| The Heiress | |
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Original poster |
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| Directed by | William Wyler |
| Produced by | William Wyler |
| Written by | Henry James (novel) Ruth Goetz (play/screenplay) Augustus Goetz (play/screenplay) |
| Starring | Olivia de Havilland Montgomery Clift Ralph Richardson Miriam Hopkins Ray Collins |
| Music by | Aaron Copland |
| Cinematography | Leo Tover |
| Editing by | William Hornbeck |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (original) Universal Studios (current) |
| Release date(s) | October 6, 1949 |
| Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.6 million |
The Heiress is a 1949 American drama film.[1][2] 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.
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Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland) is a plain, painfully shy woman whose emotionally detached father (Ralph Richardson) makes no secret of his disappointment in her. When she meets the charming Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), 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 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.
Wendy Hiller originated the role of Catherine on Broadway; in the West End, Peggy Ashcroft portrayed the title character.
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.[3]
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[4]
The film was remade under the original Henry James title in 1997.
The Heiress received universal critical acclaim and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. 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."[5]
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.[6]
Time Out London calls the film "typically plush, painstaking and cold. . . . highly professional and heartless."[7]
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."[8]
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".
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