The Heiress

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The Heiress
Original poster
Directed by	William Wyler
Produced by	William Wyler
Written by	Augustus Goetz Ruth Goetz
Starring	Olivia de Havilland Montgomery Clift Ralph Richardson Miriam Hopkins Ray Collins
Music by	Aaron Copland
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	October 6, 1949
Running time	115 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Heiress is a 1949 American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Augustus and Ruth Goetz was adapted from their 1947 play, which was based on the 1880 novel Washington Square by Henry James. The film stars Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, Montgomery Clift as Morris Townsend, and Ralph Richardson as Dr. Sloper.

Contents 1 Plot synopsis 2 Production notes 3 Principal cast 4 Critical reception 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot synopsis

Catherine Sloper is a plain, painfully shy woman whose emotionally detached father makes no secret of his disappointment in her. When she meets the charming Morris Townsend, she immediately is taken by the attention that he lavishes upon her, attention she so desperately seeks from her father. Catherine falls madly in love with Morris and they plan to marry.

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 few years pass and her father dies, leaving her his entire estate. Morris eventually returns, penniless. 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 asks 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.

[edit] Production notes

Wendy Hiller originated the role of Catherine on Broadway; in the West End, she was portrayed by Peggy Ashcroft.

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 ^[1].

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 film was remade under the original Henry James title in 1997.

[edit] Principal cast

• Olivia de Havilland ..... Catherine Sloper
• Montgomery Clift ..... Morris Townsend
• Ralph Richardson ..... Dr. Austin Sloper
• Miriam Hopkins ..... Aunt Lavinia
• Mona Freeman ..... Marian Almond

[edit] Critical reception

In his review in the New York Times, Bosley Crowther said the film "crackles with allusive life and fire in its tender and agonized telling of an extraordinarily characterful tale" and added, "Mr. Wyler . . . has given this somewhat austere drama an absorbing intimacy and a warming illusion of nearness that it did not have on the stage. He has brought the full-bodied people very closely and vividly to view, while maintaining the clarity and sharpness of their personalities, their emotions and their styles . . . The Heiress is one of the handsome, intense and adult dramas of the year." ^[2]

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. ^[3]

Time Out London calls the film "typically plush, painstaking and cold. . . . highly professional and heartless." ^[4]

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." ^[5]

[edit] Awards and nominations

The Heiress was nominated for eight Oscars, winning four. The film won awards in:

• Academy Award for Best Actress (Olivia de Havilland)
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Black and White (John Meehan, Harry Horner, and Emile Kuri)
• Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black and White (Edith Head, and Gile Steele)
• Academy Award for Original Music Score (Aaron Copland)

The four categories it didn't win in but were nominated for were:

• Academy Award for Best Picture
• Academy Award for Best Director
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Richardson)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White

Other awards The Heiress won and was nominated for are as follows:

• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture (Olivia de Havilland, winner)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture (Miriam Hopkins, nominee)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture (nominee)
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Drama (nominee)
• New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (Olivia de Havilland, winner)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Actor (Ralph Richardson, winner)
• 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".

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Heiress at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e American films of the 1940s 1940 •1941 •1942 •1943 •1944 •1945 •1946 •1947 •1948 •1949

v • d • e Films directed by William Wyler 1920s The Crook Buster (1925) • The Gunless Bad Man (1926) • Ridin' for Love (1926) • The Fire Barrier (1926) • Don't Shoot (1926) • The Pinnacle Rider (1926) • Martin of the Mounted (1926) • Lazy Lightning (1926) • The Stolen Ranch (1926) • The Two Fister (1927) • Kelcy Gets His Man (1927) • Tenderfoot Courage (1927) • The Silent Partner (1927) • Blazing Days (1927) • Shooting Straight (1927) • Galloping Justice (1927) • The Haunted Homestead (1927) • Hard Fists (1927) • The Lone Star (1927) • The Home Trail (1927) • Gun Justice (1927) • The Phantom Outlaw (1927) • The Square Shooter (1927) • The Horse Trader (1927) • Daze of the West (1927) • The Border Cavalier (1927) • Desert Dust (1927) • Thunder Riders (1928) • Anybody Here Seen Kelly? (1928) • The Shakedown (1929) • The Love Trap (1929) 1930s Hell's Heroes (1930) • The Storm (1930) • A House Divided (1931) • Tom Brown of Culver (1932) • Her First Mate (1933) • Counsellor at Law (1933) • Glamour (1934) • The Good Fairy (1935) • The Gay Deception (1935) • Barbary Coast (1935) • These Three (1936) • Dodsworth (1936) • Come and Get It (1936) • Dead End (1937) • Jezebel (1938) • Wuthering Heights (1939) 1940s The Westerner (1940) • The Letter (1940) • The Little Foxes (1941) • Mrs. Miniver (1942) • The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944) • The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) • Thunderbolt (1947) • The Heiress (1949) 1950s Detective Story (1951) • Carrie (1952) • Roman Holiday (1953) • The Desperate Hours (1955) • Friendly Persuasion (1956) • The Big Country (1958) • Ben-Hur (1959) 1960s The Children's Hour (1961) • The Collector (1965) • How to Steal a Million (1966) • Funny Girl (1968) 1970s The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)