User Reviews

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.

Dawn O'Day was a lovely child actress who, with a change of name to Anne Shirley, hit pay dirt in the enchanting "Anne of Green Gables" (1934). Even though she was nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award as the put upon daughter in "Stella Dallas" (1937) she was hardly ever given roles worthy of her. She wasn't keen to do a sequel to "Anne of Green Gables" and was proved correct in her prediction as it wasn't a success when it was released. But I, like a previous reviewer, think it has held up very well and is a very entertaining family film. Even though "Anne of Windy Poplars" (originally Willows) was published in 1936 - chronologically it came after "Anne of the Island".

Anne is now a young woman and arrives in Pringleton where she is to be the new Vice Principal of the local high school. Because elderly Hester Pringle (Ethel Griffies) had wanted the post for her niece, Catherine (Louise Campbell) Anne finds upon her arrival that a lot of the town is against her. She finally finds somewhere to board - at Windy Poplars (it reminds her of Green Gables) - the only people in town not to be frightened of the Pringles. She meets little Beth (Joan Carroll) from next door who reminds Anne of her imaginative self.

The Pringles are seething and want Anne out of the teaching post. They start by assigning her several more jobs (head of the dramatic society, gymnasium instructress etc) but Anne is enthusiastic about the challenges. One of her challenges is Jen Pringle (Marcia Mae Jones, who was so wonderful in "These Three"), an obnoxious schoolgirl who makes life uncomfortable for Anne, although Anne brings her around by praising her and giving her responsibilities. The one Pringle she befriends is Tony, a teller at his father's bank who drinks because he cannot stand the power his family wields - he is also in love with Catherine. Catherine's dislike of Anne is solved - Catherine had been head of the dramatic society until it was given to Anne. Anne solves that problem by having Catherine organize and write the end of year play. Beth, who has an awful time living with Aunt Ernestine Pringle is a willing listener to Anne's stories about "Cinderella" - she then becomes ill but the doctor is not sent for as her Aunt feels it is just a temper tantrum.

The play has other problems - Aunt Hester has forbidden Jen, who has the lead, permission to appear. With some quick thinking Catherine helps Jen escape from her room and to get to the theatre in time but in doing so she is locked in the room by wicked Aunt Hester. The townsfolk leave the hall only to find that the Pringle mansion is burning down. Hester has dropped the lamp when she has a fatal heart attack.

Anne, in the meantime, along with Gilbert who is visiting for Christmas, give Beth back the will to live by promising she will always have a home with them. Of course everything ends happily. Anne Shirley, even though 6 years had passed since the original Anne movie, brings the same radiance and sweetness to this role as she had to the original. Joan Carroll had a couple of roles of note - "Anne of Windy Poplars" and "The Primrose Path", where she won rave reviews as Ginger Rogers' bratty little sister. She won national fame on Broadway in "Panama Hattie". Her most famous film was "Meet Me in St. Louis" although she was definitely lost in the shuffle between Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien.

There were also a wealth of character actors in this film - Alma Kruger, Slim Summerville, Elizabeth Patterson, Ethel Griffies, Clara Blandick and Grady Sutton.

Recommended.

RKO's belated sequel to its 1934 success, Anne of Green Gables, is a very different film. That was enchanting Americana, slightly undone by budgetary constraints and pacing issues. This one's a well-mounted, stylishly-directed tale of small-town bigotry, with portions of gothicism, that benefits from its straightforward narrative and relatively short time-frame. Anne Shirley, who borrowed her screen name from her character in the first film, returns in the lead - a little more restrained, somewhat fuller of face - and nails the character once more. Her Anne arrives in a small town to find herself cast adrift by a wealthy, all-powerful clan of malicious gossips, headed up by Ethel Griffies. Luckily, she's got a cast of classic character actors on her side, including Henry Travers, Elizabeth Patterson and Slim Summerville. They really did assemble a quality ensemble for this one, even if some of the more timeless performers (Patterson) are neglected at the expense of some of the more annoying ones (Summerville). Anne's beau, Gilbert, is played by English-born Patric Knowles (a staple of '40s comedy-dramas), her next-door neighbour is the excellent Joan Carroll (later Meet Me in St. Louis' Agnes) and her most troublesome student is Marcia Mae Jones (of These Three and the Shirley Temple version of Heidi), while Clara Blandick and Alma Kruger are also on board, albeit with nothing to do.

