Touching, yet unsentimental—tender, yet heart-breaking, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Our Town is a pensive look surrounding the lives of two families in the fictitious hamlet of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. While a literal time capsule of early 20th century America, the story’s power transcends era and locale with its universally timeless themes of love, loss and the fleeting nature of life.
When independent producer Sol Lesser purchased the film rights to Our Town, he signed Wilder to adapt the play for the silver screen, as well as actor Frank Craven, who also reprised his stage role as the “stage manager” for the movie version. The film would go on to earn six Academy Award nominations in all, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Martha Scott in her film debut) and Best Original Score (Aaron Copland).
Directed by three-time Oscar nominee Sam Wood (Kitty Foyle) and featuring the innovative production design of William Cameron Menzies (Gone With the Wind), Our Town stars William Holden (Sunset Boulevard) in the role of George Gibbs with Scott reprising her role of Emily Webb from the stage play. Rounding out a top-notch cast is Thomas Mitchell (Alias Nick Beal), Beulah Bondi (Make Way for Tomorrow), Fay Bainter (Jezebel), Guy Kibbee (Captain January), Stuart Erwin (Make Me a Star), and the aforementioned Frank Craven.
For thoughts on Our Town (1940), please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
[youtube https://youtu.be/yU3bl8Lufgs?si=6TWTbai1Vepj1EO5&t=884]
Video Quality
Our Town makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to ClassicFlix with a 1080p master from a restoration of 35mm elements preserved by the Library of Congress which looks very nice. The black-and-white photography shot by Bert Glennon shimmers in high definition with natural grain intact and resolved consistently. The transfer shows off a welcome amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. You will notice uncovered facets on display within the clothing and production design. There is very little in the way of density fluctuations outside of a handful of softer shots and opticals. Black levels are deep with no egregious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is firmly defined, and the track experiences little in the way of damage outside of a few moments. ClassicFlix has brought this one into the modern era with great care.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that has some lingering issues but holds up well for its vintage. Certain exchanges of dialogue sound a bit hollow, but typically it sounds natural and clear. Dialogue and background noises work together in harmony with all competing elements, but this is a very low-key narrative that never gets overly busy. The music is a bit weak when it comes to fidelity with intermittent harsh inflections and distortion. Outside of some brief moments of age-related wear and tear, ClassicFlix has done a good job of providing a pleasing experience for this one. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Actor and film score restorationist Ray Faiola provides an informative commentary track that gives background about the adaption of the stage play, the production of the film, the background of the performers, and much more that is worth a listen.
- Thornton Wilder Interview with Lilli Palmer: A 13-minute interview from March 1953 in which playwright Thornton Wilder joins Lilli Palmer on her talk show to discuss prolific Spanish playwright Lope de Vega.
- The Campbell Playhouse Radio Version: An hour-long radio adaptation of the source material produced by Orson Welles.
- The Lux Radio Theatre Version: Another hour-long radio adaptation that includes many of the performers from the film adaptation.
- Restoration Comparison: A nearly five-minute look at the dramatic difference between how the film looked before the restoration and after. These demonstrations are always some of the most interesting and enlightening.
- Trailers: There are trailers provided for A Night In Casablanca, Little Rascals Centennial, Merrily We Live, Stand-In, and Zenobia.
Final Thoughts
Our Town is a pleasant adaptation of the classic play that shakes up a few things more than purists may want, but it works well thematically. The folksy style allows the story to unfold carefully without ever seeming too slow or dull for the relatively simple narrative ambitions. The performances are agreeable all around, and the craft put into conjuring the various eras is appreciated. ClassicFlix has released a Blu-Ray featuring a good A/V presentation and a fine array of special features. If this sounds appealing in the slightest, it is worth seeking out. Recommended
Our Town is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: ClassicFlix has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
