Anatomy Of A Movie: Little Women 1949 Part 2
Niina: You know, I read Elizabeth Taylor’s biography and I was very excited when I got into Little Women and it was only “then she played spoiled Amy in the 1949 Little Women”. That was the only thing the book mentioned and I’m like “This is not good”, but the be fair the book handled more about her marriages than her acting career.
Christina: I was going to say, unfortunately, her private life did overshadow her career quite a bit.
Niina: Elizabeth Taylor was an amazing actress. I have seen quite a few of her films.
Christina: I think she did this part really well. Between her acting and the script. With Allyson’s Jo and her younger Amy, we see her being a little snobbish childish, type of girl but when we get to see her later, we see that she is very mature and fully adult. I think she did that pretty well. If I remember correctly, I think she pretty much jumped from being a child actress to being an adult actress. I want to say that when she was 15 she worked on a movie where her co-star was like 10 years older than her and they were acting as a married couple of the same age. She just looked very mature. When I looked at her, I would have thought her to be at least 20 but no she was 15. This was probably one of the rare films where she got to play the natural progression of her age from teenager to adult. In terms of how she portrayed the character. Rather than just being a full-on adult. She managed to do it well.
Niina: I do like that scene when Aunt March and Amy go to New York to meet Jo and then they tell Jo that they are going to Europe and then Amy feels really bad that Jo did not get the trip. That is somewhat close to the books. It is not like in some other adaptations where Amy is like
“why nobody can be happy for me”
Christina: I think this is one of those ones where it didn’t feel like they were constantly pitting Jo and Amy against each other. I do feel like some versions really push that and this one takes a better progression. We see them butting heads because Amy is complaining about the play and Jo is trying to tell her no, but now that they are adults, they actually talk to each other and it is very clear that they do love each other. They just are sisters and sisters just get on each other’s nerves sometimes.
Niina: I think it is important that you see that. It is not like the other one is more mature than the other. They grow at the same pace. A lot of times people are like Jo stayed as a child, while Amy grew. Amy stayed as a child while Jo became an adult.
Christina: Margaret O’Brien is probably one of my top three favourite Beths. I think she did a wonderful job.
Niina: I really like her relationship with the older Mr Lawrence in this movie. It is very moving.
Christina: Two scenes that really stand out to me. The first one is when she comes home from the Hummels, and her standing there. You can feel that the death of that baby really affected her. She is just standing there, almost stunned. I always remember that scene, because I’m just like “How do you process that?” It really did feel like, poor Beth. It is very sensitive. The baby died in my arms and now I am sick. I think it really showed that “Beth you had a lot of trauma going on there”. Somebody else would have totally broken down but you are a lot stronger emotionally ´, than I think people give you credit for. Physically obviously we know she is very weak, but emotionally, spiritually, she was definitely very strong and then the other moment is her scene with Jo saying, I know I am dying, but I can accept that. I need you to accept it too. I always get teary-eyed when I watch it because it is so emotional. I think too because when I look at them, it’s like, “Look at this little girl, comforting her older sister. “It is okay Jo, I am going to die” “but you have so much life to live!”. I think she definitely gives the film a lot more “oomph”.
Niina: I think a lot of the modern feminist narrative about Beth is one-sided and very offensive to her character. If you are 15 and you see a child dying. It doesn’t matter if it was the 1850s or 2024, that is going to traumatize you a lot.
Christina: Especially if you have never been in a situation where death has been prominent. They were fairly young when Aunt Marche’s husband passed away. I don’t think they were that acquainted with the idea of death, compared to a few other people. The idea of a baby dying. A life that could have lived for so much more and dying in your arms. At some point in the book, Beth says “I felt the baby grow cold”. For some people that is like “I will never forget that feeling”. It is not just like “Oh you are cold because you stayed underweather”. You are cold because there is no life. That is a lot to process! Later on that day, Oh yeah, scarlet fever. I could be dying next. Even though she wasn’t physically strong. People are like, oh yeah, she is just there to give sympathy to the characters. She has to deal with that all on her own. The second time she realized that she was really sick, and going to die. That is a lot! A lot more baggage than I think people want to give her. They are like, no she is just the martyr sister and she is there to die. No.
Niina: Absolutely. It always makes me angry when I read stuff like that because then it is like “You completely missed the point”. Maybe they don’t read the book. I think that is the case. Aunt March in this movie is hilarious!
Christina: She is!
Niina: Lucille Watson.
Christina: She cracks me up. I did like the other Aunt March too, but this one really did crack me up because she has a very good grugdy old lady, but humorous type.
