User reviews

The Heiress (1949)

Another gem from William Wyler. This is the director of so many sparkling, flawless interpersonal dramas it's hard to believe he isn't lionized alongside more famous greats. The problem (as he admits in interviews) is he had no real style of his own. And yet, as the years go by, his "style" begins to clarify a little. Watch "The Little Foxes" or "Detective Story" or this one, "The Heiress," and you'll see an astonishing, complex handling of a small group of people with visual clarity and emotional finesse.

There is no overacting here, and no photographic flourishes to make you gasp. There are no murky shadows or gunfights or even ranting and raving. No excess. What you have here is terrific writing (thanks in part to Henry James who wrote the source story, Washington Square) and terrific acting.

The three leads are all first rate actors, surely. Montgomery Clift a young and rising star, Olivia de Havilland already famous for earlier roles (including a supporting one in "Gone with the Wind"), and the terrific stage actor Ralph Richardson, who received an Oscar nomination for his role. It is de Haviland who is the heiress of the title, and she does tend to steal the show with a performance that you would think would tip into campy excess but which just veers this side of danger and makes you feel for her scene after scene. And she took the Best Actress award for it.

A good director manages to bring the best from the actors, which Wyler clearly does. But he also finds ways to make those performances jump out of the film reality into the movie theater. His fluid, expert way of moving actors around one another, of having them trade positions or look this way or that as they deliver some intensely subtle comeback line, is really astonishing. And easy to miss, I think, if you just get absorbed in the plot. So watch it all.

The story itself is pretty chilling and oddly dramatic (dramatic for Henry James, not for Wyler, who likes a kind of soap opera drama within all his focused restraint). The heiress (de Havilland) is being pursued by a fortune hunting and rather handsome man (Clift) and she doesn't realize his love isn't for real. But the father, with his slightly cruel superiority, sees it all and tries to subtly maneuver his daughter to safety. The result is a lot of heartbreak and surprising twists of motivation.

By the end almost anything can happen, within this upper class world of manners and appropriate reactions, and de Havilland rises to the challenge. It's worth seeing how. Terrific stuff from the golden age of the silver screen, for sure.

Henry James novel of spinster daughter of wealthy doctor being wooed by a fortune hunter is meticulously brought to the screen by Wyler and a stellar cast. The beautiful de Havilland, made to look plain and dull, is quite good in her Oscar-winning title role. Also fine are Clift as the gold digger and Hopkins as de Havilland's understanding aunt. However, the best performance is given by Richardson as the cold, domineering father who wants to protect his daughter but also despises her meek existence. Brown, who plays the maid, looks like a young Grace Kelly. The cinematography is excellent and there's a fine score by Copland.

Certainly among the finest literary adaptations, "The Heiress" was based on Henry James's novel, "Washington Square" and features arguably Olivia de Havilland's finest screen performance. Morris Townsend , a handsome young man with ambiguous motives pursues Catherine Sloper, a plain spinster, who is slightly past marriageable age and possesses limited social skills. The young woman, who is the heiress of the title, is vulnerable prey for a penniless fortune hunter.

However, Montgomery Clift plays Townsend in an enigmatic manner, and viewers can debate his true intentions. Catherine's father, played by Ralph Richardson, and her Aunt Lavinia, played by Miriam Hopkins, take opposite sides in Townsend's pursuit of Catherine. Although both her father and her aunt appear to see through the handsome suitor, Aunt Lavinia is practical and sensitive to her niece's emotional needs, and she counsels compromise in pursuit of happiness, if only fleeting. However, Catherine's father is unyielding and essentially unloving in his opposition to the match. Throughout, Dr. Sloper compares his daughter's virtues to those of his late wife, and Catherine comes up lacking in every quality that he values. Sloper threatens to disinherit his daughter if she marries the suitor.

Montgomery Clift may appear shallow and transparent to some, but in essence those are the traits of his character. While Morris is slick and obviously fawning, he is not intelligent enough to be totally deceptive. Only someone as naive and needy as Olivia could fail to grasp that Morris may want something more than her love. Olivia de Havilland transcends her other performances and skillfully and convincingly evolves from a shy, introverted girl into a strong, vengeful woman. De Havilland has often portrayed women who appear genteel and soft on the outside, but whose hearts and backbones can harden into pure steel (e.g. Gone with the Wind; Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte), and Catherine Sloper is the finest of those roles. With able support from Richardson and Hopkins, Clift and de Havilland make the most of an outstanding screenplay, which was adapted from a stage play. William Wyler directs with a sure hand, and the atmospheric cinematography captures 19th century New York life. Period films are often unraveled by their hairstyles, which generally owe more to the year in which the film was made rather than that in which the story is set. However, even the coiffures excel in "The Heiress." De Havilland's hair looks authentic 19th century and underscores Wyler's fastidious attention to detail.

