The 1933 and 1949 versions of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" are considered classics, with Katherine Hepburn and June Allyson as Jo phenomenal in their performances. There were also a series of TV Anthology episodes in the 1950's focusing on each of the girls and their individual stories, and those are available in the public domain. Two theatrical versions and a PBS special followed this one, a much-publicized two-part TV production that was forgotten about because of earlier and later big screen versions. But this version has received some recognition as a overlooked classic, and its running time of 3 hours and 15 minutes is quite detailed, covering pretty much every detail of the classic novel.
This very colorful version looks as if someone took the 1949 Technicolor version and replaced Allison, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor and the others with modern actors. Veteran stars Dorothy McGuire as Marmee, Greer Garson as the uppity Aunt March and Robert Young as neighbor Mr. Lawrence surround Susan Dey as Jo, Meredith Baxter-Birney as Meg, Eve Plumb as Beth and Ann Dusenberry as Amy are the ensemble of sisters, each with their own individual personalities and problems, with Jo the main focus and the others on the fringe of the plots, giving the indication that Louisa May Alcott basic character of Jo on herself and her sisters individual problems getting secondary focus as she was obviously seeing their issues through her eyes.
Then there are the romantic interests, with neighbor Richard Gilliland in love with Jo who only considers him as a very good griend, falling in love with German neighbor William Shatner while she's working in New York, Cliff Potts as Meg's husband, and John DeLanchie as Amy's love interest while she's in Europe For Marmee, the issue of husband William Schallert off in war dominates part one. The second half focuses on Joe's career and the crisis over sister Beth's illness. It's a colorful production, with very green parks, some lovely winter settings, and beautiful period costumes. This was probably overshadowed by all the other versions and the presence of a lot of mini series at the time that it came out, but it truly is one of the very best versions of the novel, from stage, screen and TV.
This very colorful version looks as if someone took the 1949 Technicolor version and replaced Allison, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor and the others with modern actors. Veteran stars Dorothy McGuire as Marmee, Greer Garson as the uppity Aunt March and Robert Young as neighbor Mr. Lawrence surround Susan Dey as Jo, Meredith Baxter-Birney as Meg, Eve Plumb as Beth and Ann Dusenberry as Amy are the ensemble of sisters, each with their own individual personalities and problems, with Jo the main focus and the others on the fringe of the plots, giving the indication that Louisa May Alcott basic character of Jo on herself and her sisters individual problems getting secondary focus as she was obviously seeing their issues through her eyes.
Then there are the romantic interests, with neighbor Richard Gilliland in love with Jo who only considers him as a very good griend, falling in love with German neighbor William Shatner while she's working in New York, Cliff Potts as Meg's husband, and John DeLanchie as Amy's love interest while she's in Europe For Marmee, the issue of husband William Schallert off in war dominates part one. The second half focuses on Joe's career and the crisis over sister Beth's illness. It's a colorful production, with very green parks, some lovely winter settings, and beautiful period costumes. This was probably overshadowed by all the other versions and the presence of a lot of mini series at the time that it came out, but it truly is one of the very best versions of the novel, from stage, screen and TV.