Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jon Avnet

Writers (WGA):

Fannie Flagg (novel)
Fannie Flagg (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

The secret of life? The secret's in the sauce.

Plot:

A housewife who is unhappy with her life befriends an old lady in a nursing home and is enthralled by the tales she tells of people she used to know.

Plot Keywords:

Nursing Home | Alabama | 1920s | Friendship | Stories

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Kathy Bates	...	Evelyn Couch
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Idgie Threadgoode
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Ruth Jamison
Jessica Tandy	...	Ninny Threadgoode
Cicely Tyson	...	Sipsey
Chris O'Donnell	...	Buddy Threadgoode
Stan Shaw	...	Big George
Gailard Sartain	...	Ed Couch
Timothy Scott	...	Smokey Lonesome (as Tim Scott)
Gary Basaraba	...	Grady Kilgore
Lois Smith	...	Mama Threadgoode
Jo Harvey Allen	...	Women's Awareness Teacher
Macon McCalman	...	Prosecutor Percy
Richard Riehle	...	Reverend Scroggins
Raynor Scheine	...	Sheriff Curtis Smoote
Grace Zabriskie	...	Eva Bates
Reid Binion	...	Young Julian Threadgoode
Afton Smith	...	Leona Threadgoode
Danny Nelson	...	Papa Threadgoode
Nancy Moore Atchison	...	Little Idgie Threadgoode (as Nancy Atchison)
Constance Shulman	...	Missy
Nick Searcy	...	Frank Bennett
Haynes Brooke	...	Older Julian Threadgoode
Ginny Parker	...	Ruth's Mother
Tres Holton	...	Boy at Supermarket
Ronald McCall	...	Ocie
Wallace Merck	...	KKK Man
David Dwyer	...	Hooded Man
Lashondra Phillips	...	Young Naughty Bird
Kathy Larson	...	Beetle Girl #1 (as Catherine Larson)
Missy Wolff	...	Beetle Girl #2
LaTanya Richardson	...	Janeen
Grayson Fricke	...	Buddy Threadgoode Jr.
Enjolik Oree	...	Older Naughty Bird
Genevieve Fisher	...	Peggy Hadley
Tom Even	...	Judge
Bob Hannah	...	Defense Attorney
Ted Manson	...	Bailiff
Carol Mitchell-leon	...	Sue Otis
Evan Lockwood	...	Tim
Suzi Bass	...	Nurse
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Armbruster	...	Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
Jacob Avnet	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Michael Burgess	...	Wingo, Man at BBQ (uncredited)
Todd Eller	...	College Buddy (uncredited)
Bill Ewin	...	College Dean (uncredited)
Fannie Flagg	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Shelby Hofer	...	School Girl (uncredited)
Barry Hopkins	...	Shantytown Male (uncredited)
James Mayberry	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Bob Penny	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Leonard Shinew	...	Mr. Dunaway (uncredited)
Drew Wilkins	...	Young Cleo (uncredited)
Marion Williams	...	Gospel Singer (uncredited)

Directed by
Jon Avnet

Writing credits (WGA)
Fannie Flagg		(novel "Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe")
Fannie Flagg		(screenplay) and
Carol Sobieski		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jon Avnet	....	producer
Anne Marie Gillen	....	executive producer
Martin Huberty	....	co-producer
Jordan Kerner	....	producer
Norman Lear	....	executive producer
Lisa Lindstrom	....	co-producer
Yuriko Matsubara	....	executive producer
Andrew Meyer	....	executive producer
Ric Rondell	....	co-producer
Tom Taylor	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Thomas Newman

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Simpson

Film Editing by
Debra Neil-Fisher		(as Debra Neil)

Casting by
David Rubin

Production Design by
Barbara Ling

Art Direction by
Larry Fulton

Set Decoration by
Debra Schutt

Costume Design by
Elizabeth McBride

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist
Colleen Callaghan	....	key hair stylist
Patrice Coleman	....	makeup artist
Gene Witham	....	makeup artist: second unit

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Deborah Love	....	first assistant director
Jeff Rafner	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ted Boonthanakit	....	storyboard artist
Daniel B. Foster	....	swing gang
Steven Kerlagon	....	lead paint foreman
Charles M. Lagola	....	set designer
Swift Moseley	....	key greens
Ruffin Moye	....	greensman
Robert Tate Nichols	....	set dresser
Chad Simpson	....	paint gangboss
Chris Snyder	....	construction coordinator
Mark S. Turner	....	paint foreman

Sound Department
Jim Borgardt	....	adr editor
David E. Campbell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Greg Curda	....	foley mixer
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist
Mary H. Ellis	....	sound
Devon Heffley Curry	....	adr supervisor
Joseph A. Ippolito	....	sound effects editor
Alan Robert Murray	....	supervising sound editor
Walter Newman	....	supervising sound editor
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Karen Spangenberg	....	supervising dialogue editor
Marshall Winn	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Larry Reid	....	special effects

Stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunts (as Bruce Barbour)
Steven Chambers	....	stunts (as Steve Chambers)
Kerrie Cullen	....	stunt coordinator
Laura Dash	....	stunts
Dick Hancock	....	stunts
Joy Hooper	....	stunts
Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw	....	stunts (as Tracy Keehn Dashnaw)
M.J. Lord	....	stunts
Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw	....	stunt double: Mary Louise Parker (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael Alexonis	....	grip
Denise Bailie	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Denise Bailie	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Lee Blasingame	....	lead assistant camera: "a" camera
Dan Cornwall	....	electrician
Stephen Crowley	....	electrician
Richard Felber	....	still photographer
Morris Flam	....	gaffer
Jeff Funderburk	....	electrician/generator operator
Tully McCulloch	....	best boy electric
Greg Morse	....	24 frame video operator
David Reeder	....	first assistant camera: second unit

