Our Town (1940 film)

Our Town
Directed by	Sam Wood
Produced by	Sol Lesser
Written by	Thornton Wilder
Starring	William Holden Martha Scott Fay Bainter
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	May 24, 1940
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Our Town is a 1940 film adaptation of a play of the same name by Thornton Wilder starring William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee and Frank Craven. It was adapted by Harry Chandlee, Craven and Wilder. It was directed by Sam Wood.

The film was a faithful reproduction of the play except for two significant changes: the film used scenery, where the play had not, and the events of the third act, which in the play revolve around the death of one of the main characters, were turned into a dream that she awakens from, able to resume a normal life. Producer Sol Lesser worked with Wilder in creating these changes.

A radio adaptation of the film on Lux Radio Theater on May 6, 1940 with Holden and Scott, used the altered film ending.

The U.S. copyright of the film was not renewed after its first term expired in 1968, although because it is a derivative work from a play that is still under U.S. copyright, it cannot be said to be in the public domain.^{[citation needed]}

Cast

• William Holden - George Gibbs
• Martha Scott - Emily Webb
• Fay Bainter - Mrs. Gibbs
• Beulah Bondi - Mrs. Webb
• Thomas Mitchell - Doc Gibbs
• Guy Kibbee - Mr. Webb
• Stuart Erwin - Howie Newsome
• Frank Craven - Stage Manager
• Doro Merande - Mrs. Louella Soames
• Philip Wood - Simon Stimson
• Ruth Tobey - Rebecca Gibbs (as Ruth Toby)
• Douglas Gardiner - Wally Webb
• Arthur B. Allen - Prof. Willard (as Arthur Allen)
• Charles Trowbridge - Rev. Dr. Ferguson
• Spencer Charters - Const. Bill Warren

Awards

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.^[1] Scott, who repeated her stage role as Emily Webb, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Aaron Copland was nominated for Best Score and Thomas T. Moulton was nominated for Best Sound.^[2]

References

1. ^ "NY Times: Our Town". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36778/Our-Town/details. Retrieved 2008-12-13. 
2. ^ "The 13th Academy Awards (1941) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/13th-winners.html. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 

External links

• Our Town at the Internet Movie Database
• Our Town is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]