Purists may be offended by the liberties taken with L. M. Montgomery's narrative - there's a different ending, while in the book Griffies' character is won over by Anne, rather than remaining pungently unrepentant - but it's highly entertaining and there are plenty of effective scenes. Some are touching, like Shirley and Collins' heart-to-hearts through a hole in the fence. And some are flatly terrifying, as Griffies morphs into a creepily friendly old dear to bat away Anne's heartfelt pleas for clemency. Perhaps the film didn't strictly need its melodramatic climax, but it's quite well-handled, particularly Travers' boat escape. Style-wise, it's not clear if RKO were getting in the swizzy equipment ahead of Orson Welles' magnum opus, Citizen Kane, but there are a couple of uncharacteristically swish camera moves here. One is the neat (if slightly fuzzy) crane shot as Anne walks towards Windy Poplars for the first time. The other is an Altman-esque tracking shot that adds immeasurably to the final scene, guiding us through the vivid tableaux of a small-town picnic, its dappling sunlight and rustic allure calling to mind Renoir's Partie de campagne. A memorable way to finish a very satisfying movie.

Six years had passed since child star Dawn O'Day made an impression in RKO's adaptation of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (1934). The actress became identified with the Anne Shirley character created by Canadian writer Lucy Montgomery, and she changed her stage name to reflect this strong connection.

By 1940 she had matured into a fine young adult actress. During the intervening period, she'd ascended the ranks at the studio. After Katharine Hepburn's abrupt departure from RKO in 1938, Miss Shirley was basically the lead ingenue. She starred in many productions until her early retirement in 1944. Most of these pictures did boffo business with audiences.

It is no surprise that RKO execs were keen to do a sequel. And I think it is to their credit they did not rush the sequel. The wait allowed the actress to grow up, and for her to improve her skills. Now several years older, it is believable that she could play Anne who at this point in the narrative leaves Prince Edward Island to venture far from home to begin her teaching career.

In some ways Montgomery's plucky heroine is similar to Louisa May Alcott's Jo March in Little Women and Little Men, also a teacher. Many adventures take place when she arrives by train in a remote location called Pringleton. The village is run by the founding family, the Pringles. For reasons not initially clear, the Pringles are rather inhospitable. This causes her to find lodging at a home known as Windy Poplars, which is reminiscent of Green Gables.

At Windy Poplars she is taken in by a kind caretaker (Henry Travers) and his wife (Elizabeth Patterson). They work for an eccentric woman (Minnie Dupree) who is happy to have additional companionship.

Subsequent scenes introduce us to an assortment of colorful characters. Some of these folks are amusing, others are a bit tragic. Shades of Norman Rockwell meets Thornton Wilder. The first student we meet is a young orphan girl (Joan Carroll), whose wild imagination makes her seem like a throwback to Anne's own early days.

During the various introductions that occur, we get a sense of the community as a whole, including the way the local school is operated. Most of this seems innocent but there are secrets, too. We have an interesting scene where old matriarch Hester Pringle (Ethel Griffies) gathers her brood and learns that outsider Anne Shirley is staying and has taken up residence at Windy Poplars. She is not pleased.

In typical Montgomery fashion, there is a romantic friendship. While we see Gilbert Blythe (Patric Knowles) at the beginning, he is absent for much of the first half of the movie. He remains away finishing his studies as a doctor. Meanwhile, Anne settles in to life in Pringleton, and she befriends a handsome member of the Pringle family (James Ellison). Ellison's character has a drinking problem, because he's in love with someone else that he can't have at the moment.

Gilbert shows up for a Christmastime visit in the middle of the story, and it's clear that he and Anne will soon be married...especially when they kiss under the mistletoe. Their bond is made even more unbreakable when Joan Carroll's character takes ill and she is treated by Gilbert. This paves the way for the couple to adopt the girl.

This is a story about new beginnings, small town prejudices and fortitude. It is also a fish out of water tale. Main character Anne Shirley as an adult is repeating the previous situation of coming to a new community; of being disliked and unwanted...then, gaining acceptance. It's a nice motion picture and a worthy follow-up to the original.