Whisper Country

Melissa Sue Anderson said in an interview that she felt she was over the top in this episode, and I'm afraid I have to agree this wasn't one of her best performances, especially in the final scene - I thought she was way too melodramatic.
I was also curious whether people thought this episode was realistic. Unfortunately in those times I'm not sure how easy it would have been for a teenage girl to be that assertive and stand up for what she believed in; this wasn't exactly the 1960's.

Well. I always loved it, and I still think she've done a wonderful acting job there. The whole epie WAS melodramatic, yes. But I think we can't blame Melissa Sue Anderson for it. Maybe the writers??? :think: :shifty:

Vanesa.

teenwerewolf wrote:

Melissa Sue Anderson said in an interview that she felt she was over the top in this episode, and I'm afraid I have to agree this wasn't one of her best performances, especially in the final scene - I thought she was way too melodramatic.
I was also curious whether people thought this episode was realistic. Unfortunately in those times I'm not sure how easy it would have been for a teenage girl to be that assertive and stand up for what she believed in; this wasn't exactly the 1960's.

In those times, women were REALLY strong. People have a fake idea of women being weak and less strong than today. I think exactly the opposite. My great-great granny, who fighted the indians on the frontier and saw her husband killed in front of her eyes, havin a lot of children to educate, knows a lot better what she wanted than those girls (and boys) from todays who doesn't know what they should do of their existences. My great-great granny was a typical woman of her times, with a strong will and strong convictions.

If you read Laura Ingalls Wilder's life (the real one. not the one from the show ) you can't help to ask to yourself how a so young girl could go through all that suffering, including a son's death and a burning up of her house. A young girl from today would have a nervous break down.

Vanesa.

Vanesa wrote:

Well. I always loved it, and I still think she've done a wonderful acting job there. The whole epie WAS melodramatic, yes. But I think we can't blame Melissa Sue Anderson for it. Maybe the writers??? :think: :shifty:

Vanesa.

Yes it was partly the writing, but I still say it was partly her delivery as well. I thought she got carried away by shouting at the top of her lungs when she was saying that she'd send that boy home again if he continued to misbehave, and when she asked Ms. Peal if she was trying to scare her by raising the bible in the air (chewing the scenery I think it's called). Actually I thought she was pretty fakey throughout that whole final scene. However, this scene is saved by the beautiful hymn they sang. which is sort of this episode's trademark: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Cottage/3192/Jesus.html
I certainly didn't mean that women were ever weak at any point in history. I was just wondering if society at that time would have made it difficult for a woman (especially a young girl) to speak out so boldly.

I too saw the interview where Melissa Sue said herself that she didn't like that scene and that she thought she was way to bold to act the way she did. That's too bad because I actually LOVED that scene and the way she acted. Hey, she HAD to raise her voice at Ms. Peal like that... the whole town was acting crazy with their beliefs and did everything Ms. Peal told them to do... they were not thinking by themselves... they were controlled by Ms. Peal and so someone with an assertive loud voice was the only one who would awaken the people.

In general it may be true that women were quieter.... but that doesn't mean every single woman was.... there WERE women who stood out from the rest....

Well, one thing I should have said: I wasn't sure how easy it would be for any young person (male or female) to talk back to their elders like that.

I, too, always liked this episode. We've seen that part of Mary a few times before--like when she approached Ma about Chris (The Handyman) being in love with her. She's always the respectful, well behaved daughter, so it is good to see her step outside of that comfort zone.

While, I doubt what happened in Whisper County is realistic, it did make for a great episode.

Yes. You are right. It's hard to a young person to talk back to an elderly person, even today.But the fact is that this "elderly person" was not a normal one. I always disliked Mrs. Peel way of acting, as if she was the community owner. She seemed pretty hysterical.

I think her character was more out of time than Mary's one. She was scaring.

As for young people talking back to elder persons I have a lot of examples to give, but I will give only two:

1- Young Napoleon (he could talk back to his professors at Brienne Institute)

2- Madame Roland. A French Revolutionist. ( She always talked back to elderly persons...and not always having the right on her side...LOL)

Vanesa.

