Our Town

Plot

Our Town follows the lives of ordinary citizens in Grover's Corners, a fictional New Hampshire town, between 1901 and 1913. The story centers on the relationship between George Gibbs and Emily Webb, from their childhood friendship through their courtship and marriage. Through the omniscient Stage Manager character, the film presents everyday moments of birth, love, work, and death as profound experiences worth cherishing. In the film's most powerful sequence, Emily dies in childbirth and returns to relive her 12th birthday, only to realize how little people appreciate the preciousness of ordinary moments while living them. The film concludes with the Stage Manager delivering the play's famous closing lines about the eternal cycle of life in small-town America.

Historical Background

Released in May 1940, Our Town emerged during a pivotal moment in world history as Europe was engulfed in World War II and America remained neutral but increasingly concerned. The film's celebration of small-town American values and ordinary life resonated deeply with audiences facing global uncertainty. Thornton Wilder's play had premiered on Broadway in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize, capturing the American imagination during the Great Depression with its message about finding meaning in everyday existence. The film adaptation arrived just as Hollywood was transitioning from the escapist fare of the 1930s to more socially conscious filmmaking. The timing was particularly poignant as the film's themes about the preciousness of life and the continuity of community spoke to Americans' anxieties about the looming war and potential loss of their way of life.

Making Of

The making of Our Town presented unique challenges in adapting Thornton Wilder's experimental play to conventional Hollywood cinema. Wilder's stage version famously used minimal sets and had actors miming daily activities like cooking and cleaning, with a Stage Manager character directly addressing the audience. Director Sam Wood and the producers debated how to translate this to film while maintaining the play's intimate, philosophical tone. They ultimately decided to use realistic sets and props but kept the Stage Manager's direct addresses to the camera. The casting process was extensive, with over 200 actors tested for the role of George Gibbs before William Holden was selected. Martha Scott's involvement was crucial as she brought her acclaimed Broadway performance to the screen, though she had to adapt her stage acting for the more intimate film medium. The film was shot quickly on a tight budget, with the crew working long hours to complete the production in under a month.

Visual Style

The cinematography by Bert Glennon employed a naturalistic, unobtrusive style that complemented the film's intimate storytelling. Glennon used soft focus and warm lighting to create a nostalgic, dreamlike quality that evoked turn-of-the-century America. The camera work was deliberately simple and straightforward, avoiding flashy techniques to maintain focus on the characters and their relationships. For the cemetery scenes, Glennon used misty, ethereal lighting to distinguish the spiritual realm from the earthly world. The film's visual approach contrasted with the more stylized cinematography common in 1940, instead anticipating the documentary-style realism that would become more prevalent in postwar cinema.

Innovations

Our Town pioneered several technical approaches to adapting stage plays for cinema. The film's use of direct address to camera through the Stage Manager character was innovative for its time, breaking the cinematic fourth wall in a way that felt natural rather than gimmicky. The sound recording techniques employed to capture the film's many intimate conversations were advanced for the period, using newly developed microphones that could pick up subtle vocal nuances. The production also experimented with lighting techniques to create distinct visual atmospheres for the film's different time periods and locations, particularly the supernatural quality of the cemetery scenes. The film's editing rhythm, which allowed long takes of dialogue to play out without interruption, represented a departure from the faster cutting styles common in 1940 Hollywood productions.

Music

The musical score was composed by Aaron Copland, one of America's most celebrated classical composers, in one of his rare film assignments. Copland's music perfectly captured the film's blend of ordinary American life and philosophical reflection, using folk-inspired melodies and orchestral textures that evoked New England. The score featured Copland's characteristic open harmonies and clear, transparent orchestration that complemented the film's straightforward visual style. Notably, Copland incorporated variations on traditional American hymns and folk songs, grounding the score in authentic musical traditions. The soundtrack was relatively sparse, with Copland wisely choosing to underscore only key emotional moments rather than overwhelming the dialogue-heavy narrative. This restraint helped maintain the film's intimate, conversational tone while providing emotional depth at crucial moments.

Memorable Scenes

• Emily's return to her 12th birthday, where she experiences the painful realization that no one truly appreciates the preciousness of ordinary moments while living them, culminating in her heartbreaking cry 'Goodbye, goodbye, world. Goodbye, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Goodbye to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths... and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.'
• The wedding scene between George and Emily, where their nervousness and love are palpable as they exchange vows in the simple church setting.
• The opening sequence where the Stage Manager introduces Grover's Corners, establishing the film's unique narrative style and intimate connection with the audience.
• The morning scenes showing the townspeople beginning their daily routines, establishing the rhythm and texture of small-town life.
• The final scene in the cemetery where the dead characters watch the stars come out, offering philosophical commentary on the nature of existence and memory.

What Critics Said

Contemporary critics praised Our Town for successfully translating Wilder's theatrical masterpiece to the screen, with particular acclaim for Martha Scott's performance and Sam Wood's sensitive direction. The New York Times called it 'a deeply moving and faithful adaptation' that 'captures the spirit and poetry of the original play.' Variety noted that while the film necessarily lost some of the stage version's minimalist power, it gained in emotional accessibility through its realistic approach. Modern critics have reevaluated the film as a significant achievement in adaptation, with the Criterion Collection describing it as 'a tender and poetic rendering that finds its own cinematic identity while honoring the source material.' Some contemporary reviewers have criticized the film for sentimentality, but most acknowledge its historical importance and the quality of its performances.

What Audiences Thought

Our Town was a moderate box office success in 1940, particularly popular in smaller cities and towns where audiences connected with its depiction of American community life. The film developed a reputation as a 'family picture' and was frequently shown in schools and churches in the decades following its release. Audience reaction was generally positive, with many viewers moved to tears by Emily's return to her 12th birthday and the film's meditation on mortality. The movie developed a cult following among theater enthusiasts who appreciated its faithful adaptation of Wilder's work. In the years since, the film has maintained its appeal through television broadcasts and home video releases, with many viewers discovering it as an introduction to both classic Hollywood cinema and American dramatic literature.

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