Little Women is a 1978 American television miniseries directed by David Lowell Rich and written by Suzanne Clauser based on the 1868–69 two-volume novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. The cast includes Susan Dey, Meredith Baxter Birney, Ann Dusenberry, Eve Plumb, Dorothy McGuire, William Schallert, Greer Garson, Robert Young, Richard Gilliland, William Shatner and John de Lancie.
The three-hour miniseries was produced by Universal Television and originally aired in two parts on NBC on October 2–3, 1978.
A brief follow-up series aired from February 8 to March 8, 1979. Unlike the miniseries, it featured original storylines not based on Louisa May Alcott’s novels and included a partial cast change. Eve Plumb was among the cast members who returned (although her character Beth had died in the miniseries, as she had in the original book), playing a cousin of the family named Lissa. Six episodes were produced, but the series was cancelled after only four had been broadcast in the US. Nevertheless, the complete series was exported internationally, including to Australia and Italy.
Contents
Plot
The miniseries chronicles the lives and loves of the four March sisters – Jo (Susan Dey), Meg (Meredith Baxter Birney), Amy (Ann Dusenberry) and Beth (Eve Plumb) – growing up in Concord, Massachusetts during the American Civil War. While their father leaves for battle, the sisters must rely on each other for strength in the face of tragedies both large and small.
Part One
In this particular adaptation, Jo works as narrator opening the story upon Christmas of 1861 in Concord, Massachusetts. She lives with three other sisters, their mother (Marmee), and their housemaid. She identifies them: Meg (16) is a governess, Jo (15) is an aspiring writer and hot-tempered, Beth (13) is timid and sweet and fond of playing the piano, while Amy (12) is the youngest with a predilection for art. Their father is fighting with the Union placing the Marches in a less well-off living situation than they had been in previously.
Meg and Jo are meant to take Amy to school, bemoaning school, she wishes she could stay home like Beth, who is homeschooled due to her severe social anxiety. As she takes her time, Jo starts a snowball fight with Meg, but the snowball misses and strikes the Lawrence's window catching Laurie's attention and embarrassing ever proper Meg.
This adaptation works more to establish the relationship between Mr. Lawrence and his grandson, Laurie and their conflict. Laurie is playing their piano, much to the disapproval of his grandfather as it reminds him of Laurie's parents and the loss of his daughter. Laurie, who is a hermit of sorts, is told he should be out engaging with his peers.
Mr. Lawrence runs into Beth at the post office. She reminds him of his dead daughter who also loved to play piano, he remarks that he can hear Beth's playing from outside the March residence and offers to let her use his own piano as it is nicer and in tune. Later, she takes him up on his offer, but when she starts playing Mr. Lawrence mistakes her playing for Laurie's and comes out admonishing who he thinks is his grandson for playing during his tutoring session. Timid Beth is horrified and absconds, regretting his rashness he then gifts her a nice piano as an apology.
Meg and Jo arrive at Sally Gardner's party, a rich, albeit snobby childhood friend of theirs. Meg yearns for nice things like the other girls feeling out of place in the same dress she wore to Sally's party the year prior. Pitying her, her rich friends give her a makeover. Meanwhile, trying to follow Meg's advice on proper etiquette, Jo stands apart from the party, trying to keep the back of her dress out of sight as it is scorched. Trying to keep herself hidden, she maneuvers herself into a back room and backs into Laurie, who like her is also something of a wallflower. This is their first real meeting and they bond over what marks them each as Peculiar, they end up dancing together but out of sight because of Jo's marred dress. Later, champagne-drunk, Meg twists her ankle in her high heels, and Laurie offers to take the March sisters home.
Part Two
Once again, Jo's narration starts off the story, this time placing it in Spring 1865. She is ill at ease with the changes going on within her family. Meg is to be married, Amy going off on sojourn to Europe, and Beth is chronically ill and unable to leave home. This adaptation contextualizes the story more than other adaptations, referencing the Civil War, the abolitionist movement, and women's suffrage. Jo tells of attending a speech by Susan B. Anthony and of writing for the Daily Volcano which pays.