Ms. Peal was a really mean person!....I don't blame mary for doing what she did, i mean that took sure a lot of guts to do that...i mean i could of never done that! Sometimes u really gotta do that stand up for your self!...

I do agree with Melissa Sue, she was "chewing the scenery" at the end of Whisper Country....it is a good story, but it was a bit over the top.

One thing I wondered about as I watched this episode again today -- when Mary comes home crying, how did she get home? Somebody brought her home, because you can hear a wagon or buggy pulling up. I assume it was Revered Alden, but how did he know to go pick her up?

Did anybody notice that Katie is wearing shoes when she and Mary are walking home, but when they arrive at home Katie is not wearing shoes? I think that's a goof.

I thought the actress that played Miss Peal was amazing. That blank look on her face all the time. One of my favorite quotes was when she called Mary "a sinful stench in the nostrils of the righteous." Could you imagine living in that town? Such drudgery.

I don't know how many of you read MSA's book, but she recapped the episodes where Mary played a major part in that book. This one she never even mentioned.

What an odd think. This episode is one of those we never forget. Mary showed how strong she was, and that even if she was more ladylike than Laura, she was not a sissy and could right for justice. She was an Ingalls, after all.

The excellent actress who played Miss Peel is named Anita Dangler. It seems she never played in any other show that wasn't LHOTP, but my mother claims to have seen her in movies...

Vanesa.

We talk about Mary being out of character, but I see it as some great writing. Characters can get boring and stale if they always act the same way. Mary was the good girl, the pretty one who didn't get into trouble very often, and pulled great grades all the time. This is part of what made Laura jealous of her all those years.

Whisper County allows the viewer to see what happens when Mary gets pushed too far. When her reputation, which has always been impeccable, is dragged through the mud. Not only that, I feel this episode is very important in transitioning Mary from a little girl to a young woman. She fights this battle. Not Ma or Pa. This is her first real taste of independence, and she finds it's not all it's cracked up to be. By this time, Mary has had to endure some horrible things--illness and surgery. Her character was made strong by those things. In this episode, we get to see that strength shine. That's why I've always liked this episode. At least Mary's suffering hasn't been for nothing.

bethandmanly wrote:

We talk about Mary being out of character, but I see it as some great writing. Characters can get boring and stale if they always act the same way. Mary was the good girl, the pretty one who didn't get into trouble very often, and pulled great grades all the time. This is part of what made Laura jealous of her all those years.

Whisper County allows the viewer to see what happens when Mary gets pushed too far. When her reputation, which has always been impeccable, is dragged through the mud. Not only that, I feel this episode is very important in transitioning Mary from a little girl to a young woman. She fights this battle. Not Ma or Pa. This is her first real taste of independence, and she finds it's not all it's cracked up to be. By this time, Mary has had to endure some horrible things--illness and surgery. Her character was made strong by those things. In this episode, we get to see that strength shine. That's why I've always liked this episode. At least Mary's suffering hasn't been for nothing.

Very well said. I really liked this episode. Definitely not one of the "happy"ones, but the acting was superb.

I can agree with that.

I didn't like this episode. The town was mean to Mary. (Expect the children & Katie's mom) I thought, Mary was excellent in this episode.

What a great episode that shows you how some people will belive annything. I kind of feel sorry that Mrs. Peel never learned to read and belived she had these powers. She might have been mentaly illl, or maybe her parents were also illiterate and extreme in their beliefs. I am verry supised at how Mary yelled at her. It seems very out of character.

Harrietfan wrote:

What a great episode that shows you how some people will belive annything. I kind of feel sorry that Mrs. Peel never learned to read and belived she had these powers. She might have been mentaly illl, or maybe her parents were also illiterate and extreme in their beliefs. I am verry supised at how Mary yelled at her. It seems very out of character.

You really think that Miss Peel believed she had powers? It's very unlikely...

As for Mary yelling at her...I think I should also yell at this woman if I find out how bad she acted and how she was manipulating people . ..

Vanesa.

You think she was bullying the people into beliving she had powers?

I suppose she could be doing that, yes. But it's only my opinion. Maybe she really believed she had powers. I don't know for sure...

Vanesa.