The Heiress
Hollywood legend Olivia DeHavilland leads an all-star cast in this 1949 screen classic that won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Actress. Catherine Sloper (DeHavilland) is the only heir to her stern father’s (Sir Ralph Richardson) vast estate. When a dashing fortune hunter named Morris (Montgomery Clift) wants her to elope, she is threatened by disinheritance. On the eve of their marriage he deserts her. Seven years later he returns, and a wiser Catherine plots her revenge.
Member Reviews
The witless heiress - CaptainDave
A middling movie from a great novel. But I have this movie to thank for introducing me to the exquisite fiction of Henry James, whose novel, Washington Square, it's based on (via a Broadway play).
Olivia de Havilland as the bland, boring and dim young heiress is way overrated here. She was too old for the part by at least ten years. On the stage you can get away with that kind of stuff, but movies are less kind. And the script, unfortunately, makes her undergo an incredible (as in "not credible") personality change from a bumbling, mumbling nobody to a world-weary cynic, overnight. The switch is too abrupt to believe.
Montogomery Clift, as her opportunistic wooer, is pretty, but wooden -- it's hard to see the start of a great career in this performance.
But! The movie is saved by the performance of Ralph Richardson, who outshines everybody else on the screen, and finds a fine nuance in his role as Catherine's both stern and disappointed father. He didn't win the Oscar for this movie, but Havilland did, which just shows you how screwy the Academy Awards have always been.
For another take on the same material, try Washington Square (1997). Jennifer Jason Leigh does a great job as Catherine. Unfortunately, Albert Finney as her father doesn't show the finesse of Richardson and is too much of an ogre; and Ben Chaplin as Catherine's lover has none of the talents of a charming smooth talker, and he isn't helped at all by his lines. Still, it's an interesting alternate approach, with a much better ending.A very good movie - Poet
A female co-worker of mine talked to me about this movie and said it was worth seeing. I gave it a shot and wasn't disappointed. The acting is very well done, the sets and costumes are beautiful and the story is interesting.
The feminists sure would love this one more than a John Wayne film. The woman is the victim of two men until she gets the last laugh.
The two separate scenes where we see de Havilland's character walk up the stairs from the front are worth comparing to see how the character evolved in the whole thing.excellent movie - TMFan1
There is so much to admire in this movie: Ralph Richardson and Montgomery Clift are very fine, the sets and costumes are first rate, and a wonderful Aaron Copland score. But, you will not be able to take your eyes from de Havilland in the title role. A stunner of a performance! This movie hooks you gradually, so that by the end you are rivetted to the story. Very much recommended.
Member Reviews
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The witless heiress - CaptainDave
A middling movie from a great novel. But I have this movie to thank for introducing me to the exquisite fiction of Henry James, whose novel, Washington Square, it's based on (via a Broadway play).
Olivia de Havilland as the bland, boring and dim young ...A very good movie - Poet
A female co-worker of mine talked to me about this movie and said it was worth seeing. I gave it a shot and wasn't disappointed. The acting is very well done, the sets and costumes are beautiful and the story is interesting.
The feminists sure would ...excellent movie - TMFan1
There is so much to admire in this movie: Ralph Richardson and Montgomery Clift are very fine, the sets and costumes are first rate, and a wonderful Aaron Copland score. But, you will not be able to take your eyes from de Havilland in the title role. A stunner ...