Anne Of Green Gables - 1985 - 2 Parts File
| Character | Actor | |-----------|-------| | Anne Shirley | Megan Follows | | Marilla Cuthbert | Colleen Dewhurst | | Matthew Cuthbert | Richard Farnsworth | | Gilbert Blythe | Jonathan Crombie | | Diana Barry | Schuyler Grant | | Rachel Lynde | Patricia Hamilton | | Josie Pye | Jennifer Inch | | Mr. Phillips | Robert Collins | | Aunt Josephine Barry | Dawn Greenhalgh | | Mrs. Barry | Rosemary Dunsmore | | Mrs. Hammond (flashback) | Anne Gibson | | Station Master | James O’Regan |
Critically, the 1985 – 2 Parts structure allowed the filmmakers to continue immediately into Anne of Avonlea (the second book) without a production gap. Part Two is often described by fans as "the romantic part." Anne of Green Gables - 1985 - 2 Parts
Where Part One was about survival and finding a home, Part Two is about identity, ambition, and love. | Character | Actor | |-----------|-------| | Anne
What elevates this adaptation to immortality is its casting. Critically, the 1985 – 2 Parts structure allowed
Megan Follows as Anne Shirley was a revelation. At 16, she embodied the very essence of the character: the vanity, the volcanic temper (the infamous slate over the head), the romantic imagination (“the White Way of Delight”), and the deep, aching vulnerability of a child who has never been wanted. Follows doesn’t just play Anne; she becomes her, delivering monologues that are simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking.
Colleen Dewhurst as Marilla Cuthbert provides the perfect foil. Dewhurst plays Marilla not as a cold spinster, but as a woman terrified of love because she has forgotten how to express it. Her slow, reluctant thaw—culminating in the quiet tears when Anne succeeds at Queens—is a masterclass in subtle acting. Opposite her, Richard Farnsworth as Matthew Cuthbert is every viewer’s ideal grandfather. His shy, wordless devotion and the tragic weight of his death scene remain devastating.
Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe deserves special praise. He turns a smug schoolboy into a patient, kind, and deeply romantic hero. The moment Gilbert gives up the Avonlea school for Anne, and the final scene where he calls her “Carrots” on the bridge—those moments have launched a thousand crushes.
