Anne of Windy Poplars (1940)

Director:

Jack Hively

Writers:

Jerome Cady (writer)
Michael Kanin (writer)

Release Date:

28 June 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Anne Shirley, having recently wed her childhood sweetheart Gilbert Blythe, takes a teaching position...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Based On Novel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Anne Shirley	...	Anne Shirley
James Ellison	...	Tony Pringle
Henry Travers	...	Matey
Patric Knowles	...	Gilbert Blythe
Slim Summerville	...	Jabez Monkman
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Rebecca
Louise Campbell	...	Katherine Pringle
Joan Carroll	...	Betty Grayson
Minnie Dupree	...	Kate
Katharine Alexander	...	Ernestine Pringle
Alma Kruger	...	Mrs. Stephen Pringle
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Jen Pringle
Ethel Griffies	...	Hester Pringle
Clara Blandick	...	Mrs. Morton Pringle
Gilbert Emery	...	Stephen Pringle

Also Known As:

Anne of Windy Willows (UK)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Movie Connections:

Follows Anne of Green Gables (1934)

An entertaining drama documenting small-town pettiness.

Although film critics do not give this sequel to "Anne of Green Gables" a good review, I found it most entertaining. Our heroine, Anne Shirley (played by none other than Anne Shirley) is now a grown woman who has become a teacher. Separated from her fionce, she takes a job as Asst. Principal and drama teacher in the small Canadian town of Pringleton where the all-powerful Pringles dominate the community. The wealthy matriarch Hester Pringle (an evil-looking Ethel Griffies) is resentful that her adopted daughter Catherine (Louise Campbell) was not given the post, and orders that the entire family (which includes "Wizard of Oz" cast member Clara Blandick) snub the young woman. Anne finds few allys because of the small town gossip, save for the independent spirited Rebecca (Elizabeth Patterson) and Matey (Henry Travers) who take her in. Anne sets to teach the town a lesson, and in the process, Hester Pringle's evil ways end up destroying her.

Having grown up in a small town, I found this to be a very true account of what some of these people can be like. Of course, there are always those who don't fall prey to that sort of small-minded behavior, and this film represents both sides of the spectrum. Anne Shirley is a delightfully spunky heroine, continuing the role she played in "Anne of Green Gables" six years before. Her career had skidded into mostly "B's", with the exception of "Stella Dallas", and this film is probably a lower grade "A". Memorable photography (particularly the first dark close-up of the Pringle home, then the gothic pan around the faces of the sour Pringle family) makes this worth a look; The cast is first rate, filled with many memorable character performances. Ethel Griffies who plays the matriarch had a very long career on stage and screen (lasting to the 60's), so she must have been heavilly made up to make herself look older than her years. Bratty Marcia Mae Jones (from "These Three" and "The Little Princess") is a precurser to "Little House on the Prairie" terror Nellie Olsen as she makes Miss Shirley's classroom a living hell, but quickly learns her lesson as Anne mixes discipline with kindness. There are some entertaining bits between Shirley, Patterson, and Travers as well. This is a film worth a second look for some qualities the critics seemed to have missed over the years.