Lots of classics have been made into movies. I thought of Little Women because they were playing the movie a lot during the holidays (and, no laughing, it's the first book in my bookcase that fits the theme). :) Anyway, the version with June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor is the best. Which little woman do you connect with? I've always loved Jo, but I think I'm the most like Meg. I'm not rebellious enough for Jo. :) I didn't get into too many of Louisa May Alcott's books. My favorite is actually one that very few people have read, I think. It's called "Eight Cousins."
Read all the Alcott books, but it is so many decades ago, that I cannot remember any except Little Women. If you're interested, Geraldine Brooks wrote the novel March which retells Little Women from the point of view of the father as he is absent during the Civil War. It was written very much in the style of Alcott. I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI have that book! Did I get it from you? I haven't read it yet. When does the father come back in the original book?
ReplyDeleteOkay, June Allyson is great, and Margaret O'Brien makes a good Beth, but Elizabeth Taylor as blonde Amy? I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I disagree. I think the 1933 (?) version with Katharine Hepburn as Jo is the quintissential Little Women....She even sounds like a New Englander....maybe because she was one?
I will look for a copy of Eight Cousins, Leslie! Did anybody read Little Men and Jo's Boys (the sequels to Little Women)?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite character has always been Beth. Because she played the piano. :) The newest movie with Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes, Winona Ryder, and Kirsten Dunst (and Christian Bale as Laurie!) is a little overdone, I think, but it still makes me cry.
I have Eight Cousins - you can borrow it! It's an old hardcover and the plastic is peeling a bit, and the paper is all yellowed. It's great! That's something a Kindle can't give you. Although, off topic, the Kindle is great for traveling!
ReplyDeleteYum, Christian Bale! Christian Bale in the early years (Newsies!) was amazingly cute. :) He had the nice melancholy thing down for Laurie too. The Laurie in the June Allyson version is also a favorite actor of mine (from Easter Parade). The only thing I didn't like about the newest version is Winona Ryder.
I never saw the Katharine Hepburn version - who else is in it? I've never seen her earlier stuff. Phildelphia Story and The Lion in Winter are my favorites.