Little Women (1949) (1949)
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83% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(9,683 ratings)
Of the many film versions of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, this 1949 MGM adaptation is by far the prettiest. Set in New England during the Civil War, the film relates the various adventures of the March sisters: Jo (June Allyson), Beth (Margaret O'Brien), Amy (Elizabeth Taylor) and Meg… More Of the many film versions of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, this 1949 MGM adaptation is by far the prettiest. Set in New England during the Civil War, the film relates the various adventures of the March sisters: Jo (June Allyson), Beth (Margaret O'Brien), Amy (Elizabeth Taylor) and Meg (Janet Leigh). Jo emerges as the main character, as she leaves hearth and home to try her luck as a novelist in New York. Moments of high comedy (the sisters' amateur theatricals) are counterpointed with grim tragedy (the death of the youngest March girl), with romantic interludes provided by the faithless Laurie (Peter Lawford) and the loyal Professor Bhaer (Rossano Brazzi). Unlike Selznick's 1933 Little Women or Gillian Armstrong's 1994 adaptation, this 1949 version tends to be more an extension of the old Hollywood contract-player typecasting system than a heartfelt evocation of the Alcott original. Even so, Little Women is consistently pleasing to the eye, especially when seen in its original Technicolor hues. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Mervyn LeRoy
- Genres
- Drama, Kids & Family, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Mar 10, 1949 Wide
- Studio
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Critic Reviews
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, TIME Magazine
A shade less ambitious than its 1933 predecessor (which starred Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett), it still jerks tears with easy efficiency.
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Variety Staff, Variety
The tender story, with its frank and unashamed assault on the emotions, still has its effective moments at times when the sentiment doesn't grow a little too thick.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
If anything, it has hauled back much too briskly on the strings of the heart and has strained a few muscles in the process. Its consequent agony shows.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This version is a well-handled retelling of the classic Louisa May Alcott tale.
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Nancy Davis Kho, Common Sense Media
Alcott's story livened by 1949 superstar cast.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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June Allyson
as Jo March
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Peter Lawford
as Laurie Laurence
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Margaret O'Brien
as Beth March
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Elizabeth Taylor
as Amy March
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Janet Leigh
as Meg March
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Rossano Brazzi
as Fritz Bhaer
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Mary Astor
as Marmee March
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Lucile Watson
as Aunt March
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C. Aubrey Smith
as Mr. Laurence
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Elizabeth Patterson
as Hannah
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Leon Ames
as Mr. March
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Harry Davenport
as Dr. Barnes
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Richard Stapley
as John Brooke
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Connie Gilchrist
as Mrs. Kirke
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Ellen Corby
as Sophie
- Harlan Briggs
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Frank Darien
as Cronies
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Eloise Hardt
as Sally Gardiner
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Olin Howland
as Schoolteacher
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Isabel Randolph
as Mrs. Gardiner
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Arthur J. Walsh
as Young Man
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Will Wright
as Mr. Grace
