Movie classic Steel Magnolias returns to the big screen to mark its 30th anniversary

Can you believe it’s been 30 years since Steel Magnolias hit our screens? Thirty years since we first saw Shelby, Clairee, Ouiser and M’Lynne gathered under those salon dryers entertaining us with stories from their Louisiana town.

The bittersweet story had us laughing and crying and featured some of the best loved women in Hollywood: Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Sally Fields, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton.

My favorite part of this movie is Sally Field’s flip out in the cemetery and if you don’t cry when Sally Field cries, something is wrong with you… ?

Now these much-loved ladies will be returning to the big screen to mark the movie’s 30th anniversary.

The movie follows the characters of Shelby, Clairee, Ouiser, M’Lynne, Annelle and Truvy who form a special bond in a hair salon. They then have to cope with the death of their friend Shelby.

Best supporting actress

It stars Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts, who won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress for her role playing Shelby.

Each of these wonderful female characters has their own distinctive and very entertaining personality with Ouiser Boudreaux, played by Shirley MacLaine, having the funniest one-liners.

Steel Magnolias received a limited release on November 15, 1989: entered the U.S. box office at No. 4 with an opening weekend gross of $5,425,440; by the time of wider release two days later it grossed $15,643,935; staying in the top 10 for 16 weeks.

It got a score of 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie is adapted from the 1987 play of the same name written by Robert Hartling. It is reported that Hartling wrote the play as a way to cope with the death of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson.

Tough as steel

Robinson passed away in 1985 due to complications from Type 1 diabetes. In the play, he chose to change the name of his sister from Susan to Shelby.

The title ‘Steel Magnolias’ relates to the female characters being both as delicate as a magnolia flower and as tough as steel.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the movie, Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) are joining forces to bring this screen classic back to theaters for three days only.

‘Lasting appeal’

Vice President of Studio Relations of Fathom Events, Tom Lucas told Southern Living, “Every year, more and more film fans have flocked to the TCM Big Screen Classics series, proving the lasting appeal of these movies and the thrill of seeing them in a movie theater.”