Ok, so I used Spring Break to catch up on LW adaptations.  I’m glad it’s over because I just can’t stand to see or hear any more about the March girls.  In any event, here are my thoughts.   

1933 

TheCukor version was dull and static and had very little to offer in the way of entertainment or thought provoking fodder.  Katharine Hepburn was a major snooze fest.  She appeared to be just going through the motions with her line recitations.  It sounded like she was reading them right off her cue cards!  With all due respect to an actress that garnered much respect from critics, peers and fans, she brought the film down with her stilted, dull performance.  She was just too mannish for the role.  The lighting in this version was very dark.  There was too many shadows.  Marmee was weird and Laurie had some serious gender-identity issues going on. 

1949 

However, the LeRoy version was a pleasant surprise.  June Allyson nailed the part of Jo as she seemed to embody her very essence.  The score in LeRoy’s versionreminded me so much of the music from the “Wizard of Oz” that at times I actually felt like I was watching “Oz.”  To go along with that, I felt like Allyson was acting in a very Judy Garland-like way.  Their voices sounded similar; as didsome of their mannerisms.  She played Jo the way she was meant to be played; lively and effervescent, yeat somber and serious when need be.  All in all, a great acting job!  I did notice that Prof. Bhaer started looking and sounding a little more Italian in this version.  I thought I detected an Italian accent.  Also, he was way easier on the eyes.  On a final note, the colorization technique contributed to the “Oz” feeling of the film.   This was the best adaptation. 

1994   

What can I say about this version?  I wanted to like Armstrong more than LeRoy so bad.  However, there were some things that Armstrong did that I liked more.  For one thing, the dialogue emphasized a decidely feminist stance.  I’m not sure why this came through but it did.  Marmee (what an awful name) encouraged her girls to seek happiness in themselves.  I even noticed Susan Sarandon giving Laurie and Brooke looks that said, “Don’t even think we’re giving into that chauvinistic, poor, pathetic woman thing.”  She made a speech to Brooke and Laurie when she and Meg were outside that really shocked poor Meg.  I don’t remember what was being said but it had something to do with women looking after themselves and not waiting for a man to do it for them.  I also enjoyed the scene in NY when Rider and Byrne attended the meeting where womens rights were being discussed and Rider said that women should have the right to vote because they were human beings.  That was the best line in the film.  Armstrong bumped up Marmee’s role and made a strong, feminist force to be reckoned with.  She was firm but not preachy and really created a strong role for herself in her daughters’ lives.  I thought Sarandon did an outstanding job.  Like Hepburn, Wynona Rider was just so dull that I couldn’t stand it.  How did she ever get cast in the role?  I have never known Rider to be a strong force or play strong characters.  Whoever was in charge of casting (Armstrong?)  for this one really missed the mark.  Juliet Lewis (provided she would have taken the role) would have made a much better Jo.  Oh well.  As for Prof. Bhaer, well, he keeps getting better and better all the time.  He lost most of his accent and dressed better.  Gabriel Byrne was not such a Nancy-boy like the actor in LeRoy’s version.  In favor of the Armstrong version, the scene selection was better.  Armstrong was wise to include the scene where Amy was painting cups.  It gave us a chance to see that Laurie was jealous of Freddie Vaughan.  Went a long way toward character development. 

So, those are my thoughts on “Little Women” adaptations.  I. never want to see this movie again.  No offense to you Dr. C.  You were right to include this on the syllabus.  It does a great job of highlighting the gender theme.  However, I just don’t have any interest in the women, their time or what they endured.  As a final matter, I am giving you my Armstrong copy.  Think of it as a donation to UMW, c/o “The Little Women”” Learning Foundation.”  Thank you.