Our Town – Blu-ray Review

Today, Our Town. Before entering Hollywood, Sam Wood was a real estate broker before a collapse in the market pushed to pursue his side passion of working the burgeoning film industry. Working his way up the ranks from actor to production assistant and assistant director, Wood reached the director’s chair where he soon gained a reputation for bringing projects in on time and under budget; he started out at Paramount Pictures but spent the bulk of the silent and early sound eras at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he had his stature rise with the notable successes with A Night at the Opera (1935), A Day at the Races (1937) and Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939), and he even filled in for Victor Fleming during the filming of Gone with the Wind (1939). After his contract with MGM ended, Wood began free-lancing work, starting with the film adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town. Available for years on public domain DVD, ClassicFlix has given the movie a brand new restoration and Blu-ray debut.

The Production: 4.5/5

Nestled in the Southwestern corner of New Hampshire – right across the border from Massachusetts – the small town of Grover’s Corners is the very picture of idyllic small-town life. Spanning a few years in the early years of the 20th Century, the day-to-day life of the town’s citizens are depicted, ultimately focusing on the lives of George Gibbs (William Holden) and Emily Webb (Martha Scott), who go from friendly neighbors to falling in love with each other and ultimately getting married. As Emily prepares to give birth to her second child, she has to face a decline in health which leaves her in limbo between life and death; while caught in that suspended time, she comes across the people in her life that have passed on and will have to make the decision whether or not she should go on living.

After winning a Pulitzer Prize for Thornton Wilder and a smash engagement on Broadway, Our Town received a terrific film treatment at the hands of veteran director Sam Wood, with some notable changes. The screen adaptation – done by Wilder, Frank Craven (who also reprised his stage role here) and Harry Chandlee – stays faithfully to the metatheatrical aspects of the story while including actual scenery, a change from the stage production; another important change is to the end of the play regarding Emily’s fate, requested by Wilder for the screen version since he felt movie audiences wouldn’t accept the original ending as shown on stage. In bringing the story to life, Wood had the talents of legendary production designer William Cameron Menzies, distinguished cinematographer Bert Glennon and noteworthy composer Aaron Copland to help open up the stage-bound play and give it a new cinematic dimension to the story. However, the best aspect of the movie is that Wood – who was known as an actor’s director – flawlessly elicits great performances from his cast, some of whom took part in the original stage production of the play. In the end, the film production of Our Town should be seen as one of Sam Wood’s best films as a director and definitely a high point in the careers of the many cast and crew members involved with the production.

Still early in his career – and still relatively fresh off of his breakthrough leading role in Rouben Mamoulian’s Golden Boy (1939) – William Holden has one of his best performances of his career overall as George Gibbs; the role here is notable as one of his few roles that didn’t require a world-weary persona that he would soon become known for in his movies. Recreating her stage role as Emily Webb, Martha Scott made a memorable film debut that would get her the only Oscar nomination for her career; she would continue to work steadily on both stage and screen and would later co-produce the screen version of the play First Monday in October (1981). Already anointed with Oscars for their respective performances in Jezebel (1938) and Stagecoach (1939), Fay Bainter and Thomas Mitchell make notable impressions as George’s parents while Beulah Bondi (a two-time Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress prior to this movie) and Guy Kibbee (never nominated for an Oscar, but always a reliable and welcome presence) are solid as Emily’s parents; it would be remiss to not forget the aforementioned Frank Craven as the stage manager – and guide to everything going on in Grover’s Corners. Rounding out the ensemble cast here are Stuart Erwin (another previous Oscar nominee) as the milkman Howie Newsome, Charles Trowbridge as the Reverend Dr. Ferguson, Spencer Charters as the town constable Bill Warren, Doro Merande as Mrs. Louella Soames (reprising her role from the stage production), Ruth Tobey as George’s sister Rebecca, Arthur B. Allen as Professor Willard (also reprising his stage role here), Douglas Gardner as Emily’s brother Wally, Dix and Tim Davis as the Crowell boys (Joe Jr. and Si) and Philip Wood – in his last film role before his death from a heart attack prior to the film’s premiere – as the town’s church choirmaster Simon Stimson.

Video: 4.5/5

3D Rating: NA

This Blu-ray release presents the film in its original 1:33:1 aspect ratio, taken from a brand new restoration taken from the 35mm film elements preserved by the Library of Congress. The end result here is night and day over the previously muddy prints used for the numerous public domain home video releases, as film grain, fine details and gray scale are all presented faithfully with minor cases of scratches, tears, dirt and print damage like warping present. This release is by far the best the movie will ever look on home video.

Audio: 4.5/5

The film’s original mono soundtrack is presented on a DTS-HD Master Audio track for this Blu-ray release. Dialogue, the Oscar-nominated sound mix and Aaron Copland’s Oscar-nominated score are all presented faithfully with minor cases of distortion like crackling, popping and hissing present on the track. Again, this release bests all previous public domain DVD releases by a mile and is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video.

Special Features: 4.5/5

Commentary by actor/film score restorationist Ray Faiola – Recorded for this Blu-ray release, Faiola does an extensive look at the film’s production, the origins and aspects of the play as well as brief excerpts from the two radio adaptations included in this release.

1953 interview with author Thornton Wilder (12:45) – Excerpts from Lilli Palmer’s NBC show in which Wilder and Palmer discuss the writings of Spanish playwright Lope de Vega.

The Campbell Playhouse radio production broadcast from May 12, 1939 (1:00:34) – The first radio adaptation of the play, with several members of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre taking part – including Welles himself as the stage manager as well as Ray Collins, Everett Sloane and Agnes Moorehead – and John Craven reprising his role from the original stage production.

Lux Radio Theatre radio production broadcast from May 6, 1940 (59:29) – Broadcast before the film’s theatrical release, this radio adaptation – done as a promotional tie-in to the movie – has cast members William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee and Stuart Erwin reprising their respective parts in the film.

Restoration Comparison (4:23)

Bonus ClassicFlix Trailers – A Night in Casablanca, Little Rascals Centennial, Merrily We Live, Stand-In & Zenobia

Overall: 4.5/5

Despite falling through the cracks due to its public domain status, Our Town is still a well-made adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s acclaimed play that ranks high on the career resumes of its cast and crew. ClassicFlix has done a tremendous job of giving this overlooked classic the home video treatment it deserves with a terrific HD transfer and a solid slate of special features, including two radio adaptations of the play. Very highly recommended, deserving of a place on the list of one of the best Blu-ray releases of 2023, and absolutely worth upgrading from previous home video releases.

Our Town

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Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.