The Heiress (1949)

Directed by

William Wyler

Genre

drama film, romance film, historical drama

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 54m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.8 of 10 from 283 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A naive young woman falls in love with a handsome man despite her wealthy father's warnings that he is only after her inheritance. Her father's cold and controlling treatment pushes her to question everyone's motives. The story follows her transformation from innocence to hardened resolve.

tensemelancholicslow-burnemotionally restrainedbittersweetsomberintimateromantic-doomed

What happens

The Heiress is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry James' 1880 novel Washington Square. The film stars Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, a naive young woman who falls in love with a handsome young man despite the objections of her emotionally abusive father who suspects the man of being a fortune hunter. Montgomery Clift stars as Morris Townsend and Ralph Richardson as Dr. Sloper. The Heiress premiered in Los Angeles on October 6, 1949, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures on December 28, 1949. Although a box office failure, grossing $2.3 million on a $2.6 million budget, the film garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Wyler's direction, its screenplay, and the performances of the cast. The film received a leading eight nominations at the 22nd Academy Awards, including for the Best Picture, and won four awards (more than any other film nominated that year): Best Actress (for de Havilland), Best Original Score, composed by Aaron Copland, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design. 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." Universal Pictures, through its EMKA division, currently handles distribution of the film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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