Carol got this started over at MP, asking for realistic casting suggestions there. I am taking it in a slightly different direction, though. Perhaps, some might say, a direction that is a bit twisted. Oh well, here goes:
Catherine Morland - Sandra Dee
Henry Tilney - Harrison Ford
John Thorpe - Fatty Arbuckle
General Tilney - Basil Rathbone
Isabella Thorpe - Bette Davis (second choice: Stockard Channing)
Eleanor Tilney - Katherine Hepburn (second choice: Lauren Bacall)
Mr. Allen - George Burns
Mrs. Allen - Gracie Allen
Each actor would have to be cast at their appropriate age, so there is no sense thinking of them as they are now. In fact, some of them would be dead now. There are more characters to fill in, and many alterations to these that can be suggested by better minds than mine. Go for it, please!
Tim