Anne of Green Gables (1985 film)

Anne of Green Gables is a 1985 Canadian film adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery's original novel, Anne of Green Gables. It was originally made for television airing and was directed by Kevin Sullivan.

Plot
Anne Shirley, a twelve-year-old orphan, is distracted by a Tennyson poem and returns late to the house of Mrs. Hammond, where Anne is supposed to pick up and deliver lunch to Mr. Hammond at the mill. As a result, Anne arrives at the mill late, where Mr. Hammond dies from stroke induced from when he became upset over not getting lunch. Without her husband to support the family, Mrs. Hammond sells the mill and divides her many children among relatives. Despite Anne's desperate pleas to remain with her, Mrs. Hammond returns Anne to the overcrowded Fairview Orphanage before she leaves to live with another relative. A lonely Anne finds solace in her imaginary friend, Katie. Six months later, Anne is delighted to learn that she has been chosen to reside with a family in Prince Edward Island.

On Prince Edward Island, Rachel Lynde notices her neighbour Matthew Cuthbert is dressed-up and going to town; she learns from Matthew's sister, Marilla, that Matthew is going to pick up a boy they are adopting from the Hopetown asylum to help out on the farm, despite Marilla's own reservations. At the train station, the especially shy Matthew is stunned when he sees the child he is picking up is actually a girl: Anne. Uncertain of what to do, he decides to bring her back to his home, Green Gables, and finds himself charmed by her enthusiasm and vivid descriptions of the local scenery. At Green Gables, Marilla is stunned to see that Matthew has brought home a girl as he explains he felt he couldn't leave Anne behind, in spite of the mistake. Anne becomes upset when she realizes the Cuthberts had wanted a boy, but Marilla allows her to stay the night with the intention of returning her to the asylum the next morning. Marilla changes her mind when she meets with Mrs. Spencer, who arranged Anne's adoption, and Mrs. Blewett, who would take in Anne to raise her twin children. While Matthew is pleased with Marilla's decision to keep Anne for the time being, Marilla tells him that she will be responsible for how Anne will be raised and that he is not to interfere. When Rachel comes to visit the Cuthberts and makes blunt comments about Anne's appearance, the girl is offended and insults Rachel. Though she initially refuses Marilla's demand that she apologize to Rachel, Matthew quietly persuades Anne to do so. Mollified by Anne's apology, Rachel suggests that Marilla send Anne to school.

When the Cuthberts decide to attend a church picnic, Marilla is unable to find her amethyst brooch and becomes angry when Anne, who had admired the brooch, claims she had lost it. Marilla intends to send Anne to Mrs. Blewett, until Matthew finds the brooch dangling from her shawl; Marilla learns that Anne had lied because she felt Marilla wouldn't believe the truth. They forgive each other and attend the picnic, where Anne meets Rev. Allan and Mrs. Allan, Mr. and Mrs. Barry, and makes her first real bosom friend, Diana Barry. Anne's first day at school in Avonlea begins without any incident, until Gilbert Blythe tries to get her attention by calling her "Carrots" in reference to her hair colour. A furious Anne breaks a slate over Gilbert's head and she is punished by the schoolmaster, Mr. Phillips, who makes her write lines. Anne refuses to forgive Gilbert and is stubbornly determined not to acknowledge Gilbert's existence from that day on. The incident also drives Anne to buy some hair dye from a German peddler in attempts to dye her hair black; to Anne's dismay, her hair turns green and Marilla has to cut Anne's hair short. However, Marilla tells Anne that she's decided to keep Anne permanently. Anne begins to excel at school, developing a rivalry with Gilbert, and they tie for first place in the term finals. Soon afterward, Mr. Phillips announces that he is leaving.