With an award-winning de Havilland performance, a handsome Montgomery Clift on the brink of stardom, and an engrossing Henry James story, "The Heiress" is one of the finest films of the 1940's. Without qualification, the film holds up to and merits repeat viewings if only to better argue the underlying motives of Clift and the fateful decision that de Havilland has to make.

One of my favorite movies, based on one of my favorite books. Henry James sitting in the audience would have been proud of this insightful filming of his novel, "Washington Square," because the film retains so much of the subtlety of his own writing. Usually, Hollywood eliminates any of the subtlety of a great author's voice (see the recent remake of "Washington Square" if you want to see a real Hollywoodization of a novel – it actually depicts a young Catherine peeing her pants in public – an inane "Animal House"-type Hollywood requirement that degrading a woman by showing her peeing is an erotic boost for any movie). But "The Heiress" is pure James. Olivia de Havilland is perfect as James' unlikely heroine, going from an awkward gawky girl eager to please her beloved father, to a simple, loving young woman who steadfastly stands by her lover, to an embittered middle-aged woman who understands that, as Henry James says, "the great facts of her career were that Morris Townsend had trifled with her affection, and that her father had broken its spring."

If you liked this movie, read the novel. Listen to James' descriptions of Catherine and her father and see if this isn't exactly what Ralph Richardson and Olivia deHavilland portrayed:

"Doctor Sloper would have liked to be proud of his daughter; but there was nothing to be proud of in poor Catherine."

"Love demands certain things as a right; but Catherine had no sense of her rights; she had only a consciousness of immense and unexpected favors."

" 'She is so soft, so simple-minded, she would be such an easy victim! A bad husband would have remarkable facilities for making her miserable; for she would have neither the intelligence nor the resolution to get the better of him.' "

"She was conscious of no aptitude for organized resentment."

"In reality, she was the softest creature in the world."

"She had been so humble in her youth that she could now afford to have a little pride . . . Poor Catherine's dignity was not aggressive; it never sat in state; but if you pushed far enough you could find it. Her father had pushed very far."

Clifton Fadiman, in his introduction to "Washington Square," says that the novel's moral is: "to be right is not enough. Dr. Sloper is 'right'; he is right about the character of Townsend, he is right about his own character, he is right about the character of Catherine. But because he can offer only the insufficient truth of irony where the sufficient truth of love is required, he partly ruins his daughter's life, and lives out his own in spiritual poverty."

Dr. Sloper's contemptuous "rightness," penetrating and accurate as it is, is no substitute for the kindness and love his adoring daughter craves from him. In "The Rainmaker," a great Katharine Hepburn movie, also about a plain woman seeking love, only this time with a loving father, the character of Hepburn's father sums up this moral that "to be right is not enough" when he says to his self-righteous son: "Noah, you're so full of what's right that you can't see what's good!"

The Heiress has to be one of the greatest movies ever made. There is nothing about it that I would change. The cast is perfect. Montgomery Clift is so wonderful as Morris Townsend. His physical beauty makes it easy to understand how someone as gauche as Catherine Sloper could overcome her shyness and respond to him. Olivia de Havilland is almost too good looking to be the unattractive Miss Sloper, however her great acting overcomes her beauty, and the viewer readily accepts her in the part. Ralph Richardson is perfect as Dr. Sloper. With his disdain for his daughter and his idealization of her dead mother, it is easy to see how his attitude has frozen his daughter in her insecurity about everything that she does. Miriam Hopkins is the perfect airhead social climber who does have affection for her niece, but becomes so wrapped up in the overall romance of the situation that she doesn't act in the best interests of her niece but in the best interests of the romantic drama that is unfolding around her. In her biography, Edith Head talks about researching and designing the clothes for this movie. Certainly the costumes greatly enhance Olivia de Havilland's ability to play this part and be accepted as the plain and graceless Catherine Sloper. A great movie that shouldn't be missed.

To call this film well-acted is like calling "Citizen Kane" a nice movie and Alfred Hitchcock an "okay" director. William Wyler was known for eliciting excellent performances from his actors (he's responsible for them receiving a record 14 Oscars in acting; more than twice as many as any other director) and in "The Heiress" he's in top form. This movie should be played in every acting class ever taught to show the brilliance of subtlety and range of expressions possible when one is conveying a character's inner emotions.