Laurie takes Jo on a horse ride, and tries to confess his feelings to an evasive Jo. She turns down his proposal—while she loves him, it's as a friend, and their personalities are too conflicting to form a happy marriage. Mr. Lawrence then finds Laurie angstly playing piano, and invites him to Europe with him to find himself. Meanwhile, Jo tells Marmee of Laurie's proposal, and how she feels with everything around her changing and decides that she needs a change as well. She elects to get to New York as a governess to Ms Kirk's boarding school. As she gets settled in New York, she meets an awkward German professor named Friedrich Bhaer who tutors the children at the boarding school. She submits stories to the New York Weelkly Volcano, albeit with their moralizing themes omitted.
Meg and Sally Moffat are out shopping, and Meg, self-conscience in face of her friend's wealth, impulsively buy fifty dollars' worth of silk for a nice dress. This stretches her and her husband's budget, who had been hoping for a new overcoat to replace his current one which is falling apart. He gracefully forgoes the new coat for Meg's silk. Feeling guilty, Meg sells the silk back to Sally and buys her husband his long-awaited overcoat.
Amy is in Italy and is very popular amongst her peers and sought after by men. She has matured greatly. She sees Mr. Lawrence and is thrilled as it means Laurie must be nearby. She tells of a potential suitor, Fred Vaughn, who would enable her to live well-off. Later, Laurie visits her apartment at an ungodly hour, drunk off his rocker. Amy isn't amused, and tells him to stop sulking over Jo and get his act together. That he's throwing his potential away. Shaken, but in a good way, Laurie resolves to shape up and to meet up with Amy in Nice, France in the Spring.
Jo and Professor Bhaer become closer. In exchange for her mending his socks he tries to teach her German...she isn't good at it, but they still go for walks. He shows interest in her writing and would like to read it—yet as he says that, he spots a Weekly Volcano paper in the trash and calls it bottom-of-the-barrel garbage, unaware that Jo writes for the same paper. Feeling sheepish, Jo quietly intercepts any new Weekly Volcano papers lest he see that she writes for them and resolves to discontinue her submissions. He sees it anyway, appalled, he harshly criticizes her and she lashes back saying he probably didn't even read her story.
Cast
The March Family (miniseries)
Susan Dey as Josephine 'Jo' March
Meredith Baxter Birney as Meg March
Eve Plumb as Elizabeth 'Beth' March
Ann Dusenberry as Amy March
Dorothy McGuire as Marmee March
William Schallert as Jonathan March
Greer Garson as Aunt Kathryn March
The March Family (regular series)
Jessica Harper as Josephine 'Jo' March
Susan Walden as Meg March
Ann Dusenberry as Amy March Laurence
Dorothy McGuire as Marmee March
William Schallert as Jonathan March
Mildred Natwick as Aunt Kathryn March
The Laurence Family
Robert Young as Grandpa James Laurence
Richard Gilliland as Theodore 'Laurie' Laurence
Miscellaneous (miniseries)
William Shatner as Professor Friedrich Bhaer
Cliff Potts as John Brooke
Virginia Gregg as Hannah
Joyce Bulifant as Mrs. Kirke
John de Lancie as Frank Vaughn
Carlene Watkins as Sally Gardiner
Miscellaneous (regular series)
David Ackroyd as Professor Friedrich Bhaer
Cliff Potts as John Brooke
Virginia Gregg as Hannah
Eve Plumb as Melissa Jane 'Lissa' Driscoll
Episodes
Awards
Winner:
1979 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Series (Howard E. Johnson and Richard C. Goddard)
Nominations:
1979 – Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series
1979 - Golden Globe Award for Best Television Film
Home media
Little Women was released on a 2-disc DVD in region 1 by Koch Vision on October 9, 2007. On August 14, 2012, Entertainment One (eOne) released the miniseries on a single disc DVD.