Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Heiress (1949) - De Havilland triumphs in sensational Wyler adaptation

4/24/2023

The Heiress (1949) - De Havilland triumphs in sensational Wyler adaptation

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A moment of intense rapture is depicted on this elegant poster for William Wyler's The Heiress

An old maid in New York in the 1840s with a rich father is suddenly courted by a beautiful, younger man, and she is unwilling to share her father's skeptic feelings as to the man's true intentions ...

The Heiress is written by Augustus and Ruth Goetz (Carrie (1952), both), adapting their own same-titled play, which was an adaptation of Washington Square (1880) by Henry James (Confidence (1879)), and directed by German-born American master filmmaker, producer/director William Wyler (Lazy Lightning (1926)), whose 33rd feature it was.

Ideally adapted, elegantly photographed (by Leo Tover (From the Terrace (1960))) and scored with Aaron Copland's (The Red Pony (1949)) mighty compositions. The heavy patriarchy of its time is a part of the portrait, but the story reaches deeper than this.

Olivia de Havilland (The Swarm (1978)) transforms her character credibly in a truly great performance. Montgomery Clift (A Place in the Sun (1951)) is also outstanding SPOILER as the alluring charlatan, and Ralph Richardson (Jesus of Nazareth (1977, miniseries)) is complete perfection as her coolly affectionate, guiding father.

Top 10: Best epic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Ben-Hur (1959) - Perhaps the greatest epic film of all time
The Big Country (1958) - A big western gift

The Desperate Hours (1955) - Wyler's top-drawer true-crime home-invasion thriller

Top 10: The best B/W movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Top 10: The best adventure films reviewed by Film Excess to date
Roman Holiday (1953) - Wyler takes us to marvelous Rome on an unforgettable romantic adventure

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2.6 mil. $

Box office: 2.3 mil. $ (North-American rentals only)

= Uncertain

[The Heiress premiered 6 October (New York) and runs 115 minutes. De Havilland brought the play to Wyler's attention after seeing it on Broadway. The Goetz couple were paid 250k $ for the play rights plus 10k $ a week for writing the screenplay. Clift was paid 100k $ for his performance. Shooting took place from June - September 1948 in Los Angeles, California. The film was considered a box office flop due to its 2.3 mil. $ domestic gross, - regrettably the foreign gross numbers have not been made public and without these the film's theatrical status cannot be declared. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 4: Best Actess (De Havilland), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration - Black-and-White, Costume Design - Black-and-White and Score - Drama/Comedy. It lost Best Supporting Actor (Richardson) to Dean Jagger for Twelve O'Clock High, Cinematography - Black-and-White to Paul Vogel for Battleground, Director to Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives and Picture to All the King's Men. It also won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations and 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Wyler returned with Detective Story (1951). De Havilland returned in My Cousin Rachel (1952); Clift in The Big Lift (1950); and Richardson in Outcast of the Islands (1951). The Heiress is fresh at 100 % with an 8.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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4/24/2023

The Heiress (1949) - De Havilland triumphs in sensational Wyler adaptation

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