Sarah, Plain and Tall | |
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Based on | Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan |
Screenplay by |
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Directed by | Glenn Jordan |
Starring | |
Composer | David Shire |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Glenn Jordan |
Cinematography | Mike Fash |
Editor | John Wright |
Running time | 98 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | February 3, 1991 |
Sarah, Plain and Tall is an American drama television film that premiered on CBS on February 3, 1991, as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. It is directed and produced by Glenn Jordan from a teleplay by Patricia MacLachlan and Carol Sobieski, based on the book of the same name by MacLachlan. It stars Glenn Close, who also serves as an executive producer, and Christopher Walken. It tells the story of a Maine spinster who goes to Kansas in the early 1900s in response to a widower's newspaper advertisement seeking a wife. [1]
The film was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special and Miniseries, winning one for its editing. It also received two Golden Globe Award nominations, for Best Miniseries or Television Movie and Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie for Close. It was followed by two sequels, Skylark and Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End .
The story is set in Kansas in 1910. Jacob Witting is a widowed farmer who is still saddened by the death of his wife, Katherine, during childbirth six years before. Since then, the task of taking care of his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult for him to handle alone. He advertises in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. Sarah Wheaton of Maine responds describing herself as "plain and tall". She travels to Kansas to become his wife.
Upon arriving, Sarah proves to have good sense, an interest in helping with even the most physically demanding chores, and a quiet, warm personality. But she grows homesick because miles and miles of Kansas farmland prove no substitute for Maine's ocean vistas. She is under no obligation to marry Jacob and is free to leave if she so desires; much of the story's suspense depends on whether or not she will decide to stay.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 80% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. [2] John J. O'Connor of The New York Times praised the story for "the kind of clean, simple line that television handles most skillfully", but opined that it "proceeds charmingly to a conclusion that is far from surprising." O'Connor concluded his review by writing, "Sarah, Plain and Tall delivers an affecting portrait of that rare phenonmenon in popular mythology: the good stepmother." [1] Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News stated that the film "deals with emotions - love, loss, loneliness, yearning - on a very mature level" and called it "a television treasure." [3] Patricia Brennan of The Washington Post described it as "a beautifully filmed story set at the turn of the century in the Kansas farmlands." [4]
According to Nielsen ratings, the filmwas the top-rated program of the week, attracting viewers in about 21.5 million homes. [5]
Glenn Close is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on screen and stage, she has received numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for eight Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Grammy Awards. She was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
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Skylark is a genus of birds. It may also refer to particular species in that genus, such as the Eurasian skylark.
Hallmark Hall of Fame, originally called Hallmark Television Playhouse, is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City–based greeting card company. It is the longest-running prime-time series in the history of television; it began airing in 1951 and aired on network television until 2014, with episodes largely limited to one film in a span of several months since the 1980s. Since 1954, all of its productions have been broadcast in color. It was one of the first video productions to telecast in color, a rarity in the 1950s. Many television films have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones.
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and coping with change.
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Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End is a 1999 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television drama film and is the third of three television films based on the series of children's books by Patricia MacLachlan: Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) and its sequel Skylark (1993). Though they do not share a title, the events in the film Winter's End are taken from MacLachlan's book Caleb's Story, though in order to appeal to a more adult audience than the children's books the events are expanded and the tone made slightly more serious. The film premiered on CBS on November 21, 1999.
Patricia Marie MacLachlan was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel Sarah, Plain and Tall, which won the 1986 Newbery Medal.
Skylark is a historical children's novel by Patricia MacLachlan published in 1994. It is a sequel to the Newbery Medal-winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall and follows the lives of the Witting family after Sarah Wheaton arrives. It was adapted from a film with the same name.
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