Precocious orphan Anne Shirley comes to live with an old spinster and her brother in rural Canada. I grew up with the wonderful '80s TV miniseries Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows. It's more faithful to the book and no doubt purists will prefer that. Still, this is an entertaining film with a charming performance from Anne Shirley, who took her stage name from this character. It's amusing that young Anne's being homely is referenced several times when the actress Anne Shirley is one of the prettiest to ever grace the screen. She's also one of classic Hollywood's most underrated talents. I've never seen a bad performance from her. She ended her career at the age of 27. Her last film was the classic Murder, My Sweet. Not a bad movie to go out on. As for this one, the last 15 minutes or so squeezes a lot in and it's not as strong as the start but it's still a very enjoyable film.

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.

First things first, I have never read or seen any of the Anne Of Green Gables movies or TV specials or books or whatever until I saw this, the 1934 version starring Anne Shirley. So I'm approaching this, excuse my saying so, from a somewhat-outsider's point of view here.For those unfamiliar, Anne Of Green Gables is the massively popular tale about an orphan who is sent to live with a brother / sister pair of farmers who are getting along in their years, who decide to adopt a boy so that he can be put to work in farming, as the male farmer in the household needs the help. I can imagine how that would go over if you put THAT on your adoption request today. Anyhow, instead of a boy, they get a girl, and that is, of course Anne.We follow Anne throughout life as she goes from plunky little teenager to college student. We see her friends, suitors and somewhat-enemies come and go. The story itself is pretty formulaic actually, since this is geared towards little girls. I am not really sure of this, but from the looks of things, they seem to have compressed several of the books for the movies, as the film jumps a lot in her life from her, ahem, transitional years.Of course, the person playing this role has to pull this role off, playing someone from 12 til about 18 or 19 or so. Anne Shirley had me fooled alright. It's a bit scary when I look back on it actually, how convinced I was that Anne was played by an actual 12 year old. Mind you, the part is played so ANNOYINGLY syrupy sweet that you just want to lock the kid up after a while. The MINUTE she appears on the screen, after being transferred from the orphanage, I predicted, and I was right, that Anne was going to be an annoying brat that would be a "Gee Willickers!" type of person and not be traumatized at all from the whole transfer from the asylum to her new home. As a matter of fact, one wonders if the asylum made the boy/girl mistake intentionally, just to unload Anne outta there lol.

I found this movie to be fair for a film made in the 30's. Though if you are a fan of the Anne books I do not reccomend it. Anne Shirley did play her character nicely, but it wasn't enough to satisfy me. She rushed things too much and babbled too much, even for the character. Though minor I did not like that Diana was a blonde, she was supposed to have raven hair. Another thing, Anne and Gilbert do not become friends until the end of the book, the love affair was Marilla's and Mathew dies. If you really like Anne of Green Gables the books I suggest that you do not watch this movie, but watch the 1985 version starring Megan Follows, she plays an ideal Anne. So for a closing comment it was a cute movie but not the Anne i knew from the books.