Little Women

I've been looking back over all the filmed adaptations of the classic 19th century novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The book both begins and ends with significant Christmas scenes so many of the filmed adaptations do as well--but not all. Anyway, this much loved story usually has an amazing cast:
The 1933 version, directed by George Cukor, features Katherine Hepburn as the lead character Jo. She's easily convincing as the confident tomboy that pursues a life as a writer. The 1949 version, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, features actor June Allyson-- also a convincing Jo. However, it's more of a stretch to believe that Jo is the younger sister to Meg, here played by Janet Leigh (Allyson is actually 10 years older than Leigh). Elizabeth Taylor--yeah, that Liz Taylor--plays the snotty, superficial sister Amy. Watching a blonde Taylor in this role is most of the fun here. There's also the amazing casting of the 1994 version: Susan Sarandon as Marmee, Winona Ryder as Jo, Claire Danes as the sickly Beth, Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis play Amy (Dunst is the very young Amy and Mathis takes over the role as Amy matures), Christian Bale as Laurie and Gabriel Byrne as Professor Bhaer.

But my favorite cast is the 1978 TV mini-series adaptation. Meredith Baxter plays Meg, Susan Dey is Jo, Eve Plumb is Beth, Dorothy McGuire is Marmee, Greer Garson as Aunt March, Robert Young is Mr. Laurence and William Shatner is Professor Bhaer. Where do I begin? Baxter as Meg reminds me instantly of her role as Nancy on the '70s TV series Family another classic big sister role. Actress Susan Dey also played Laurie Partridge on The Partridge Family and may be a bit fragile looking for Jo but she pulls it off--better than Winona Ryder, I think. Eve Plumb brings great depth to the sickly Beth character. It reminds me that Eve Plump plays another dying character in a Christmas episode on Family Affair, in the 1968 episode "Christmas Came A Little Early." My favorite role for Dorothy McGuire is in the movie A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. This film is not usually considered a Christmas movie but it does contain several significant holiday scenes and usually airs at Christmas time on TV. Of course, Greer Garson lent her voice to the Rankin/Bass animated Christmas classics, The Little Drummer Boy and its sequel. Actor Robert Young played the much beloved TV character of the father, Jim Anderson on Father Knows Best and Dr. Welby on Marcus Welby, M.D. And, William Shatner with an affected German accent plays Jo March's love interest, Professor Bhaer. That alone makes watching this adaptation worthwhile. Christopher Columbus!

Part 2: Rankin/Bass Voice Actors in Other Christmas Programs

Ever wondered what the celebrities who loaned their voices for our favorite Rankin/Bass animated specials looked like? Want to actually SEE them in other Christmas programs? Look for them in the following:

Billy DeWolfe provided the voice for the character of Professor Hinckle in 1969's Frosty the Snowman. But you can also see him as the fussy, irritable next-door neighbor, Mr. Jarvis, in the 1970 holiday episode "It’s Christmas Time in the City" on The Doris Day Show. This episode is also special because Ms. Day sings a beautiful version of the classic Christmas song, 'Silver Bells.'

Art Carney lends his voice talent to 1981's The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold. Carney appears often in Christmas-themed programs, including The Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978 as the pro-rebellion local outpost trader and the classic 1955 episode of The Honeymooners' entitled "‘Twas the Night Before Christmas" as Ralph's best friend and neighbor, Ed Norton. (This episode is a very quirky re-telling of the familiar O.Henry story "The Gift of the Magi" but here Ralph hocks his favorite bowling ball in order to buy Alice an orange juice squeezer shaped to resemble the head of Napoleon. It warms the heart, doesn't it?) Carney also appears in everyone's favorite Twilight Zone holiday episode, "The Night of the Meek" from 1960 as the embittered drunk that finds himself with a supernatural sack that is able to produce the perfect gift and fulfill people's Christmas wishes. This particular episode is certainly in my top five for all-time favorite Christmas TV episodes.

Comedic actor, Buddy Hackett provided the voice to the groundhog narrator, Pardon-Me Pete, in 1979's Jack Frost. Hackett can also be seen as Ebenezer Scrooge in the TV special-within-a-movie, Scrooged.

Actress Greer Garson who can be heard as the beautiful voice of the storyteller in The Little Drummer Boy and its sequel The Little Drummer Boy, Book II can be seen in the 1941 film Blossoms in the Dust--a movie closely associated with the Christmas holiday. Though not a holiday-themed story itself, this film dramatizes the real-life Edna Gladney, a Texas woman in the early twentieth century that worked to help unwanted children from being raised in orphanages and instead placed in homes. The film's story about orphans and its themes of compassion and charity make it a holiday favorite on television.

And, Angela Lansbury brought life to Sister Theresa in 1975's The First Christmas, now more often retitled The Story of the First Christmas Snow. Ms. Lansbury appears as super sleuth Jessica Fletcher in the ninth season Christmas episode of her series Murder, She Wrote entitled "The Christmas Secret." How many people know that Lansbury was also in the Jerry Herman Broadway musical Mame in the 1960s and it is her version of the hit song "We Need A Little Christmas" that became popular and most often can be heard played on the radio at holiday time?