Olivia De Havilland is a beautiful woman, but you believe she's an ungainly bundle of shy awkwardness in the role of Catherine Sloper. And her transformation to a cruel wounded creature is perfectly believable. And Ralph Richardson as Dr. Sloper and Miriam Hopkins as Aunt Lavinia are letter perfect beside her. Sir Ralph (at least, I THINK he was knighted) can do more with stillness and a flick of an eyebrow than any actor I've ever seen (including Brando, Penn and any other method actor you care to toss into the mix). He was robbed at the Oscars.

Montgomery Clift was beautiful and seductive and, except for a couple of moments where he seemed too 1950s instead of 1850s, just right for the part. He almost holds his own with Sir Ralph when they meet to discuss him marrying Catherine, but he did do better work in "A Place In The Sun" and "From Here To Eternity."

Wyler's simplicity and grace in directing only enhanced the story. The use of mirrors to deepen emotional content (as in when Dr. Sloper, now ill, goes to his office after getting the cold shoulder from Catherine) is stunning. So is his willingness to let a scene play out rather than force along the pacing of the moment, as so many directors do, today (as in when Catherine offers to help her father rewrite his will).

There are no easy answers in this movie. You can think Dr. Sloper is right about Morris and only wants to protect his daughter, or you can see his actions as those of a vindictive man who blames her for the death of his beloved wife (in childbirth). Morris could be a fortune hunter, or he could be a man who does care for Catherine, in his own way, and would make her happy. Or all of the above. The whole movie is so beautifully composed, it's breathtaking. A definite must see for anyone who appreciates great stories well-told.

What a lavish history of films we are fortunate enough to have in this country. And I count "The Heiress" as one of the best. Combine a wonderfully told story with a masterful director (William Wyler), and add to that superb cast, and you have the formula for a masterpiece as we do here.

Olivia de Havilland gives the performance of her life as Catherine Sloper, the socially awkward and homely daughter of surgeon Dr. Sloper (played by Ralph Richardson). She brings such a strong performance as her character evolves from a timid, shy and innocent young lady to a hardened, disappointed and bitter woman. I don't know that I have ever seen an actress give such a convincing evolution, before or since. She truly earned her Oscar win for Best Actress. Richardson also delivers a believable performance as the ruthless father that is extremely disappointed in his daughter, and never fails to let her know it. At the same time, there is a hint of fatherly love below the surface trying to protect his daughter from what he perceives is a fortune hunter in the suitor of Montgomery Clift's character, Morris Townsend.

The photography in the film is amazing as it conveys the deep emotions in the film so adequately. You feel Catherine's loneliness and awkwardness, and the scenes involving the elopement, and later the final rejection, are quite hauntingly portrayed.

One of my favorite lines in movies is from this film when Catherine's Aunt tells her "Can you be so cruel?" to which Catherine coldly replies "Yes, I can be very cruel. I have been taught by masters." This is a film you will want to see multiple times to uncover all the layers and details of the very deep and tragic story of "The Heiress".

Rewatching The Heiress after remembering nothing but great things about it, the film was every bit as brilliant as remembered and even better in fact. It is one of William Wyler's best, in a list that includes Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday and Dodsworth, and while there are some fine film adaptations of Henry James' work, like The Innocents and The Wings of a Dove my vote for the best goes to this, The Heiress.

Visually, it looks absolutely beautiful and is rich in atmosphere. The Gothic set design is atmospheric and strikingly handsome (never getting in the way of the characters or the story), the costumes are elegantly evocative, the shadowy lighting adds so much to the atmosphere without making it obvious and The Heiress really does have to be one of the most exquisitely shot films of the late 40s, not only being very easy on the eyes but also very expansive which allows us to really be part of the action and be really engrossed in how all the characters interact with one another. Aaron Copland's haunting Oscar-winning score is some of his best work, and Wyler directs immaculately, his work worthy of winning the Oscar rather than just being nominated.

The Heiress is also superbly scripted, with sharp, sometimes cruel but always compellingly realistic, dialogue, the subject matter explored intelligently, poignantly and sometimes chillingly. The story is chillingly intense and also absorbingly intimate, always powerful and never less than interesting, while the characters actually feel like real people (Morris is the least interesting one of the bunch, but only because of how compellingly written Catherine and Dr Sloper are. Wyler is also well-known for drawing out great performances and ensemble work, and not only do we get both here across the board but they're more than great. Olivia de Havilland won her second Oscar for this film, and it was richly deserved, it is a very meaty role with a character transformation from shy to cruel that could have rung false but de Havilland plays the shyness with poignant nuance and the cruelness to spine-chilling effect, by far my favourite performance from her.

