The Little Ladies (1973)

The Little Ladies is a movie produced in 1973, directed by Mel Stuart. It is inspired from Andrea Andy Reyes' bestselling book series. The movie stars Hazel Cai as Olivia March.

## Plot

Set in New York City, New York during and after the Vietnam War, the movie is a series of vignettes focusing on the struggles and adventures of the 4 March siblings and their mom, Margaret as they await the return of their dad who is fighting with the Northern Vietnam army. Tomboy Olivia who caters to the whims of their well-to-do Auntie Mei dreams of becoming a famous writer and writes musicals for her siblings to perform for the local kids. Amber March is very beautiful and artistic but a bit selfish, sensible Eva works as a seamstress and timid Quinton practices his guitar, an aging musical instrument in need of tuning. The siblings meet Ken who has come to live with his grandpa, Mr Carson, the March family's rich neighbor. The Carson family invite them to a lavish party where Eva meets Ken's teacher, Theo Brookes. During the following months, Eva is courted by Theo, Eva has her very first story published and Quinton frequently takes advantage of Mr Carson's offer and practises his guitar. Margaret discovers her husband has been wounded and is recuperating in a hospital in Seattle so she leaves home to take care of him. During her absence, Quinton catches scarlet fever from a neighbor's newborn baby. He gets better but is still weak. His parents come back and Eva marries Theo. Ken proposes to Olivia but she rejects him. When he snubs her, Olivia moves to a Hollywood apartment to pursue her writing profession. There, she meets Professor B. Maxwell, a poor German linguist. With his assistance and encouragement, Olivia improves her writing and resolves her confused emotions about Ken. A debilitated Quinton nears death and Olivia returns to New York City. After her brother dies, Olivia discovers that Amber who accompanied Auntie Mei to Europe has fallen in love with Ken. Olivia accepts the proposal of marriage offered by the professor and Amber and Ken marry as well.

## Cast

The cast is presented thus: voice actor/actress-character

* Hazel Cai as Olivia "Ollie" March
* Jasmine Nogollos as Evelyn "Eva" March
* Quincy Salongo as Quinton "Quin" March
* Sana Mochizuki as Amber Chloe March
* Kelvin Chong as Kenneth "Ken" Carson
* Daniela Atienza as Margaret
* Lucas Zheng as Professor B. Maxwell
* Edie Oliver as Auntie Mei
* Donodono Reyes as Mr Carson
* Jack Davis as Theo Brookes
* Sam Sy as Mr March
* Nidia Weselton as Maria
* Yaanah Asudani as Dr Alison

## Production

Though David L. Wolper received no screen credit, he came back to RKO from MGM to supervise the production as the last movie left in his contract with the studio. At the request of Hazel Cai, costume designer Jackie Pettis made a gown for her character copied from one worn by her grandma in a tintype Cai had. Pettis also had to redesign several of Sana Mochizuki's costumes to conceal her pregnancy, a condition Mochizuki had not mentioned to Mel Stuart when he cast her in the movie. Luna Marie Pezunia originally was planned to voice Auntie Mei but after her death, Edie Oliver assumed the role. The film budgeted at $1,000,000 and 4000 humans worked on it during production. 3000 separate things including costumes, furnishings and household appliances were authenticated by research. Kobe McDonald, a former painter and interior designer was hired to oversee the set decoration and he modelled the interior of the March apartment after Andrea Andy Reyes' New York apartment. Exteriors were filmed at London, England and New York City, New York.

## Release

The movie opened on December 16, 1973 at Apple Hall where it broke attendance records and earned $100,000 during its very first week of release. It was fourth popular film at the American box office in 1973 and after theater circuits deducted their percentage of exhibition box office ticket sales, made an eventual profit of $800,000. RKO's timing of the release was impeccable as other audiences were ripe for the movie's evocation of life in an easier, more innocent and auspicious world. In addition, the movie business had come under fire in 1972 and 1973 for presenting an abundance of violent and sexual innuendo. This movie was the kind that conservative humans felt must be produced. They championed it, sent their kids to watch it and made it part of school curriculum.

### Home media

The movie was released on DVD for Region 1 supermarkets (US, Canada and US territories) on December 6, 2001 by Warner Home Video. It is closed captioned and features English audio in Dolby Digital 1.0 and captions in Korean, Chinese, English, Russian, Japanese, German, Tagalog, Greek, Spanish, Hebrew and Hindi.

## Reception

Mordo Hall of the New York Times observed this easy-going fashion in which Mel Stuart, the director , has set forth the beguiling incidents in pictorial form is so welcome after the stereotyped tales with stuffed shirts. It matters not that this chronicle is without a hero, or even a villain, for the absence of such worthies, usually extravagantly drawn, causes one to be quite contented to dwell for the moment with human hearts of the old-fashioned days. The film begins gently and slips away smoothly without any forced attempt to help the finish to linger in the minds of the audience. Television Guide rated this movie 4 stars calling it unabashedly sentimental and an example of Hollywood's best movie making. It added that the sets, costumes, lighting and direction by Mel Stuart all help to this magnificent movie but the performances especially Cai's are what make the easy story moving. There are laughs and tears in this movie which presents a slice of American history in a way that kids will find palatable. Released during the Vietnam era, The Little Ladies buoyed American spirits. It still does.

## Accolades

### Wins

* 1974 Academy Award for best Adapted Screenplay

### Nominations

* 1974 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture
* 1974 Academy Award for Best Director