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How to Make an American Quilt
Directed by	Jocelyn Moorhouse
Produced by	Sarah Pillsbury Midge Sanford
Written by	Whitney Otto (novel) Jane Anderson (screenplay)
Starring	Winona Ryder Anne Bancroft Ellen Burstyn Kate Nelligan Alfre Woodard
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	October 6, 1995 (USA)
Running time	117 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

How to Make an American Quilt is a 1995 movie which was directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse and stars Winona Ryder. It is based on a novel of the same name by Whitney Otto. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jocelyn Denise Moorhouse was born in Victoria, Australia on September 4, 1960. ... Jane Anderson (born c. ... Winona Ryder (born October 29, 1971) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actress. ... Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an iconic Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning American actress. ... Ellen Burstyn (born December 7, 1932 as Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Kate Nelligan Kate Nelligan (born Patricia Colleen Nelligan on March 16, 1950, in London, Ontario) is a Canadian actress. ... Woodard as Betty Applewhite on Desperate Housewives. ... This article is about the American media conglomerate. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Jocelyn Denise Moorhouse was born in Victoria, Australia on September 4, 1960. ... Winona Ryder (born October 29, 1971) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actress. ...

Story

The story centers on the stories of several women in a quilting bee as they construct a quilt as a wedding gift for a members' granddaughter. Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is a graduate student working on her master's thesis while planning her upcoming marriage. While at home she hears the stories the women have to offer which leads her to think about her life and where it is headed.

A quilt is a type of puppy with long fluffy ears. ... Nuptial is the adjective of wedding. It is used for example in zoology to denote plumage, coloration, behavior, etc related to or occurring in the mating season. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Characters

Finn

Main character. She goes to spend time with her great aunt and grandmother along with their quilting group so that she can finish her thesis (which she has changed three times) following a proposal from her boyfriend whom she lives with.

Sophia

Once a diver, she had dreams of leaving the town she lived in (and her mother) when she met a boy while diving at the local pool, romance ensues. She marries and has three kids only to have her husband leave without ever being seen again. Sophia is forced into a life she didn’t want.

Em

Being the wife of an artist apparently means that your husband will be promiscuous. Em, like most of the women in the story, marries young. Despite the promiscuity of her husband Dean, Em sticks it out and stays with him (probably because of her pregnancy in part but also because her parents do not seem to be very supportive of her (they put her bags in Deans car the moment he arrives without consulting Em)).

Gladdy and Hyacinth

Gladdy and Hyacinth are sisters and Finn’s great aunt and grandmother. Despite the love Hyacinth had for her husband, when he was nearing death and in the hospital, Hyacinth, in a moment of weakness and tragic emotion, slept with Gladdy’s husband. After Gladdy found out the truth, she smashed every one of her porceleine figurines and plastered them onto the wall of the laundry room as a reminder of her anger. Gladdy never really forgave her husband until he died and does not forgive Hyacinth until the end of the movie which is symbolized by the demolition of the plastered walls in the laundry room.

Constance

Fully in love with her husband, and perhaps the only one who resisted the temptation of promiscuity, was widowed young. When he was still alive, Constance’s husband, he gave her a dog to keep her company when he had to leave. The dog died and they buried it under a yellow rose bush.

Anna

Mother of Marianna, she was a young (teenaged?) servant when she started an affair with her master's son, who was to be the father of Marianna. Her great Aunt found out about the pregnancy and sent Anna away with their family story quilt. During her pregnancy Anna met Gladdy and Hyacinth when their family took Anna in. Anna now orchestrates the quilting group.

Marianna

Daughter of Anna. Marianna gives the appearance of being in love with her promiscuous freedom until a moment of vulnerability comes in a conversation with Finn. She speaks of a man that she met in France who is her soul mate and she doesn’t even know his name.

Cast

• Winona Ryder .... Finn Dodd
• Anne Bancroft .... Glady Joe Cleary
• Ellen Burstyn .... Hy Dodd
• Kate Nelligan .... Constance Saunders
• Alfre Woodard .... Marianna
• Kaelynn Craddick .... Young Finn
• Sara Craddick .... Young Finn
• Kate Capshaw .... Sally, Finn's Mother
• Adam Baldwin .... Finn's Father
• Dermot Mulroney .... Sam
• Maya Angelou .... Anna
• Lois Smith .... Sophia Darling Richards
• Jean Simmons .... Em Reed
• Denis Arndt .... James
• Paige and Ryanne Kettner .... Little Evie/Little Duff
• Rip Torn .... Arthur Cleary
• Samantha Mathis .... Young Sophia Darling Richards
• Claire Danes .... Young Glady Jo Cleary
• Lecy Goranson .... Young Hy Dodd
• Jared Leto .... Beck
• Mykelti Williamson .... Winston

Winona Ryder (born October 29, 1971) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning American actress. ... Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an iconic Academy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning American actress. ... Ellen Burstyn (born December 7, 1932 as Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan) is an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Kate Nelligan Kate Nelligan (born Patricia Colleen Nelligan on March 16, 1950, in London, Ontario) is a Canadian actress. ... Woodard as Betty Applewhite on Desperate Housewives. ... Kate Capshaw in June 1984. ... Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. ... Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor of Irish descent. ... Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson April 4, 1928 in St. ... Lois Smith (born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career in theatre, film, and television has spanned five decades. ... Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons in Angel Face Jean Merilyn Simmons (born January 31, 1929 in Crouch Hill, London, England, United Kingdom) is a British actress. ... Denis Arndt is an actor, writer and producer. ... Paige and Ryanne Lee Kettner (born January 21, 1991) are two American child actresses. ... Rip Torn (born February 6, 1931) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning television and film actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Artie on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show. ... Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress. ... Claire Catherine Danes (born on April 12, 1979) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated American film, television, and theater actress. ... Lecy Goranson (b. ... Jared Joseph Leto (born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. ... Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1960 in St. ...

External links

• How to Make an American Quilt at the Internet Movie Database