Montgomery Clift has had more interesting characters in his career, but he plays the role with control and subtlety, even also with an unsettling ambiguity as well. Ralph Richardson, like de Havilland, also delivers his finest screen work in this film, the character's coldness played to perfection. Dr Sloper and Catherine's father/daughter relationship is somewhat the core of the film and is played with brilliant passion by both Richardson and de Havilland. Miriam Hopkins is amusing and charming, but in a way that doesn't jar at all, despite how it sounds in comparison to the story.

In conclusion, a brilliant film, one of Wyler's best films and the finest screen adaptation of Henry James with career-best work from de Havilland and Richardson. 10/10 Bethany Cox

"The Heiress" is a classic film that continues to resonate from a family's perspective, shedding light on the timeless struggles that women face when navigating the complex dynamics of society and relationships. It delves into the emotional complexities of how families react when a woman chooses to date someone from another social class or race. The film masterfully explores these themes in a funny way, making it just as relevant today as when it was first released. With stellar character development, "The Heiress" takes viewers on a compelling transformation journey, making it a masterclass in character-driven storytelling.

I saw this film about 10 years ago and have never forgotten it. Why it is not available on DVD - I just don't understand it.

Olivia de Havilland is heart-breaking as the woman who is so badly treated by her suitors and her father. I felt the portrayal of her father and the cruel way he treats her was so well played out and you could see how her soul is slowly being crushed.

I was so amazed and touched by the film, I went and got the book it is based on, Henry James' Washington Square. It was superb but nothing will make me forget the look on Olivia De Havilland's face at the end of the movie where you can see her features harden and all her youthful sweetness is gone.

Brilliant film!

Because he so identified with England in his last thirty years (and even became a British citizen during World War I) people tend to forget that Henry James was an American - as American as his celebrated psychologist/philosopher brother William (the "good" James Boys, as opposed to their non-relatives Frank and Jesse), and his fellow Gilded Age novelists Sam Clemens/"Mark Twain" and William Dean Howells. His early writings, including "The American", "The Portait Of A Lady", and "The Europeans" were written while he was an American citizen. His later classics, "The Spoils Of Poynton", "What Maisie Knew", "The Ambassadors", "The Golden Bowl", and "The Wings Of The Dove", were written when he resided in England. The novels he wrote through 1897 ("What Maissie Knew" being the last of these) were short and controlled in terms of descriptions. But his final set of novels (beginning with "The Ambassadors")had a more flowery writing, as James struggled to find "le mot juste" in every description. Many like this, but I find it a peculiar failure. It takes him three pages of description in "The Wings Of The Dove" to show Mily Theale is looking down from an Alpine peak to the valley thousands of feet below.

"Washington Square" was written in the late 1870s, and was based on an anecdote James heard about a fortune hunter who tried to move in on one of James' neighbors in Manhattan. The neighbor, when a young woman, was wealthy and and would be wealthier when her father died (she was an only child). The father did not think highly of the daughter's choice of boyfriend, and a war of wills between the two men left the young woman scarred. James took the story and fleshed it out.

One has to recall that while ultimately this is based on James' great novel, the film proper is based on the dramatization by the Goetzs. So there are changes (one of which I will mention later). But the basic confrontation between the father and the suitor remains true. On stage the father was played by Basil Rathbone, and in his memoirs ("In And Out Of Character"), Rathbone makes a case that Dr. Sloper (his role) was not the villain in the novel - it was Sloper who was trying to protect his naive daughter Catherine from the clutches of fortune hunting suitor Morris Townshend. It's a nice argument, and one can believe that Rathbone/Sloper was less villainous than Morris. But his desire to protect Catherine does not prevent his cold and aloof treatment of her - he has little respect for her personality. This is tied to the Doctor's constant mourning of his wife (Catherine's perfect mother). It enables Dr. Sloper to compare and belittle his daughter.

The Goetz play and screenplay show (as does the novel) that the battle of wills between the two men only hurts poor, simple Catherine. There are only two major changes from the novel. First, in the novel Dr. Sloper does not discover how his contempt for his child loses her love. He only sees that Catherine will not see reason about what a loser Morris is. So he does disinherit her (she only has her mother's fortune of $10,000.00 a year, not her father's additional $20,000.00). Secondly, when Morris does return in the end in the novel, years have passed, and he is a querulous fat man. The dramatic high point when Catherine locks the door of the house on Morris is not in the novel.

