Forever Amber
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the 1960s British band, see Forever Amber (band).
- For the comic series, see Forever Amber (comics).
| Forever Amber | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Otto Preminger John M. Stahl (uncredited) |
| Produced by | William Perlberg |
| Starring | Linda Darnell Cornel Wilde Richard Greene George Sanders |
| Music by | David Raksin |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | October 10, 1947 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 138 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Forever Amber (1944) is a romance novel by Kathleen Winsor that was made into a film in 1947 by 20th Century Fox. It tells the story of orphaned Amber St. Clare, who makes her way through 17th century English society by sleeping with more and more important men.
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[edit] Novel
The fifth draft of Kathleen Winsor's first manuscript was accepted for publication. The publishers promptly edited the book down to one-fifth of its original size. The resulting novel, Forever Amber, was 972 pages long.[1] The saga frolicked through Restoration England and vivid images of fashion, politics, bedrooms and public disasters of the time, including the plague and the Great Fire of London.
While many reviewers "praised the story for its relevance, comparing Amber's fortitude during the plague and fire to that of the women who held hearth and home together through the blitzes of World War II", others condemned it for its blatant sexual references.[2] Fourteen U.S. states banned the book as pornography. The first was Massachusetts, whose attorney general cited 70 references to sexual intercourse, 39 illegitimate pregnancies, 7 abortions, and "10 descriptions of women undressing in front of men" as reasons for banning the novel.[1] Winsor denied that her book was particularly daring, and said that she had no interest in explicit scenes. "I wrote only two sexy passages," she remarked, "and my publishers took both of them out. They put in ellipsis instead. In those days, you know, you could solve everything with an ellipsis."[1]
Despite its banning, Forever Amber was the best selling US novel of the 1940s. It sold over 100,000 copies in its first week of release, and went on to sell over three million copies.[1]
The book was roundly condemned by Roman Catholic "decency" watchdogs, which helped to make it popular. One critic went so far as to number each of the passages to which he objected. The film was finally completed after substantial changes to the script were made, toning down some of the book's most objectionable passages in order to appease Catholic media critics.
[edit] Film
The Hays Office condemned the work, but within a month of its publication the movie rights had been purchased by Twentieth Century Fox.[2] The film, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Linda Darnell and Cornell Wilde, was released 1947.[1] It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, Dolores Hart, and Jessica Tandy. It was adapted by Jerome Cady, Philip Dunne and Ring Lardner Jr., and directed by Otto Preminger and John M. Stahl.
The movie was nominated for the Academy Award for Original Music Score.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In a Tweety Bird cartoon, a nurse maid is shown reading the novel and frequently gasping in shock (but never putting the book down).
- Debs Meyer began his review of the novel in YANK, the U.S. Army newspaper: “Forever Amber is the story of a girl laid in the 18th century.”[3]
- In the Christmas Eve 1946 show of The Abbott and Costello Show, Santa lists one of the reasons that Costello shouldn't get a present as him having a certain book under his bed. Lou says that it was only a book on how to change the color of tea. When Santa asks what it was called, Lou replies Forever Amber, to which the audience roars with laughter.
- On the Burns and Allen radio show the book is often spoofed for it's blatant references usually with Gracie Allen commenting on it naively not knowing what it's all about
- In I Love Lucy Ricky, Fred and Ethel burn Lucy's novel, which is a thinly disguised version of their real life and Ricky says "We've changed the title of your book to "Forever Ember."
[edit] External links
- Guardian Unlimited book review of Forever Amber by Elaine Showalter, August 2002.
- Forever Amber at IMDB
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e Guttridge, Peter (May 29, 2003), “Obituary: Kathleen Winsor: Author of the racy bestseller 'Forever Amber'”, The Independent (London, England): 20
- ^ a b Bernstein, Adam (June 1, 2003), “Kathleen Winsor, 83, 'Forever Amber' author”, The Seattle Times: A29
- ^ Rooney, Andy, My War, Public Affairs, 2002, p. 73.
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