Niina: Very demanding precense.
Christina: I was just thinking of that scene where she comes in to give Marmee the money, and you can see Amy just shrink away. Just her presence is enough for you to feel like “Oh no”.
Niina: Then there is the moment when John comes to tell Meg that he is in love with her but Aunt March settles the question. I watched this movie first time maybe five years ago. I was really surprised by that scene because I remember that it was in the book, but I hadn’t seen that in any other adaptations, except this one and the 1933 one. It was a nice thing to see. John actually forgets his umbrella to the Marches, so it is a bit like Friedrich with the umbrella. Then he comes back for it and then he hears Meg defending him to Aunt March. It is so cute.
Christina: I need to mention that in the 33 one I really like the little scene between them because I think in the 33 one when John comes, he is like “I came to get my umbrella, I also wanted to see how you are you dad” and Meg goes “Oh he is in the rack..I mean..your umbrella is quite well” she messes things up because she is so nervous.
Niina: That is so cute!
Christina: Yes. They are really cute. I like to see their own little moments when they are walking together and the conservatory scene “Oh I am so sorry, that you don’t have any family to worry about, but we will” and John is like “Would you” and he is looking her to her eyes. There are quite a few moments. There are a lot more moments between John and Meg in those movies than I remembered.
Niina: That is definitely a plus.
Christina: Overall, if you had to place the 49 one, where would you put it? and again, we can shift movies too if we feel like it.
Niina: I think it is going to be my third one now.
Christina: Third one and you put 33 number two?
Niina: Yeah. I might change that.
Christina: I am thinking the same thing too. Again, as the funny it is that the scripts are pretty much the same, they manage to switch it up a bit.
Niina: I don’t know if you remember this, but in the 1949 film, there is the moment when the maid in New York says “Oh professor. He is from Germany and he teaches languages. But why do they need to learn languages when they all live right here?”
laughter
Christina: Oh yeah. She wasn’t that active, I remember that because as soon as Friedrich came in, she became alive. She is dragging Jo along and Jo is trying to talk to her and she is like “Aha” and then as soon as Friedrich comes in she is all chattery. I do remember that. That actress has a great voice. I think it adds to the funnyness. Her voice is like a higher-pitch New Yorker. It is funny, compared to her visual appearance. Just being like “eh” another day, another hour closer to death. That is a good moment.
Niina: It is also nice in the film when Jo is in New York, you do get this feeling that Friedrich is looking after her. He is taking her to different places. He takes her to the zoo. To the circus and to the opera. You get this feeling that when Jo lived in Concord, she didn’t have that many places where she could go. When she is in New York, Friedrich is this cultivated guide for her. Who shows her the world? I like that.
Christina: When she is like “Oh I think I want to be a singer” and he says “Before you wanted to be a tight-robe walker”. He is more amused and not like “just pick one”. He is enthralled by her enthusiasm about the world. I did like that.
Niina: You do get this sense that he is really amazed by her or that he has this deep crush on her. When I was watching these other Rossano Brazzi films, he is very attentive with the female actresses, maybe it was just the actor’s personality, but in this case, it worked really well, because that is how Friedrich is in the book with Jo.
Christina: He just understood exactly what the character was. He was like “Oh this guy is in love with this woman and is romantic. Well I can do that”.
Niina: That is the way Friedrich is. He is supposed to be in love with Jo, but not show that directly to her when they are in New York. He is very careful and respectful around her, which is opposite to Laurie.
Christina: I remember in the 49 one because it switches around the scenes of Jo and Friedrich from the 33 films, where they had the discussion about her writing before they go to the opera, whereas in the 49 one that discussion happens after. When he tries to tell her how he feels, I just feel it, because it feels like he is finally ready to say something but then it’s like “Oh no” and then when you get to the end of him coming to the house and he hears Laurie’s name. Jo is calling for Laurie, he thinks that they are together. With much grace and dignity, he gives Jo the book and essentially thinks “I’m too late but I want her to be happy”. Again, that is a strong opposite to Laurie’s reaction but this one definitely made me go “Oh poor Friedrich” but then I was like “Good” “He loves Jo and they can actually be together”. “That is a great scene with under the umbrella”. I think this one is one of the top versions of Jo and Friedrich. If you are really there, just for Jo and Friedrich, this film will give you that.
Niina: No wonder I fell in love with this film, when I saw it for the first time. It is not the only reason why I like this version, but it does play a big part.
Christina: Definitely
