The Heiress (1949)

The Heiress
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz from their play and suggested by the novel Washington Square by Henry James
1949/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
#229 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Mrs. Montgomery: I think, Doctor, that you expect too much of people. If you do you’ll always be disappointed.[/box]

For some reason I waited until now before seeing this great movie.  I was looking forward to the acting and was pleased to find it was pretty thought-provoking as well.

Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson) lost his beautiful accomplished wife in childbirth.  He never considered the awkward, shy daughter he got in exchange a fair trade.  Still, he is kind and tries to encourage Catherine (Olivia DeHavilland) to exert herself in society. Catherine already is the possessor of $10,000 a year she inherited from her mother and stands to inherit an additional $20,000 a year on the death of her father.  This would make her quite a catch if she were able to master anything but the needlepoint she works on incessantly.  Catherine’s widowed aunt Lavinia comes to live in the Sloper house one winter and takes Catherine under her wing.

At a dance in which Catherine is suffering the agonies of a perennial wallflower she is asked to dance by the personable Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift).  Morris has just returned from Europe where he spent is entire small inheritance in enjoying what the Continent had to offer to its fullest.  He is apparently unfit for any form of gainful employment.  Just why is never made entirely clear.  He is well-spoken, handsome and cultivated.  He soon showers Catherine with his attentions and before long declares his love for her.

Dr. Sloper instantly brands Morris a gold-digger and sets out to prove it.  He invites the young man’s sister to tea and confirms his suspicions with a few well placed questions.  He tries to dissuade Catherine from marrying Morris tactfully.  This proves futile.  Catherine loves Morris with all her heart and is convinced he loves her.  Dr. Sloper is forced to baldly state his conviction that Catherine has nothing to offer a man than her money.  Catherine is aghast at this revelation, decides her father has never loved her, rejects her inheritance and sets out to elope with her lover.

This does not match up with Morris’s plans for a marriage.  Catherine devotes the rest of her life to revenge on all those who have wronged her.

Considering its source material I should have been prepared for something more than the obvious melodrama of the surface plot.  I was left wondering at the complexities of the characters we find here.  Was the father really such a monster or was he honestly trying to protect his daughter?  He could not help comparing her to his late wife but at the same time seemed actually concerned with Catherine’s welfare.  Morris did apparently seem to lack every quality but charm and looks.  On the other hand, how could we know what kind of marriage the two would have made?  Would Morris have been willing to treat Catherine well in exchange for the money?  Catherine evidently thinks so in the end.  The moral seems to be that the truth hurts.  Is the pain necessary or honorable?  Perhaps I need to read the novel to find out.  Knowing my James, I suspect he will he keep his cards hidden.

Wyler and his cast are well up to the material.  Very highly recommended.

The Heiress won Academy Awards in the categories of Best Actress; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Aaron Copland).  It was nominated for Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actor (Richardson); and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

Trailer