The Heiress [1949 film]
by William Wyler (Director), Aaron Copland (Composer), Augustus Goetz (Screenwriter), Ruth Goetz (Screenwriter)
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"Directed with a keen sense of ambiguity by William Wyler, this film based on a hit stage adaptation of Henry James's Washington Square pivots on a question of motive. When shy, emotionally fragile Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland, in a heartbreaking, Oscar-winning turn), the daughter of a wealthy New York doctor, begins to receive calls from the handsome spendthrift Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), she becomes possessed by the promise of romance. Are his smoldering professions of show more love sincere, as she believes they are? Or is Catherine's calculating father (Ralph Richardson) correct in judging Morris a venal fortune seeker? A graceful drawing-room drama boasting Academy Award-winning costume design by Edith Head, The Heiress is also a piercing character study riven by emotional uncertainty and lacerating cruelty, in a triumph of classic Hollywood filmmaking at its most psychologically nuanced"--Container. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I liked how this author explored the inner world of a usually overlooked character and proposed a likely explanation for her behavior in Pride and Prejudice. It was so exciting when she finally decided to dump the drops and leave Rosings. Watching her experience her first time in town was also fun as she experienced things she should have experienced as a much younger woman. The LGBT experience was something I don't usually encounter in JAFF, but it was not unwelcome; it was surely something that occurred more often then we read about in literature. It was surprising when Anne did not accept Mr. Watters proposal, but I loved her reasoning as it was not how I would've thought of the proposal. Anne's solution to the heir problem was show more wonderful. I loved part IV, "The End." All in all, I enjoyed the book, but probably wouldn't read it again. show less
won 4 academy awards
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Author Information
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Aaron Copland was inspired by a piano recital that he heard at the age of 13. From that point on, he thought earnestly about a career in music. At the age of 14 he began piano lessons, being taught by one of his sisters. He soon demanded and received more formal training. By 1916, Copland knew that he wanted to be a show more composer. He was accepted as the first student at the newly established music school for Americans in France. There he studied composition and orchestration with Nadia Boulanger. Supported early in his career by Serge Koussevitzky, Copland employed folk elements in many of his compositions, among them Billy the Kid (1938), Appalachian Spring (1945), and Rodeo (1942). Copland exerted enormous influence on the development of younger American composers by sponsoring concert series, festivals, artistic colonies, and competitions. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Belongs to Publisher Series
The Criterion Collection (974)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Heiress [1949 film]
- Original title
- The Heiress
- Original publication date
- 1949-10-06
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 85
- Popularity
- 373,742
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.69)
- Languages
- English, French, Italian
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 4
- ASINs
- 8