One day, Anne invites Diana to Green Gables for tea, but unwittingly serves Diana black currant wine instead of raspberry cordial, causing Diana to become intoxicated. Though it had happened by accident, Mrs. Barry forbids Diana from associating with Anne again; the two girls are forced to stay apart, to their sadness. With Mr. Phillips gone, he is replaced by Muriel Stacy, a female schoolteacher who quickly becomes another kindred spirit to Anne. Miss Stacy, acknowledging how Anne has excelled in her studies, invites Anne to join a special class intending to take entrance exams to attend Queen's Academy in Charlottetown.

As winter comes to Avonlea, Marilla and Mrs. Lynde go to Ottawa to meet the Prime Minister, leaving Anne and Matthew at Green Gables. One evening, Diana arrives at Green Gables, desperate for help as her younger sister, Minnie May, is very sick with croup and the doctor is unavailable. Anne's experience with children with croup allows her to save Minnie May and Mrs. Barry accepts Anne as Diana's friend again, realizing that the cordial incident had truly been an accident. As thanks, she invites Anne to attend the winter ball and stay with the Barrys overnight. Despite Marilla's initial refusal, Matthew stubbornly insists that Anne should be allowed to go; Marilla reluctantly relents and Matthew buys Anne's first nice dress to wear, with puffed sleeves as Anne has always wished. The girls enjoy their time at the ball, but when they return to the Barrys' house, they are astonished to find Diana's great-aunt Josephine in the guest bedroom, who becomes angry with how rudely the girls woke her. The next morning, Anne apologizes on her and Diana's behalf. Josephine is impressed and amused with Anne and accepts the apology, along with the request that Anne stay with her when she is taking her entrance exams for Queen's Academy.

During the summer, Anne, Diana, Ruby Gillis and Jane Andrews attempt to re-enact the Lily Maid's farewell after reading Tennyson's poem, "The Lady of Shalott". As the Lily Maid, Anne is set adrift in Mr. Barry's dory, which begins to leak as it goes across the pond, forcing Anne to climb onto a bridgepole for safety. Gilbert coincidentally is rowing across the pond and saves her, rowing her to the shore. He reveals that they have tied for first place in the Queens entrance exams and asks again for Anne to forgive him. She does not give him a certain response, though she and Gilbert appear to develop a tentative friendship, which concerns Marilla. Out of respect for Marilla, Anne turns down Gilbert's offer to attend the White Sands concert with him, where Anne will recite the "The Highwayman."

Anne begins attending Queen's Academy, where she elects to complete the program to obtain a teacher's license in one year instead of two alongside Gilbert. She aims to win the Avery Scholarship that will allow her to attend Redmond College, becoming distracted briefly when she finds Gilbert has become friends with a girl also aiming for the same scholarship. When the scholarships are announced, Anne is overjoyed to discover she has won the Avery and Gilbert has won the gold medal, which would let them continue their studies.

After Anne returns to Green Gables, Matthew suddenly dies from a heart attack, which devastates both Anne and Marilla. When Anne learns that Marilla stands to lose Green Gables, she reveals that she is giving up her scholarship to teach at the school in Carmody. When Marilla expresses her opposition, Anne assures her that she will continue to study via correspondence. Soon afterward, Gilbert meets with Anne and gives her a letter, where he has persuaded the school trustees to allow Anne to take the Avonlea school while he accepts the teaching post at Carmody. Thanking him for the kind gesture, they agree to help each other with the studies, with Anne finally forgiving him and becoming friends.

Cast

 * Megan Follows as Anne Shirley
 * Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert
 * Richard Farnsworth as Matthew Cuthbert
 * Patricia Hamilton as Rachel Lynde
 * Marilyn Lightstone as Miss Stacey
 * Schuyler Grant as Diana Barry
 * Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe
 * Charmion King as Aunt Josephine
 * Jackie Burroughs as Mrs. Amelia Evans
 * Rosemary Radcliffe as Mrs. Barry
 * Joachim Hansen as John Sadler
 * Christiane Krüger as Mrs. Allan
 * Cedric Smith as Rev. Allan
 * Paul Brown as Mr. Phillips
 * Miranda de Pencier as Josie Pye
 * Trish Nettleton as Jane Andrews
 * Jennifer Inch as Ruby Gillis
 * Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. Hammond
 * Dawn Greenhalgh as Mrs. Cadbury
 * Jack Mather as Station Master
 * Vivian Reis as Mrs. Spencer
 * Samantha Langevin as Mrs. Blewett
 * Mag Ruffman as Alice Lawson


