Our Town (1940)
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86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
46% of users liked it
(1,221 ratings)
Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town is given the Hollywood treatment in this adaptation directed by Sam Wood featuring an evocative score by Aaron Copland and outstanding production design by William Cameron Menzies. Frank Craven is Mr. Morgan, the narrator and our guide… More Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town is given the Hollywood treatment in this adaptation directed by Sam Wood featuring an evocative score by Aaron Copland and outstanding production design by William Cameron Menzies. Frank Craven is Mr. Morgan, the narrator and our guide through the small town of Grover's Corners in the more innocent American times of 1901, 1904, and 1913. Mr. Morgan chronicles the lives of a handful of Grover's Corners citizens, centering upon Emily Webb (Martha Scott), the daughter of the local newspaper editor (Guy Kibbee), and George Gibbs (William Holden), the son of the local doctor (Thomas Mitchell). Emily and George fall in love and the film details their difficult courtship, marriage, and tragic childbirth. The film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, losing out to Rebecca. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Sam Wood
- Written By
- Thornton Wilder, Frank Craven, Harry Chandlee
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- May 24, 1940 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Dated, yes. But it still catches in the throat. Nostalgic, loving, happy, sad.
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Emanuel Levy, Screendaily
Sam Wood's film version is as experimental and stylized as Thornton Wilder's play, one of the most enduring but also misunderstood plays in American history.
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Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Pretty good, but did Wilder know Wood screwed up the ending?
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
today it seems quite dated in its theatrical clunkiness
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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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William Holden
as George Gibbs
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Martha Scott
as Emily Webb
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Fay Bainter
as Mrs. Gibbs
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Beulah Bondi
as Mrs. Webb
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Thomas Mitchell
as Dr. Gibbs
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Frank Craven
as Mr. Morgan the narrator
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Guy Kibbee
as Editor Webb
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Stuart Erwin
as Howie Newsome
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Doro Merande
as Mrs. Soames
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Philip Wood
as Simon Stimson
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Ruth Tobey
as Rebecca Gibbs
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Arthur Allen
as Prof. Willet
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Charles Trowbridge
as Reverend
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Spencer Charters
as Constable Warren
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Dix Davis
as Si Crowell
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Tim Davis
as Joe Crowell
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Douglas Gardiner
as Wally Webb
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Dan White
as Wedding Guest
