name | The Heiress |
---|---|
director | William Wyler |
producer | William Wyler |
writer | Henry James (novel)Ruth Goetz (play/screenplay)Augustus Goetz (play/screenplay) |
starring | Olivia de HavillandMontgomery CliftRalph RichardsonMiriam HopkinsRay Collins |
music | Aaron Copland |
cinematography | Leo Tover |
editing | William Hornbeck |
distributor | Paramount Pictures (original)Universal Studios (current) |
released | October 6, 1949 |
runtime | 115 minutes |
country | United States |
language | English |
budget | $2.6 million }} |
The Heiress is a 1949 American drama film. It was written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 play of the same title that was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film was directed by William Wyler, with starring performances by Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, Montgomery Clift as Morris Townsend, and Ralph Richardson as Dr. Sloper.
Catherine's father believes Morris is courting Catherine only to get her inheritance and threatens to disinherit her if she marries him. Catherine does not care, and plans to elope with Morris but not before telling him about her father's decision. On the night they are to elope, Catherine eagerly waits at home for Morris to come and take her away, but he never arrives.
Catherine is heartbroken. A day or so later, she has a bitter argument with her father, who reveals he is dying. She tells her father she still loves Morris and challenges him to change his will if he's afraid of how she will spend his money after he dies. He does not and dies a short time later, leaving her his entire estate.
A few years later, Morris returns from California, having made nothing of himself and eyeing the Slopers' luxurious house with more obvious eagerness. Again he professes his love for Catherine, claiming that he left her behind because he could not bear to see her destitute. Catherine pretends to forgive him and tells him she still wants to elope as they originally planned. He promises to come back that night for her, and she tells him she'll start packing her bags.
When Morris returns, Catherine takes her revenge. She calmly orders the maid to bolt the door, leaving Morris locked outside, shouting her name. Her aunt asks her how she can be so cruel, and she responds, "I have been taught by masters." The film fades out with Catherine silently ascending the stairs while Morris' despairing cries echo unanswered through the darkness.
After seeing The Heiress on Broadway, Olivia de Havilland approached William Wyler about directing her in a screen adaptation of the play. He agreed and encouraged Paramount Pictures executives to purchase the rights from the playwrights for $250,000 and offer them $10,000 per week to write the screenplay. The couple was asked to make Morris less of a villain than he was in their play and the original novel in deference to the studio's desire to capitalize on Montgomery Clift's reputation as a romantic leading man.
Ralph Richardson reprised the role of Austin Sloper he originated in the London production.
The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The play was revived on Broadway in 1995, starring Cherry Jones as Catherine and featuring Philip Bosco, Patricia Conolly, Frances Sternhagen, and Jon Tenney
The film was remade under the original Henry James title in 1997.
TV Guide rates the film five out of a possible five stars and adds, "This powerful and compelling drama . . . owes its triumph to the deft hand of director William Wyler and a remarkable lead performance by Olivia de Havilland.
Time Out London calls the film "typically plush, painstaking and cold. . . . highly professional and heartless."
Channel 4 says of the performances, "de Havilland's portrayal . . . is spine-chilling . . . Clift brings a subtle ambiguity to one of his least interesting roles, and Richardson is also excellent."
; Nominations
In 1996, The Heiress was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Category:1949 films Category:American films Category:Black-and-white films Category:1940s drama films Category:English-language films Category:Films based on novels Category:Films directed by William Wyler Category:Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award winning performance Category:Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe winning performance Category:Films set in New York City Category:Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Paramount Pictures films Category:United States National Film Registry films Category:Films based on Henry James works
az:Vərəsə (film, 1949) ca:The Heiress cs:Dědička de:Die Erbin el:Η κληρονόμος es:La heredera eu:The Heiress fr:L'Héritière it:L'ereditiera (film 1949) nl:The Heiress ja:女相続人 pl:Dziedziczka pt:Tarde demais (filme de 1949) sl:Dedinja (film)This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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