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Little Women

Little Women

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $15.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Christopher Columbus!
Review: I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as the 1994 version with Ms. Ryder as Jo March--I was surprised. The only slight scarring to this 1949 version of the film was the small appearances of Mr. March, his acting was quite horrible. But, June Allyson does fill the screen with perfection as Jo March. I thought that Margaret O'Brien portrayed a wonderful Beth also. I was very moved to tears when she shook off her shyness to thank the elder Mr. Laurence for the piano. Elizabeth Taylor played Amy March to all her selfish perfection. It was defintitely the most delightful to watch June Allyson though.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Winner, Best OVERALL Production of "Little Women"
Review: I've seen this one, Katharine Hepburn's, Susan Dey's, Winona Ryder's, and one on PBS: this is the OVERALL best one. Previous reviewers have commented on the anachronisms in Winona's by having the little women and Marmee talking feminism, something completely absent from Alcott's book. The only other serious contender, of course, would be Hepburn's version, and indeed, if you read the reviews of that movie, authors state categorically that Kate's is better than June's. If you had asked me about that earlier, I might have agreed with you. However, one night I conducted a "Little Women" marathon, whereby I rented both and showed them back to back. While I would say that Kate is the better Jo (but June is fine too), this 1949 version is better. For one thing, I like the casting better. I knew every woman playing the March sisters as well as Marmee very well from other works. Mary Astor's Marmee, together with Leon Ames as Mr. March when he finally returns from the Civil War, make good solid dependable parents. They were also the parents to Judy Garland's family in "Meet Me in St. Louis", but here Leon doesn't get a hard time from everyone like in that movie. The standout among the other March sisters is Elizabeth Taylor's blond performance as Amy. She brings the right amount of petulance and vanity to the role. Janet Leigh plays a sweet and demure Meg. I've never liked Margaret O'Brien, period, but she's okay here; fortunately, Beth doesn't make it through to the end of the movie, so I didn't have to see more of Ms. O'Brien than I had to. Peter Lawford makes a good Laurie, a good foil to June's Jo. And I was very pleased to see Dr. Baher upgraded to Rosanno Brazzi--now I could finally understand why Jo chooses the German (yes, I know RB is Italian) tutor over rich boy Laurie. By the way, one of my other discoveries from my comparison of the two most famous versions back to back was that the same score was used in both, as was the same screenplay--after all, both MGM. I noticed that the professional reviewer at top complained about this script--well, it's the same one he heard in Kate's too!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Little Women video ever made!!!!
Review: June Allyson is a supurb Jo in this timeless classic.Elizabeth Taylor fans will love Elizabeth as Amy.I believe this version of little women to be the funniest most touching and best directed little women of all!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best classic I've ever seen
Review: June Allyson is fabulous is this version of Little Women. She and the other women (there among a young Elisabeth Taylor) make this one of the best movies ever made, while changing between misery and happiness, the movie never loses its hold on the viewer. It truly captures the spirit of a family going through life, with everything that includes. I recommend it for all to see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lovely Version of Alcott's Classic
Review: June Allyson stars as Jo March in the second version of Louisa May Alcott's classic. Margaret O'Brien makes a touching and tragic Beth,and brings a shining innocence to the role. A blonde Elizabeth Taylor is great as the selfish,yet somewhat compassionate Amy,and Janet Leigh is adequate as Meg. Peter Lawford and Rossano Brazzi are two capable leads that help to add to the films 'star power'. Ellen Corby also makes an appearance as a dithering maid in the New York sequence.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful family entertainment; Lawford is amazing.
Review: Little Women, starring June Allyson, is a lively, spirited version of a drab novel which never failed to put me to sleep as a child. This film was poignant,cheerful,sad,gay, and real. Peter Lawford, as Laurie, is a great leading man and was seriously underappreciated during his lifetime. I highly reccommend t his film to any age viewers.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Joe
Review: My favorite character in the movie is Joe. She is soooooo cool! I like her because of her tom-boyish acts.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: OK First of all I loved this movie. Out of all of them this one is my favorite. It is an excellent movie, I would recommend this to everyone. But I would love it on DVD do they have a DVD version? Does anyone know?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The only version of Little Women you ever need to watch!
Review: Put together June Allyson, Margaret O'Brien, and MGM and what have you got? A classic masterpiece called Little Women. Through triumphs and tears, you follow as the March sisters endure what life has given them. There is only one thing that could have possibly made this picture any better. Jo and Laurie need to end up together!!! So, does everyone agree with that?? I thought so! June Allyson, as Jo March, gives one of the finest performances in her legendary career. This is a 7 hanky movie! So get your box of kleenex (by Kimberly Clark), a big bowl of popcorn, and enjoy the movie! We highly recommend Little Women for your viewing pleasure.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Review of Little Women
Review: The book, Little Women, was written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868-1869, which was an autobiographical novel of her childhood. The poverty stricken family portrayed in the book and later in movies was a reflection of her family's economics. During Louisa's writing development she was tutored by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. So it is no surprise that her book, Little Women, a family classic, that three movie versions would immortalize her novel on screen.

My favorite version of this novel is the second version that was made and released in 1949. Andrew Solt, Sarah Y. Mason & Victor Heerman, wrote the screenplay. I rate this family classic a 5 and the reason being is that there are few movies that offer a comparable high quality portrayal of the strong moral fiber and compassionate and genuine nature of the characters of the novel. The first version starring Katherine Hepburn was released in 1933 and the third version starring Wynona Ryder among others was released in 1994.

The second version's cast included the March sisters, June Allison as Jo, Janet Leigh as Meg, Elizabeth Taylor as Amy, Margaret O'Brien as Beth and Mary Astor as Marmee March, the mother and matriarch. Also Peter Lawford played Laurie, the rich neighbor boy who befriended the March family for life and Rossano Brazzi as Jo's beau.

The March family finds themselves impoverished after Mr. March makes a bad investment with the family money. While Mr. March is away fighting in the Civil War the March women are left to fight their own war on poverty, to make ends meet, and keep the home fires burning. Women of this era were raised to be ladylike, gentile, and homemakers. However, as wars often require, these women rally to the challenge by taking on nanny and caretaker positions while Marmee volunteers her services to the sick and needy. The heroine, Jo, pursues her passion, writing, which is also not the norm for women of these times, which was also true of Louisa May Alcott who wrote pseudonymously.

The book, the writer, and the movie versions have served as an inspiration of what a woman can aspire to and overcome and accomplish in her lifetime. I find courage and strength in her words. As Marmee says to Jo, "My dear, don't let the sun go down upon your anger; forgive each other, help each other, and begin again tomorrow."


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