Jump to content

User:Arb0078/Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< User:Arb0078

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Arb0078 (talk | contribs) at 14:59, 9 October 2023 (Finished the plot summary; began revising some sections of the summary and removing muddy and/or irrelevant information in the plot that could be condensed.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Article Draft

Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front is a 2006 American made-for-television comedy-drama film. It is the third movie in the American Girl film series, and is based on the Molly: An American Girl book series written by American author Valerie Tripp.[1] The first two movies in the series, Samantha: An American Girl Holiday and Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, were broadcast on The WB Television Network. However, following the WB/UPN merger, the series moved to the Disney Channel. The film premiered on the Disney Channel and on DVD from Warner Home Video on November 26, 2006.[2] The film stars Maya Ritter in the titular role,[3] with Molly Ringwald, David Aaron Baker, Tory Green and Genevieve Farrell in supporting roles.[4]

The film was directed by Joyce Chopra, with Deborah Schindler as executive producer. Screenwriter Anna Sandor won the 2007 Humanitas Prize for the movie.[5][6]

Plot

In 1943, during World War II, nine-year-old Molly McIntire lives in the fictional town of Jefferson, Illinois[7] with her parents, James and Helen, and two older siblings, fourteen-year-old Jill and twelve-year-old Ricky. James is a doctor in the United States Army, while Helen is a stay-at-home mom. Molly is in the third grade at Willow Street School along with her two best friends, Linda and Susan. As Molly's tenth birthday nears, she dreams of having a princess-themed tea party inspired by Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose of England, only to be disappointed as she learns that her family does not have the money nor rations to afford it. To Helen's disapproval, Jill says Molly is too immature to understand how the war changes people's lives.

James takes Molly to a Victory Dance contest at the local park where he gives her a locket. Later that night during an air raid drill, James reveals that he has decided to go to London to provide medical aid to soldiers and civilians. Molly is furious that her father is leaving the family and going to a "strange" and "unsafe" city. James comforts Molly by calling her his "North Star" and telling her to look at the stars to think of him. After James departs to Europe, Helen decides to enter the workforce to do her part for the war effort, taking a factory job at the fictional Jefferson Aircraft Plant. The McIntire's neighbor, Mrs. Gilford, begins coming over in the daytime to watch the children while Helen is away at work. Molly then decides she wants to be the school's "Miss Victory", the lead tap-dance performer in the school's Christmas Pageant. She struggles to improve her tap-dancing, but with the help of her teacher Ms. Campbell, she begins to see improvement.

Soon after, the McIntires take in a British girl named Emily Bennett. Molly is unaccepting of the McIntire's new guest while Jill insists she must learn to adapt to her new situation and do her part. Fascinated by Emily, Molly's friends Linda and Susan question Emily about her home in London; overwhelmed, Emily lies and says her parents are royalty, and that she lived in "Bennett Manor". At school, Emily becomes popular amongst the students, particularly with Molly's tap-dancing rival Allison Hargate. This causes Molly to resent her. The two later participate in a spelling bee together. Before a winner can be declared, a member of the Western Union arrives to inform Ms. Campbell, who is on the panel of judges, that her fiancé has been killed in the war.

Later, another air raid drill occurs, visibly upsetting Emily as the McIntires shelter in the basement of their home. That night, Emily wakes up in the midst of a nightmare. She reveals to Molly that her street was bombed in The Blitz, destroying her parents' apartment and killing her mother. She says her father is a bus driver and that they lived above a candy shop, and that she was never really royalty. Molly forgives her and the two become friends.

After returning home from school one day, Molly finds her mother Helen making a casserole for Mrs. Gilford. She asks her mother why she is not at work, to which Helen replies that Mrs. Gilford's son has been killed in action. Empathetic, Molly helps her bake and deliver the casserole to Mrs. Gilford's house. Molly's Aunt Eleanor comes to stay with the McIntire's to help with the children and housework while Mrs. Gilford is grieving. Her stay is short-lived, though, as she eventually leaves for Texas to join the WASPs.

As Christmas nears, auditions for the role of "Miss Victory" conclude at school. Molly finds that she has been chosen for the lead role, but her excitement is short-lived as the McIntires receive a telegram stating her father is missing in action. The following day, Molly goes to the cinema where she sees a newsreel inspiring her to participate in the war effort at home. She helps create care packages for Allied soldiers in conjunction with the Red Cross, as well as collecting old clothes and making bandage boxes for soldiers overseas. While setting up the Christmas decorations in the house, another telegram from the Western Union arrives. It says James has been found alive but has been hospitalized, and that he will be discharged and sent home as soon as he is well enough to travel.

On Christmas Eve, Molly performs as Miss Victory at the Christmas Pageant when her father, James, surprises her at the end. Though his leg is wounded and he relies on a cane, the family is ecstatic to see him and relieved that he is alive. The family goes home to enjoy their Christmas Eve and open presents. Molly receives a Red Cross doll while Emily receives a copy of A Christmas Carol from her father, whom James encountered while he was abroad.

Cast

  • Maya Ritter as Molly McIntire, the 10-year-old protagonist of the film.
  • Tory Green as Emily Bennett, a girl from England who is taken in by Molly's family during the war.
  • Hannah Fleming as Susan Shapiro, one of Molly's best friends.
  • Samantha Somer Wilson as Linda Rinaldi, one of Molly's best friends.
  • Josette Halpert as Alison Hargate, a rich, popular girl in Molly's class.
  • David Aaron Baker as Dr. James McIntire, Molly's father who was a doctor enlisted to go to England and help the wounded.
  • Molly Ringwald as Helen McIntire, Molly's mother who took a job assembling war machinery after Mr. McIntire left.
  • Genevieve Farrell as Jill McIntire, Molly's 14-year-old sister.
  • Andrew Chalmers as Ricky McIntire, Molly's 12-year-old brother.
  • Thomas Brodie-Sangster as boy in spelling bee

Production

An American Girl on the Home Front was filmed in Unionville, Ontario, Canada.



[citation needed]

  1. ^ Frey, Jennifer (25 November 2006). "'Molly': A Doll Comes to Life". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. ^ England, Tamara (2006). Lights! Camera! Molly: A Behind the Scenes Movie Guide. Pleasant Company Publications. p. 50. ISBN 978-1593692124.
  3. ^ "American Girl's Molly(R) Is the Star of the Show in a New Made-for-TV Movie Airing on Disney Channel This November". Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. ^ Rouvalis, Cristina (23 November 2006). "TV Preview: 'Molly' is the best 'American Girl' yet". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Humanitas prizes awarded - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "2007 Humanitas Finalists Announced". Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ England, Tamara (2006). Lights! Camera! Molly: A Behind the Scenes Movie Guide. Pleasant Company Publications. p. 3. ISBN 978-1593692124.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=User:Arb0078/Molly:_An_American_Girl_on_the_Home_Front&oldid=1179348576"