Why A Betsy-Tacy Movie Would Not Be Good
by Beverly Jones
I didn't catch the name of the person who just finished
reading/loving the BT series and is now wondering why no movie has
been
made. However, I need to respond. This is a rather upsetting idea to
me, perhaps because the characters are set in the adolescent stage of
their lives. It would not be good to have a movie image to help fans
decide what Betsy (and the other characters) look like. Granted,
there
are pictures in the books, but one of the charms of Vera [Neville, the
illustrator of the high school Betsy-Tacy books] is that she
drew
all the women in a clonish fashion. I loved that sometimes Betsy was
upset about how unattractive she perceived herself as, and sometimes
she
was flattered about her beauty. I would hate to see some actress
portraying Betsy in one of her insecure times; the actress would be
perfect-looking and the audience would have to mock her false modesty.
And the gaiety of the Crowd could seem very superficial on film. I
always wondered what Betsy really looked like in much the same way
that
as a teenager I wondered how I was perceived. I was able to handle
seeing the pictures in the Companion; but even lookalikes of these
women
would not do. Currently I flit between the realism of Maud's friends
and
the generic perfection of Vera's drawings, and these two extremes seem
to
create a balance. A movie would be sad exploitation of the Crowd.
When
I first saw the movie of Anne of Green Gables I thought I enjoyed it
(the
actor playing Gilbert was oh-so-appealing!) but now when I read the
series I hear the voice of Megan Follows as Anne. It was better when
I
created her all by myself.
I hope the person who did suggest the movie does not feel that I
am biting her head off. BT certainly has the magic that makes for a
good
movie, and I am sure that the movie people would be glad to use the
material if they knew about it. However, instead of BT being good
enough
to be made into a movie, I think it is too good for such a fate!