Casting Department
Pat Cartwright Barwick	....	extras casting assistant coordinator
David Ezell	....	extras casting assistant
Amy Taylor	....	additional casting
Diane Alexander	....	extras casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yvonne Cervantes	....	costumer
Mitzi Haralson	....	costumer
Askia Won-Ling Jacob	....	wardrobe
Jane E. Myers	....	set costumer
Kathy Oberlin	....	costume constructor
Eileen Sieff Stroup	....	assistant costume designer
Amanda Zenil	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Karen Broderick	....	first assistant film editor
Ken Schretzmann	....	assistant editor
Johnie Tidwell Jr.	....	post-production assistant
Karen Whipple	....	first assistant film editor

Music Department
Thomas Pasatieri	....	orchestrator
Paul Pesco	....	musician: guitar
Toots Thielemans	....	musician: harmonica solo
John Beasley	....	composer: additional score (uncredited)

Other crew
Pat Cartwright Barwick	....	lead stand-in
Melanie Bell	....	production assistant
Tim Crone	....	animal wrangler: small animals
Marlon Dwight	....	location production assistant
Norman Gary	....	bee wrangler (as Dr. Norman Gary)
Susan Gee	....	production financing
Butch Graziano	....	head horse wrangler
Tony Grillo	....	production assistant
Syd E. Horne	....	on-set train coordinator
Nancy Jane King	....	production office coordinator
Solomon J. LeFlore	....	production financing
Maida N. Morgan	....	assistant location manager
Senia Phillips	....	animal wrangler: small animals
Marc Pilvinsky	....	location production assistant
Caroline Sax	....	script supervisor
Eric S. Smith	....	location assistant
Brad Stephens	....	publicist
Elizabeth Tompkins	....	first assistant accountant
Diane Alexander	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Thanks
Robert Williams	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Act III Communications
• Avnet/Kerner Productions
• Electric Shadow Productions
• Fried Green Tomatoes Productions
• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1993) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• ASCII Entertainment (1992) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (1992) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (2005) (Greece) (DVD)
• Europa Carat (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Filmax International (Spain)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Ivex Films (Spain)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1996) (Finland) (TV)
• Rank Film Organization (UK)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (video)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (Finland) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)

Other Companies

• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  vintage clothing rentals
• K!SSPROOF Entertainment  cast appearance booking
• MCA Records  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (UK)

Runtime:

130 min | 137 min (extended version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG (video re-rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Norway:10

Filming Locations:

Agnes Scott College - 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, Georgia, USA

Company:

Act III Communications

Trivia:

There really is a Whistle Stop Cafe that does indeed serve fried green tomatoes (among other Southern foods) just north of Macon Georgia. It is in the actual area where many of the scenes were filmed. After the film became a huge success, the Whistle Stop Cafe set was turned into an actual restaurant, and its surrounding area into a tourist attraction. Although they may have filmed in Georgia, the true Whistle Stop Cafe is in Irondale, Alabama (a suburb or Birmingham, where Author Fannie Flagg grew up.)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Frank Bennett's truck is retrieved from the river, as it's being hoisted up and spins, it is obvious that the engine/transmission have been removed, and a painted piece of sheet-metal put in place to obscure the void.

Quotes:

Idgie Threadgoode: One time, there this this lake
[pause]
Idgie Threadgoode: and uh, it was right outside of town. We used to go fishin' and swimmin' and canoein' in it, and uh
[sniffle]
Idgie Threadgoode: this one November this flock o'ducks came in and landed on that lake, and uh the tempurature dropped sp fast that the lake froze right there and then the ducks, they flew off ya see
[voice breaking]
Idgie Threadgoode: and took the lake with them
[small sob]
Idgie Threadgoode: and uh, now they say that lake is over in Georgia...
[quite]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in El robo más grande jamás contado (2002)

Soundtrack:

I'll Remember You

The Story Stays With You Long After the Movie Ends

This is one of my top five films of all time. I was somewhat skeptical the first time I saw it because I adored the book and I knew there were some changes, but I found the essence of Fannie Flagg's fabulous novel in tact. This is a story that burrows into your heart and mind and stays there. It is absolutely magical storytelling with a stellar cast and beautifully written characters that never fade from memory.

A time and place in America, filled with the best and the worst of our life and history, is impeccably captured. The flashbacks take us to the time of an Alabama whistle stop town that was a bustling hub when the railroad was the center of all movement. This was the era of hobos and simple pleasures. The scenes from the past become more powerful by the juxtaposition to modern times, where the story begins and returns at intervals.

Kathy Bates plays Evelyn Couch, an unhappy middle-aged housewife who stumbles on Ninny Threadgoode (the superb Jessica Tandy) one day by accident at the nursing home where she is visiting one of her husband's relatives. The two have an instant chemistry and a deep friendship begins. Ninny proceeds to tell Evelyn the story of Idgie and Ruth, two young women who shared an amazing friendship and love 50 years earlier.

This movie has to be experienced, as mere descriptions might sound like another southern-flavored movie about women or a weepy nostalgic tale. It is much more than that, and more than the most glowing review can ever convey. If you are reading this and haven't seen it, please make a point to. The actors are nothing short of magical. All four actresses (Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker) are at the top of their craft.

I will borrow a line from Ninny Threadgoode to describe how I always feel after seeing this film. "I may be sitting here in this nursing home but in my mind I'm over at the Whistle Stop Cafe having a plate of Fried Green Tomatoes".

I may be sitting here finishing this comment but in my mind I'm at the Whistle Stop Cafe. That's how powerful this story is for me.