Story of small-town life in turn-of-the-century America, and a young boy's problems facing adolescence.Story of small-town life in turn-of-the-century America, and a young boy's problems facing adolescence.Story of small-town life in turn-of-the-century America, and a young boy's problems facing adolescence.
Charley Grapewin
- Dave McComber
- (as Charles Grapewin)
Edward J. Nugent
- Wint Selby
- (as Edward Nugent)
Baby Peggy
- Schoolgirl at Graduation
- (uncredited)
Tommy Bupp
- Boy with Fireworks
- (uncredited)
A.S. 'Pop' Byron
- Nickolas
- (uncredited)
Bruce Cook
- Boy
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe gazebo in this film, a symbol of the typical American town, was built specially for the movie. That gazebo was gifted to the city by MGM and is still in use in Grafton Commons.
- GoofsBelle's mole on her cheek/upper lip disappears halfway through her scene, then reappears later.
- Quotes
Richard 'Dick' Miller: I'm afraid I was born a hundred years before my time.
Muriel McComber: I was born ten days ahead of mine.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits appear as though embroidered.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
- SoundtracksLong, Long Ago
(1883) (uncredited)
Music by Thomas Haynes Bayley
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Featured review
Long Long Ago, Long Ago
Eugene O'Neill's gentle nostalgic comedy got the full blown MGM treatment with Clarence Brown guiding a topflight cast in the standard interpretation of Ah Wilderness. My only complaint is that George M. Cohan who played the father of the Miller family did not repeat his role for the screen. Cohan could not/would not do the film and his loss was an opportunity for Lionel Barrymore who did the part with a sure hand.
According to a book on the Barrymore dynasty, Lionel was upset with Louis B. Mayer for whom he was usually a loyal employee when Brown under Mayer's orders tilted the film and the billing toward Wallace Beery's showier part of Barrymore's alcoholic brother-in-law. Watch the two of them in scenes together as they try and top the other. It must have been one tense set. On stage Gene Lockhart did the part of Uncle Sid.
The young protagonist about whom the action swirls is middle son Eric Linden. Barrymore does some creative interrupting at his son's valedictorian address filled with radical notions. Linden is rather clumsily courting Cecilia Parker and when she puts him off he goes out on one tremendous toot, taking his uncle Beery as a role model.
If there was one thing Eugene O'Neill knew from this life it was alcohol and the effects thereof. Think about all the works he did where substance abuse is at the center. His greatest play, The Iceman Cometh is set entirely in a bar.
Ah Wilderness is like the rest of O'Neill's works, no real plot to them, but deep character studies from a slice of life. Ah Wilderness being a comedy probably was easier to translate to the screen, even so the play which is set entirely in the Miller living room gets moved to the graduation and later to the tavern where Linden ties one on. On stage Elisha Cook, Jr. played the clumsy son.
Mickey Rooney played young son Tommy in this version. Thirteen years later when he was the other side of too old for the part he played the Eric Linden role in a musical version Summer Holiday which proved that O'Neill should not be the basis for a musical even his only comedy.
After 75 years, Ah Wilderness holds up very well and I think O'Neill probably approved of this version with the caveat that it had to conform to the Code. Helen Flint's part as a prostitute who gets Linden drunk and probably gives him a tumble was cleaned up by the Breen office. Given the code parameters, Ah Wilderness was as good as it could get.
According to a book on the Barrymore dynasty, Lionel was upset with Louis B. Mayer for whom he was usually a loyal employee when Brown under Mayer's orders tilted the film and the billing toward Wallace Beery's showier part of Barrymore's alcoholic brother-in-law. Watch the two of them in scenes together as they try and top the other. It must have been one tense set. On stage Gene Lockhart did the part of Uncle Sid.
The young protagonist about whom the action swirls is middle son Eric Linden. Barrymore does some creative interrupting at his son's valedictorian address filled with radical notions. Linden is rather clumsily courting Cecilia Parker and when she puts him off he goes out on one tremendous toot, taking his uncle Beery as a role model.
If there was one thing Eugene O'Neill knew from this life it was alcohol and the effects thereof. Think about all the works he did where substance abuse is at the center. His greatest play, The Iceman Cometh is set entirely in a bar.
Ah Wilderness is like the rest of O'Neill's works, no real plot to them, but deep character studies from a slice of life. Ah Wilderness being a comedy probably was easier to translate to the screen, even so the play which is set entirely in the Miller living room gets moved to the graduation and later to the tavern where Linden ties one on. On stage Elisha Cook, Jr. played the clumsy son.
Mickey Rooney played young son Tommy in this version. Thirteen years later when he was the other side of too old for the part he played the Eric Linden role in a musical version Summer Holiday which proved that O'Neill should not be the basis for a musical even his only comedy.
After 75 years, Ah Wilderness holds up very well and I think O'Neill probably approved of this version with the caveat that it had to conform to the Code. Helen Flint's part as a prostitute who gets Linden drunk and probably gives him a tumble was cleaned up by the Breen office. Given the code parameters, Ah Wilderness was as good as it could get.
helpful•82
- bkoganbing
- Dec 2, 2010
- How long is Ah Wilderness!?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ah, Wilderness!
- Filming locations
- Grafton, Massachusetts, USA(exterior scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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