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 doctor fiancé, 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 and strive to keep their tight reign on everyone they can, fearful of information out there that could bring them down.
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 allies because of the small town gossip, save for the sweet Minnie Dupree (in her second and last film after "The Young in Heart"), the nervous as the cat she hates but the lovably independent spirited Elizabeth Patterson and the eccentric 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 heavily made up to make herself look older than her years. Bratty Marcia Mae Jones (from "These Three" and "The Little Princess") is a precursor 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. Joan Carroll adds onto the pathos as a mistreated young member of the Pringle family. This is a film worth a second look for some qualities the critics seemed to have missed over the years. A chilling conclusion involving Griffies will keep you haunted, reminding me of the Gothic thriller "Double Door" with Griffies getting the same evil spirit initial closeup that Mary Morris got in that 1934 forgotten classic.
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 allies because of the small town gossip, save for the sweet Minnie Dupree (in her second and last film after "The Young in Heart"), the nervous as the cat she hates but the lovably independent spirited Elizabeth Patterson and the eccentric 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 heavily made up to make herself look older than her years. Bratty Marcia Mae Jones (from "These Three" and "The Little Princess") is a precursor 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. Joan Carroll adds onto the pathos as a mistreated young member of the Pringle family. This is a film worth a second look for some qualities the critics seemed to have missed over the years. A chilling conclusion involving Griffies will keep you haunted, reminding me of the Gothic thriller "Double Door" with Griffies getting the same evil spirit initial closeup that Mary Morris got in that 1934 forgotten classic.