The Heiress / Paramount Pictures ; produced and directed by William Wyler ; written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz.
Material type:
FilmPublisher number: 61032367 | MCA Universal Home VideoPublication details: Universal City, CA : MCA Universal Home Video, 2007.Description: 1 videodisc (116 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 inContent type: - two-dimensional moving image
- video
- videodisc
- Photography, Leo Tover ; art director, John Meehan ; music by Aaron Copland.
- Academy Awards: Best Score, Aaron Copland; Best Actress, Olivia de Havilland. Academy Award nominations: Best Picture; Best Director, William Wyler; Best Cinematography, Leo Tover; Ralph Richardson.
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult DVD
|
Main Library | DVD | DRAMA HEIRESS | Available | 33111009959483 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Henry James based his 1881 novella Washington Square on a real-life incident, wherein a young actor of his acquaintance married an unattractive but very wealthy young woman for the express purpose of living the rest of his life in luxury. Washington Square was turned into a stage play in 1946 by Ruth and Augustus Goetz; this, in turn was adapted for the movies under the title The Heiress. Olivia DeHavilland won an Academy Award (her second) for her portrayal of Catherine Sloper, the plain-Jane daughter of wealthy widower Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson). Catherine is not only unattractive, but lacks most of the social graces, thanks in great part to the domineering attitudes of her father. When Catherine falls in love with handsome young Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), she is convinced that her love is reciprocated, else why would Morris be so affectionate towards her? Dr. Sloper sees things differently, correctly perceiving that Morris is a callow fortune hunter. Standing up to her father for the first time in her life, Catherine insists that she will elope with Morris; but when Dr. Sloper threatens to cut off her dowry, Morris disappears. Still, Catherine threatens to run off with the next young man who pays any attention to her; Sloper, belatedly realizing how much he has hurt his only child, arranges to leave her his entire fortune. Years pass: Morris returns, insisting that he'd only left because he didn't want to cause Catherine the "grief" of being disinherited. Seemingly touched by Morris' "sincerity", Catherine agrees to elope with him immediately. But when Morris arrives at the appointed hour, he finds the door locked and bolted. Asked how she can treat Morris so cruelly, Catherine replies coldly "Yes, I can be very cruel. I have been taught by masters." Though The Heiress ends on a downbeat note, the audience is gratified to know that Catherine Sloper has matured from ugly-duckling loser to a tower of strength who will never allow herself to be manipulated by anyone ever again. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
DVD.
Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson.
Photography, Leo Tover ; art director, John Meehan ; music by Aaron Copland.
Based on: Washington Square / Henry James.
Originally released as a motion picture in 1949.
Academy Awards: Best Score, Aaron Copland; Best Actress, Olivia de Havilland. Academy Award nominations: Best Picture; Best Director, William Wyler; Best Cinematography, Leo Tover; Ralph Richardson.
General.
For private home use only.
De Havilland stars as a young heiress who is jilted by a fortune-hunter on the eve of her wedding when he learns she will be disinherited. He returns 7 years later and she plots her revenge.