Olivia De Haviland's performance as Catherine is among her most sympathetic and satisfying ones, as she tries to navigate between two egotists, and manages to avoid a shipwreck that neither would totally disapprove of for their own selfish reasons). Her second Oscar was deserved. Ralph Richardson's Sloper is a curious combination of cultured gentleman, egotist, and caring father, who only realizes what his behavior costs him when he is dying and it is too late. Montgomery Clift's Morris is a clever scoundrel, able to hide his fortune-hunting tricks behind a mask of care and seeming devotion to Catherine. Only when he learns that she has broken with her father does Morris show his true colors - suggesting that a reconciliation may still be possible. Finally there is Miriam Hopkins as Aunt Penniman, a talkative blood relative who does have a sense of reality and romance in her - she does try to make a case with Dr. Sloper that he accept Morris for Catherine's emotional happiness, but Sloper rejects the idea because he distrusts Morris so much. These four performances dominate the film, and make it a wonderful, enriching experience - as only "the Master's" best writings usually are.

I had the pleasure to watch again "The Heiress" 1949 movie tonight, and it is absolutely brilliant! ; what a gem! the script, the directing, set designs, lighting, but above all the acting, are all extraordinary. The performances by the three main characters are simply superb. Olivia De Haviland is utterly convincing in her transition from a, not so young, unwanted and unloved woman, into 3 different phases of her personality as the plot unfolds ; all her acting is beautiful. Montgomery Cliff delivers a great performance and mastery at portraying deceit with a charming smile. Ralph Richardson commands respect and holds an air of definite authority as Catherine's father. His aristocratic demeanor is also very well portrayed for a prominent New York gentleman of the late 1800's. The human tragedy of miscommunication between beings unfolds with impeccable timing. The film by today standards may be considered as slow, but underneath is found a study of characters that runs very deeply. The contrast between the real Love and the pretense is striking. You cannot help but feel sorry for the way the characters are held captives to a set of stiff conventions and untold feelings. A human tragedy at its best.

The movie version of James's Washington Square is based on the play derived from that novella. And the movie (as, presumably, the play did) emphasizes and draws out the unusual, painful relationship between father and daughter, making the story even more compelling and interesting than as depicted in the book. The doctor isn't simply looking out for the best interests of his daughter, he actually despises her. Ralph Richardson gives one of the best performances ever captured on screen.

Always with an eye to the main chance Olivia de Havilland had asked Paramount to purchase the rights to the stage play by Ruth and August Goetz 'suggested' by 'Washington Square' of Henry James. The character of Catherine Sloper was simply too tasty for her to resist.

The difficulties of production have been well-documented and have indeed become part of Hollywood folklore.

There were clashes of ego, temperament, technique and interpretation between de Havilland, Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson all of whom were superlative artistes. Director William Wyler was highly unlikely to endure such nonsense for long and miraculously juggled these disparate talents and elements to produce not just the finest Henry James adaptation of all time but a true masterpiece of American cinema. If there is a testament to Wyler's genius then this must surely be it. The icing on the cake is supplied by the superlative Oscar winning score of Aaron Copland. De Havilland's superb performance as a woman who faces the painful realisation that she is loved neither by her father nor her suitor, won her many plaudits and quite rightly so. We owe Wyler a debt of gratitude for having transformed what could have been a disaster into a glorious triumph.

26/07/2020: Farewell Olivia de Havilland. "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest".

THE HEIRESS is now my all-time favourite film, surpassing THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR, which was the top of my list for many years. For me, everything about this film is perfection: the acting, the superb screenplay, the wonderful score, the direction, the attention to detail... THE HEIRESS gets better and better with each viewing. But the best aspect of this film is Olivia deHavilland's portrayal of the tragic, pitiful Catherine Sloper who, denied a life of being loved by her resentful father, falls in love with the first man who shows her kindness. A classic and a must for any serious film lover's collection.

"The Heiress" is a drama set in the mid-nineteenth century, about a girl who is already running out of years to marry, and who has little to offer besides inheritance. When a suitor finally appears, her father protests, firmly convinced that the poor young man is only interested in her money. The heiress, of course, refuses to believe it ...

Impeccable black-and-white cinematography and directing by William Wyler, and theatrics of Olivia de Havilland, who deservedly took home the Oscar, followed by nothing worse performances by Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson. But, to me, the story was too lukewarm and the ending utterly disappointing. The film has eight Oscar nominations, but the screenplay is not one of them, and for me, without a good story, there can not be an exceptional movie, no matter how good the other aspects are.

7/10