Sarah, Plain and Tall (film)

Sarah, Plain and Tall
Video release poster
Genre	Drama Family Romance
Based on	Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Screenplay by	Patricia MacLachlan Carol Sobieski
Directed by	Glenn Jordan
Starring	Glenn Close Christopher Walken
Theme music composer	David Shire
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Glenn Close William Self
Producer(s)	Glenn Jordan
Cinematography	Mike Fash
Editor(s)	John Wright
Running time	98 minutes
Production company(s)	Hallmark Hall of Fame Self Productions Trillium Productions
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	February 3, 1991
Chronology
Followed by	Skylark

Sarah, Plain and Tall is an American television film in the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. It first aired in February 1991. It is the first of three installments in the film adaptation of Patricia MacLachlan's novel of the same name. Location shots were filmed in Grand Island, NE for the town, church, and railway scenes.

The story is set in Kansas in 1910. Jacob Witting, a widowed farmer who is still saddened by the death of his wife during childbirth around six years earlier, finds that the task of taking care of his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult to handle alone. He advertises in the newspaper for a mail-order bride. Sarah Wheaton, from Maine, responds describing herself as "plain and tall", and travels out to become his wife. Upon arriving at the farm, she proves to have good sense, an interest in helping with even the most physically demanding chores, and a quiet, warm personality. But she grows homesick: miles and miles of Kansas farmland prove no substitute for Maine's ocean vistas. She is under no obligation to marry Jacob and is free to leave if she so desires; much of the story's suspense depends on whether or not she will decide to stay.

Generally well received by the public, the film was considered "Fresh" at Rotten Tomatoes with 80% approval based on five reviews. It was nominated for nine Emmys in 1991, it won one, for "outstanding sound mixing for a drama miniseries or a special". It was also nominated for two Golden Globes.