''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' is a 1991 Hallmark Hall of Fame

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

. It first aired on February 3, 1991. It is the first of three installments in the film adaptation of

Patricia MacLachlan Patricia Marie MacLachlan ( Pritzkau; March 3, 1938 – March 31, 2022) was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel '' Sarah, Plain and Tall'', which won the 1986 Newbery Medal. Early life MacLachlan was born in Cheyenne, Wyo ...

's novel of the same name. Location shots were filmed in Grand Island, Nebraska;

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

; near Melvern, Kansas; and in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Plot

The story is set in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

in 1910. Jacob Witting is a widowed farmer who is still saddened by the death of his wife, Katherine, during childbirth around six years before. Since her death, the task of taking care of his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult to handle alone. He advertises in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. Sarah Wheaton, from

, responds describing herself as "plain and tall". She travels to Kansas to become his wife. Upon arriving, she 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: 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.

Cast

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

as Sarah Wheaton * Christopher Walken as Jacob Witting * Lexi Randall as Anna Witting *Christopher Bell as Caleb Witting * Malgorzata Zajaczkowska as Maggie Grant (as Margaret Sophie Stein) * Jon De Vries as Matthew Grant *

James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...

as William Wheaton * Woody Watson as Jess Stearns * Betty Laird as Mrs. Parkley * Marc Penney as Ticket Agent * Kara Beth Taylor as Rose

Reception

Generally well received by the public, the film was considered "Fresh" at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

with 80% approval based on five reviews. It was nominated for nine Emmys in 1991, and it won one, for "Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special - Single Camera Production". It was also nominated for two

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

Sequels

The film was followed by two sequels: * ''

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

'' (1993) * '' Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End'' (1999)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarah, Plain And Tall (Film) 1991 television films 1991 films 1991 drama films Films set in 1910 Films based on children's books Hallmark Hall of Fame episodes Films directed by Glenn Jordan Films set in Kansas Films shot in Kansas Films shot in Nebraska Films based on American novels American drama television films 1990s American films