''Gentle Annie'' is a film with a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

theme, directed in 1944 by

Andrew Marton Andrew Marton (born Endre Marton; 26 January 1904 – 7 January 1992) was a Hungarian-American film director. In his career, he directed 39 films and television programs, and worked on 16 as a second unit director, including the chariot race in ...

, starring

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

and James Craig.

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and 1 ...

played the role of Annie Goss. A notable actor in this film is

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

, who plays Cottonwood Goss. Morgan is best known for his role as Col. Potter in the TV show ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

''.

Plot

A frontierswoman turns her family into a band of bank robbers.

Cast

* James Craig as Lloyd Richland aka Rich Williams *

as Mary Lingen *

as Annie Goss *

as Cottonwood Goss (credited as Henry Morgan) *

Paul Langton Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

as Violet Goss *

Barton MacLane Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...

as Sheriff Tatum *

John Philliber John Philliber (July 6, 1873 – November 6, 1944), was an American actor. Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Philliber was a stage actor for most of his career, but in his last year of life made several appearances in films, alluding to his old age, bes ...

as Barrow *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in ...

as Deputy Gansby *

Frank Darien Frank Darien (March 18, 1876 – October 20, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in 225 films and between 1915 and 1951. Filmography References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darien, Frank 1876 births 1955 deaths American ...

as Jake *

Lee Shumway Lee Shumway (March 4, 1884 – January 4, 1959), born Leonard Charles Shumway, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1909 and 1953. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Los Angeles, California. Select ...

as Fireman (uncredited)

Production notes

''Hollywood Reporter'' news items and MGM publicity material provide the following information about the production: MGM purchased

MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded th ...

's novel in February 1942. Filming began on October 6, 1942, but when director

W. S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Franc ...

became ill in early November 1942, production was halted.

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

was to take over direction on November 9, 1942, but the project was shelved and not revived until June 1944. The 1942 version was produced by

Sam Zimbalist Sam Zimbalist (March 31, 1901 – November 4, 1958) was a Russian Empire born American film producer and film editor. Early life Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, he arrived to the US in August 1914. He began his career at 16 as an office b ...

and starred Robert Taylor as Lloyd Richland,

Susan Peters Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...

as Mary Lingen,

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

as Annie Goss,

Charles Grapewin Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portr ...

as Barrow and

as the sheriff. When the project was revived in 1944, the script was rewritten and all the principal crew and cast, except Ankrum and Craig, were replaced. Production dates: August 7 — early September 1944. Additional scenes began late September 1944.

, who plays Barrow in the film, died on November 8, 1944, shortly after filming ended. ''Gentle Annie'' was his last picture.

References

External links

* * * * 1944 films 1944 Western (genre) films 1940s romance films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films American romance films Films based on works by MacKinlay Kantor Films directed by Andrew Marton Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1940s American films {{1940s-Western-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production notes

See also

References

External links