Happy 40th Birthday, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES!

I loved every moment of this film and the 1987 sequel.

Also piqued my teenage interest in Tennyson.

Gilbert Blythe - my first love

Here is an Anne of Green Gables influenced music video by The Band Perry.

Colleen Dewhurst was also perfect as Marilla :) . I wish they hadn't killed Matthew off so early, though.

Gilbert was a homosexual in real life.

Megan went on to become Ty's druggie, flaky, erratic mother on Heartland.

Jonathan Crombie didn't come out until late in his (too-short) life. Really, too bad. Also, the circumstances of his death (aneurysm/stroke while living alone in NY apartment, body not discovered for some days) were grotesque and random--he deserved so much better than the way things turned out. It sounds to me like the life and death of a lonely person.

I wish he'd had DL in his life, I really do.

Megan was someone I really thought would be an international star, a Julia Roberts/Julianne Moore (seriously) level name. She's certainly had a long and busy career but I am surprised she didn't sort of make a bigger splash.

She married a behind-the-scenes guy and had kids at a young age (like Kate Winslet, but without the bounceback into prestige roles). Plus. maybe it's tougher making the leap from Canadian to U.S., I don't know.

[quote]Happy 40th Birthday, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES!

I sent her a bottle of Jean Nate and a nice blouse.

R10 is a true kindred spririt! A bosom friend!

I insist upon puffed sleeves.

Are the Japanese still big fans?

I'm still scarred eternally from the *spoiler* death of Matthew.

This was by far THE best version of Anne with an E Of Green Gables.

Just like the best version of Pride And Prejudice is the miniseries shown on A&E in the spring of 1996 with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

The worst was that recent incarnation on CBC.

I had such a crush on Megan Follows when this aired and adored this series. Perfect casting, perfect everything.

I didn't know Johnathan Crombie had died. Poor guy. Rest in peace.

Went totally off the rails with the introduction of the non-canon Frank Converse character. Introducing an older man love interest for Anne is one thing. Introducing a 30-years-older love interest? Blecchhh.

You can see it this summer at the Stratford Festival.

R18, they were trying to do a Sound of Music storyline — Anne is Fraulein Maria, the Pringle students are the Von Trapp children that play jokes on her, and Morgan Hess is Captain Von Trapp. But instead of teaching them how to sing, Anne teaches them how to act.

Interestingly, the actress playing Jen Pringle was older than Megan Follows.

You know, Darren Criss kind of reminds me of Jonathan Crombie.

Sad about Jonathan Crombie. But you know what, now that I know he was gay, it’s kind of hard to watch Anne of Green Gables without thinking of Gilbert as Anne’s gay best friend.

That was Canada’s finest tv import to the US ever and the finest miniseries that aired in the US in the 80s.

Maybe the finest miniseries to ever air in the US. Perfect casting, perfect acting, perfect setting, and endlessly watchable 40 years on.

Colleen Dewhurst was perfect in the part.

I love this... Dewhurst, just smokin' away.... those were the days.

Matthew spoiler.

Better Matthew.... score...

Dewhurst, not smoking:

What I admire about the scripting is the language is so plain and straighforward and the actors turn it into gold.

I can't think of Megan Fellowes without thinking of Hockey Nights Yannuck Bison was a cutie!

[quote]I didn't know Johnathan Crombie had died. Poor guy. Rest in peace.

There was a thread on DL when it happened. I was surprised by how hard his death hit me.

[quote]Megan Fellowes

Oh, dear.

There was going to be a sequel, "Anne of Saló," where she got sent to a palace outside Bologna owned by four twisted wealthy men of power who were expecting a brutish male soldier, but instead found this fiery, talkative red-haired girl who soon wins them over with her liveliness and imagination.

On another thread, someone claimed that Michael Mahonen (Gus Pike) and Patricia Hamilton (Rachel Lynde) were gay. Any truth to this gossip?

Hamilton was married to another actor briefly, had a son, and never married again. She died (of dementia, I think) in a nursing home in Stratford.

[quote]When Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables she’s a bit of a surprise to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert.

The surprise in the Stratford production appears to be that the little scamp Anne is actually 33.

Jonathan Gilbert was a truly lovely man.

Add me to the list of those who had a crush on Gilbert

I always thought Diana wanted to hook up with Anne, so Gilbert as Anne's gay best friend totally works for me.

R37, I didn’t get that vibe, the vibe that I got was that Anne wanted to hook up with Diana.

After all, Anne deliberately got Diana drunk on currant wine so that Anne could take advantage of Diana in her drunken state.

Anne was also really upset and jealous when she learned that Diana got engaged to Fred.

Colleen Dewhurst and Patricia Hamilton went on to reprise their roles in the "Road to Avonlea" TV series that came a few years later.

Dewhurst only got to film a few episodes before she died and had to be written out, but Hamilton stayed with the series for its 7 seasons and won a couple of Gemini Awards as Rachel Lynde.

R38, you're right. Diana was much bolder.

In today's "I FEEL OLD" entry, I just realized that Patricia Hamilton was only 48 when she appeared in the original production. That's a mere six years older than I am now.

Patricia Hamilton just died 2 years ago, at age 86:

Jonathan Crombie was supposed to be my future husband, goddamnit.

Jonathan Crombie looked so very Canadian to me.

Jonathan Crombie’s death is what lead me to DL, because he was so young and one of my first crushes, and I wanted to know whether he was one of us. I had always sensed it (or maybe wishful thought it) when he was in these shows. He was in an episode of The Good Wife not long before he died - I only watched that show sporadically but my sister was a huge fan and let me know since she knew I loved him in AOGG.

I read somewhere he was taking photos in NYC with fans who approached him not long before he died and commenting he no longer looked like Gilbert and was surprised they recognized him. I agree he sounded lonely, although I think he was close with his family. Wasn’t his dad something in Canadian politics?

Anyway, perfectly cast show. Beautiful filming. I think the director went off the rails at some point though.

Love when Matthew peeks at Anne at the train station