Sarah, Plain and Tall

It took all of her courage to come and all of her love to stay

1991 • 98 min • Drama · Family · Romance · TV Movie

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Synopsis

Kansas, 1910. Widowed farmer Jacob Witting finds that taking care of both his farm and two children, Anna and Caleb, is too difficult to handle alone. John takes out an ad in a newspaper for a mail-order bride, to which the "plain and tall" Sarah Wheaton answers, soon traveling from Maine to Kansas to become John's wife. Despite the love that grows between Sarah and the family, Sarah finds herself homesick, and she must ultimately choose whether or not to stay.

Our family guide

Best from age 7

Movie Knight Score

31 reviews

71 Audience · 31 · 100%

In 1910 Kansas, a widowed farmer and his two children advertise for a new wife and mother. Sarah Wheaton, from Maine, answers their call, bringing both joy and challenges to the prairie family as she struggles with homesickness and her new life.

Violence & peril: 0/10
Language: 0/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking: 1/10
Romance & sensuality: 1/10
Scary moments: 2/10

Heads up

Discussions of a mother's death
Brief scenes of a prairie storm
Character struggles with homesickness

What it models well

Family adjustment
Embracing change
Love and commitment
Overcoming loneliness

Talk about it after

How families adapt to new members
The challenges of moving to a new place
Understanding and expressing feelings of loss
Life on the prairie in the early 1900s

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Sarah, Plain and Tall. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.