 * Sean McCann as Dr O'Reilly
 * Roxolana Roslak as Madame Selitsky
 * Robert Haley as Professor
 * Robert Collins as Mr. Barry
 * Morgan Chapman as Minne May Barry
 * David Roberts as Tom
 * Nancy Beatty as Essie
 * David Hughes as Thomas Lynde
 * Wendy Lyon as Prissy Andrews
 * Zack Ward as Moody Spurgeon
 * Anna Ferguson as Punch Woman
 * Rex Southgate as Section Head
 * Julianna Saxton as Pink Woman
 * Molly Thom as Lace Woman
 * Jennifer Irwin as Student
 * Peter Sturgess as Porter
 * Ray Ireland as Mr. Hammond
 * Martha Maloney as Fairview Nurse
 * Stuart Hamilton as Mme. Selitsky's Accompanist
 * Gord Newsome as Richard Farnsworth's Stand-In
 * Sandra Scott as Mrs. Harrington (uncredited)

Behind the scenes
Casting
 * Mag Ruffman, who plays Olivia King in Road to Avonlea, also plays Alice Lawson in Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel.
 * Jackie Burroughs portrayed Amelia Evans in Anne of Green Gables. She also appeared in Road to Avonlea as one of the main characters, Hetty King.
 * Cedric Smith, who played Reverend Allan in Anne of Green Gables, also portrayed Alec King, one of the main characters in Road to Avonlea. He also provided the voice of Tupper in Anne: Journey to Green Gables.
 * Paul Brown portrayed Mr. Phillips, teacher at Avonlea school, in Anne of Green Gables. In Road to Avonlea, he played Patent Clerk.
 * Jennifer Inch, who played Ruby Gillis, also appeared in Road to Avonlea as Maid at the Stanley Estate and Sara Stanley's mother.
 * Dawn Greenhalgh, the mother of Megan Follows, portrayed Ms. Cadbury in Anne of Green Gables. In Road to Avonlea, she played Matron.
 * Robert Collins portrayed Mr. Barry in Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. In Road to Avonlea he appeared in the role as Blair Stanley.
 * Charmion King, who portrayed Josephine Barry in Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel, also played Mrs. Allan in 1952 TV series  Anne of Green Gables.

Differences from the book
 * In the book, the name of Anne's lady teacher is spelled "Muriel Stacy", whereas in the film, it's spelled "Muriel Stacey" (with an extra "e").
 * In the book, Moody Spurgeon's surname is MacPherson. In the film, his middle name becomes his surname.
 * In the book the lady clerk's name at Lawson's was Lucilla Harris. In the film, it is Alice Lawson.
 * Marilla calls Mrs Spencer, "Sarah". In the books, Mrs Spencer's first name is unknown.
 * Mrs. Spencer says that Mrs. Blewett has ten children. In the books, the number of her children is unknown.

Goofs
 * When Anne takes the gift from Rachel Lynde and leaves, a couple of moments later you can see the red-wrapped package is still sitting on the table next to Rachel.
 * When Marilla shows Anne to her room, Anne's hat brushes Marilla's face. As Marilla turns you can plainly see that she is having a hard time trying not to burst out laughing.
 * When Mr. Phillips has Anne write lines on the board, in the first shot, the "s" in Shirley is written in cursive, and in the second shot, it is printed.
 * In the scene when Diana is invited to tea and then Anne follows her home after Diana has become drunk, Anne's tights change colours from black to white several times.