In old Prince Edward Island in Canada, country folk O.P. Heggie and Helen Westley are awaiting the arrival of a young boy to help them out on their farm. When Heggie gets to the station, he finds only a teenage girl waiting. It is Anne Shirley (character name AND actress), a freckled, redheaded ball of fire. Heggie instantly takes to her, but Westley is none too happy and demands her return. She allows her to spend the night, which causes her to soften towards Shirley. When she sees the woman who has agreed to take her off her hands, Westley changes her mind. Shirley remains feisty, telling off obnoxious neighbor Sara Haden, who instantly judges her by appearance. Westley makes Shirley apologize, which she does, on her own terms. In school, Shirley gets the attention of handsome Tom Brown whom she spars with at first, and tries to play little miss fix-it upon learning that her foster mother has a resentment against Brown's family. As Anne grows up, she matures into a lovely young woman, yet all the while keeping the spark that added so much life to Heggie and Westley's home.
Made the same year Shirley Temple began her reign as the Little Miss Fix-It over at 20th Century Fox, "Anne of Green Gables" was RKO's hope of having another "Little Women" on their hands with a peppy young girl changing the lives of everyone around her. Anne Shirley, formerly Dawn O'Day, is excellent in the title role, and it doesn't get any better than when she tells off Sara Haden ("Andy Hardy's" Aunt Millie), then apologizes while repeating her earlier tirade in politer terms. She would remain an RKO contract player for 10 years. Haden,it must be noted, doesn't play the gossipy neighbor as a one-dimensional character, using Shirley's apology too to admit she might have been wrong about her. Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie are absolutely perfect as her foster parents, and young Tom Brown makes an appealing young beau. Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry of "The Wizard of Oz") is a local doctor. A sequel with Ms. Shirley as an adult Anne (now a teacher) was made by RKO 6 years later. It has also been remade for TV and adapted several times as a stage musical. An enjoyable light-hearted drama that makes one long for simpler times before life, and the world, got overly complicated.
Made the same year Shirley Temple began her reign as the Little Miss Fix-It over at 20th Century Fox, "Anne of Green Gables" was RKO's hope of having another "Little Women" on their hands with a peppy young girl changing the lives of everyone around her. Anne Shirley, formerly Dawn O'Day, is excellent in the title role, and it doesn't get any better than when she tells off Sara Haden ("Andy Hardy's" Aunt Millie), then apologizes while repeating her earlier tirade in politer terms. She would remain an RKO contract player for 10 years. Haden,it must be noted, doesn't play the gossipy neighbor as a one-dimensional character, using Shirley's apology too to admit she might have been wrong about her. Helen Westley and O.P. Heggie are absolutely perfect as her foster parents, and young Tom Brown makes an appealing young beau. Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry of "The Wizard of Oz") is a local doctor. A sequel with Ms. Shirley as an adult Anne (now a teacher) was made by RKO 6 years later. It has also been remade for TV and adapted several times as a stage musical. An enjoyable light-hearted drama that makes one long for simpler times before life, and the world, got overly complicated.