Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story
- Synopsis
- Cast
- Crew
- Trivia
- Quotes
Now in her twenties, Anne returns to Avonlea for the first time since Marilla Cuthbert’s death. Gilbert has been offered a position in a hospital in New York, and he persuades Anne to come with him. He arranges a position for her at a large publishing house. Big city life isn’t what they expected. Anne’s manuscript is stolen by a dashing American writer, Jack Garrison. Thus the stage is set for a final installment. The thrilling and affecting story follows the characters from New York, to Europe and the war effort, eventually returning them to the red earth of Prince Edward Island.
Megan Follows : Anne Shirley
Jonathan Crombie : Gilbert Blythe
Schuyler Grant : Diana Barry
Greg Spottiswood : Fred Wright
Patricia Hamilton : Rachel Lynde
Cameron Daddo : Jack Garrison
Kevin Sullivan : Executive Producer, Writer, Director
Trudy Grant : Co-Executive Producer
Stefan Scaini : Director
Laurie Pearson : Writer
Arthur Harriott : Production Designer
Bob Saad : Director of Photography
Ruth Secord : Costume Designer
Peter Breiner : Composer
The Continuing Story, Kevin Sullivan’s third installment in the Anne series, finds Anne and Gilbert embarking on their new life together at the brink of World War One. The film’s departure from the L.M. Montgomery novels that inspired the first two Anne movies is a result of the chronology that Sullivan created to interpret Anne’s life on the screen. Sullivan set the first Anne film just after the turn of the century (a decade later than Montgomery originally set her novel) because the early Edwardian era offered more interesting production design possibilities than the Victorian era. Between making The Sequel, which was set in 1905-1907, and The Continuing Story, Sullivan also created 91 episodes of the television series Road to Avonlea. This series, which took viewers through the years 1907 to 1914, culminated in An Avonlea Christmas – set at the outbreak of World War One.
When creating The Continuing Story, Sullivan decided to keep going in the chronological order he created for Anne. He had her story take place against the more mature background of the First World War. In Montgomery’s later novels, Anne and Gilbert are middle-aged parents and watch as their children go off to war. By depicting the struggles that Anne and Gilbert directly face in war-torn Europe, Sullivan wanted to make audiences aware of the reasons why they were so attached to the innocent world of Anne’s childhood in the first film. Anne’s story of survival is only more poignant when viewed against the sweeping changes in history that unfolded in this era.
Megan and Schuyler's relationship off-screen was reflected on-screen.
The shots on the road to Green Gables were shot at the same place at which Road to Avonlea was filmed.
The scene when Anne gets out of the car to run to Green Gables was shot in the autumn and the art crew had to spray-paint the leaves with an organic spray to make them appear green.
Megan does not run through the fields on the way to Green Gables; that's a double!
The Green Gables house was decimated one morning for filming, then was cleaned up and painted to shoot later scenes of the movie.
Anne's reaction to seeing Green Gables in shambles is quite genuine, for Megan herself had not seen the house since she worked on the last film twelve years earlier. Indeed, she had to be reminded that the house would look fine again by the end of the day.
The scene at the beach, when we first see Gilbert, was shot on Lake Ontario. Since the sand there is not red, the art crew had to spray the cliffs with organic red spray paint and put crushed brick down on the ground. Megan Follows was offered a stunt double for her fall in the sand, but she said, "Oh, no, I can do a pratfall quite well on my own, thank you." And, although they filmed a couple of takes, they stuck with the first one.
Megan and Schuyler's relationship off-screen was reflected on-screen.
The shots on the road to Green Gables were shot at the same place at which Road to Avonlea was filmed.
The scene when Anne gets out of the car to run to Green Gables was shot in the autumn and the art crew had to spray-paint the leaves with an organic spray to make them appear green.
Megan does not run through the fields on the way to Green Gables; that's a double!
The Green Gables house was decimated one morning for filming, then was cleaned up and painted to shoot later scenes of the movie.
Anne's reaction to seeing Green Gables in shambles is quite genuine, for Megan herself had not seen the house since she worked on the last film twelve years earlier. Indeed, she had to be reminded that the house would look fine again by the end of the day.
The scene at the beach, when we first see Gilbert, was shot on Lake Ontario. Since the sand there is not red, the art crew had to spray the cliffs with organic red spray paint and put crushed brick down on the ground. Megan Follows was offered a stunt double for her fall in the sand, but she said, "Oh, no, I can do a pratfall quite well on my own, thank you." And, although they filmed a couple of takes, they stuck with the first one.
Jonathan Crombie would often bring treats (candy, popcorn, etc.) for his fellow workers.
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