amazed at the fact that Emily really did die in the play. It seemed to me that it was all the more moving that she did live as this movie was done prior to World War II and was probably intended as an affirmation of life. More than that it was so delicately handled and all the characters so meticulously outlined that the message of America as it was pre-war and the joyous lives of all Americans - was more the intent. A wonderful movie and I wish we had more of them.