While their father is away fighting in the American Civil War [1861-1865], the four March sisters—Meg (Janet Leigh), Jo (June Allyson), Beth (Margaret O'Brien), and Amy (Elizabeth Taylor)—grow up before their mother Marmee's (Mary Astor) eyes.
Little Women is a classic novel by American novelist Louisa May Alcott [1832-1888]. The novel was first published in two parts in 1868 and 1869. Both parts were published as a single volume in 1880. The novel was adapted for this movie by screenwriters Sarah Y. Mason, Sally Benson, and Andrew Solt based on an original screenplay by Victor Heerman (written for the1933 movie). The story of Little Women is loosely based on Alcott's experiences with her own three sisters—Anna, Elizabeth, and Abigail Alcott. The popularity of the novel has given rise to numerous other screen adaptations of the story including two silent movies, Little Women (1917) (1917) and Little Women (1918) (1918), and at least five other "talkies", including: Little Women (1933) (1933), Little Women (1946) (1946), Little Women (1958) (1958), (1978), and Little Women (1994) (1994), as well as several TV series.
Yes. Victor Heerman's script, written for the 1933 version of Little Women was used for the 1949 version, with only a few minor changes. Mostly, the spoken lines are almost identical, although the 1933 black-and-white version was made by RKO and the 1949 color picture was made by MGM.
At the beginning of the novel, Meg is the oldest at 16, Jo is 15, Beth is 13, and Amy is 12. Exact ages are not given in the movie. However, Janet Leigh was about 21 years old at the time the film was shot, five years older than her character Meg. June Allyson was 31 at the time, 16 years older than the Jo of the novel. For this film, the birth order of Beth and Amy was switched so that Beth became the youngest daughter. She was played by Margaret O'Brien, who was about 12 years old at the time. Elizabeth Taylor, who plays Amy, was about 17 at the time. Their friend Laurie was supposed to be 16 but was played by Peter Lawford, who was about 25 years old at filming.
In the book, Amy believed that her nose was flat from Jo dropping her as a baby, so she wore a clothespin on it, hoping to reshape it.
Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65 - C. M. Von Weber.
Scarlet fever (aka scarlatina) is a disease caused by the Streptococcus germ. Scarlet fever was given this name because of the yellowish-red hue given to the cheeks of the face. Symptoms include, among others, fever and a discolored tongue called "strawberry tongue". Nowadays, scarlet fever can be controlled with penicillin. In the timing of Little Women, which took place and was written in the 1860s, neither germs nor penicillin were even known. Complications of scarlet fever in the mid-19th century could include rheumatic fever, which led to heart disease. This seems to be what happened to Beth.
As the professor (Rossano Brazzi) explains to Jo after singing the song, that was Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (None But the Lonely Heart), lyrics by the German novelist and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [1749-1832] and music by the Russian composer Pyotr IlyichTchaikovsky [1840-1893].
The music is M'appari from the opera Martha by the German composer Friedrich von Flotow [1812-1883].
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- How long is Little Women?2 hours and 2 minutes
- When was Little Women released?April 1949
- What is the IMDb rating of Little Women?7.2 out of 10
- Who stars in Little Women?
- Who wrote Little Women?
- Who directed Little Women?
- Who was the composer for Little Women?
- Who was the producer of Little Women?
- Who was the cinematographer for Little Women?
- Who was the editor of Little Women?
- Who are the characters in Little Women?Josephine 'Jo' March, Laurie, Beth March, Amy March, Margaret 'Meg' March, Prof. Friedrich Bhaer, Margaret 'Marmee' March, Aunt March, Mr. Laurence, Mr. March, and others
- What is the plot of Little Women?The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
- What was the budget for Little Women?2.776 million
- How much did Little Women earn at the worldwide box office?$12.9 million
- How much did Little Women earn at the US box office?$7.47 million
- What is Little Women rated?Approved
- What genre is Little Women?Drama, Family, and Romance
- How many awards has Little Women won?1 award
- How many awards has Little Women been nominated for?2 nominations
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