Little Women (1978) (TV)

Director:

David Lowell Rich

Writers:

Louisa May Alcott (novel)
Suzanne Clauser (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family | Romance

Plot:

Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about four sisters growing up in Civil War New England. Jo, the tomboyish sister with a literary flair...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Meredith Baxter	...	Meg March (as Meredith Baxter Birney)
Susan Dey	...	Josephine 'Jo' March
Ann Dusenberry	...	Amy March
Eve Plumb	...	Elizabeth 'Beth' March
Dorothy McGuire	...	Marmee March
Greer Garson	...	Aunt Kathryn March
Robert Young	...	Grandpa James Lawrence
Richard Gilliland	...	Theodore 'Laurie' Lawrence
Cliff Potts	...	John Brooke
William Shatner	...	Professor Friedrich Bhaer
William Schallert	...	Jonathan March
Virginia Gregg	...	Hannah
Joyce Bulifant	...	Mrs. Kirke
John de Lancie	...	Frank Vaughn
Carlene Watkins	...	Sally Gardiner

Runtime:

200 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Groverton Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Kate Jackson/Delbert McClinton (#4.13)" (1979)

Unabridged delight

This was a very nice production from the late seventies that deserves to be seen. A tad dated, but in a charming way. It is the only version of Little Women that I've viewed that really plays up Jo March's temper, which is this huge issue in the novel. Wynona Ryder was charming in the latest version, but she wasn't Jo. She probably would have been a better Meg. Katharine Hepburn and June Allyson were appropriately tomboyish but they were victimized by time constraints although I love both those versions (save the hideous casting of Margaret O'Brien as Beth)

I once read somewhere that this was Susan Dey's favorite role and she really is very fine although of course too pretty, but I guess no one wants to see a Jo March who is really and truly plain. I believe Edith Head did the costumes and Elmer Bernstein the music and it's plain that a lot of care was taken with this production. I was particularly moved by the scene with Jo and Beth at the seashore. All of the actresses were well cast, Amy was bratty, yet you completely buy into her transformation as an adult, and the romance between Meg and John Brooke was nicely handled. In some of the other versions, again due to time constraints, their romance is underdeveloped to the extreme! The exception is the pretty good BBC adaptation that was also a miniseries. That version had a terrific John Brooke, if you care.