The Corn Is Green *** (1979, Katharine Hepburn, Ian Saynor, Bill Fraser) – Classic Movie Review 10,371

Katharine Hepburn stars in director George Cukor’s touching 1979 made-for-TV version of Emlyn Williams’s famous semi-autobiographical 1938 hit play The Corn Is Green (which originally starred Ethel Barrymore) about an 1890s Welsh unmarried teacher and her prize Oxford-bound pupil Morgan Evans (Ian Saynor), who begins as an illiterate.

The main virtue is Hepburn’s splendid performance as Miss Lilly Moffat (though she doesn’t eclipse memories of Bette Davis in the 1945 film The Corn Is Green) and she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for it. But also Welsh actor Saynor gives a renowned performance, there is a strong British support cast, the plush Welsh location filming is satisfying, and the tale remains a reliable, entertaining workhorse.

It is the last of 10 films together from old friends Cukor and Hepburn, who had previously made Love Among the Ruins (1975) for TV.

Also in the cast are Bill Fraser as The Squire, Patricia Hayes as Mrs Watty, Anna Massey, Dorothea Phillips and Toyah Willcox.

Costume designer David Walker was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Limited Series or a Special.

Joan Lorring reprised her role of Bessie Watty in the 1945 film The Corn Is Green in a 1956 American TV movie remake with legendary stage actress Eva Le Gallienne. Wendy Hiller played Miss Lilly Moffat in a BBC Play of the Month version in 1968.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,371

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Bette Davis in the 1945 film The Corn Is Green.