The Heiress

There were several stars during the Golden Age of Hollywood that grew to become legends, and one of the longest surviving of that era was Olivia de Havilland. Only recently passing away in 2020 at the incredible age of 104, de Havilland managed to leave an imprint as an actor during a time where it was very easy to get swept up in a sea of familiars (especially for women), starting small in meek romantically-led roles for films like The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Gone with the Wind, before finding her calling in more dramatic bodies of work like Hold Back the Dawn, To Each His Own and The Snake Pit. She was a box office draw, avoided becoming permanently blacklisted even after suing Warner Brothers for a dispute over her contract (which she actually managed to win), and even got a couple Oscars under her belt for her performances in the 1946 romantic drama To Each His Own and the 1949 Paramount drama, The Heiress, a movie that might not be on everybody’s radar, but was nevertheless instrumental in building the legacy that de Havilland would eventually garner.

In 1849 New York, Dr. Austin Sloper (played by Ralph Richardson) is a wealthy doctor who lives alone in his lavish mansion with his daughter, Catherine (played by Olivia de Havilland) ever since his wife passed away, with his recently widowed sister, Lavina (played by Miriam Hopkins) visiting in order to check up on and support them. Catherine is viewed by her father as greatly inferior to his wife, admonishing her for her anti-social, extremely passive, and overall dull personality and believing that she will never marry any man as none would ever waste time on her (which is something Catherine also believes). While out at a party she was dragged to, Catherine meets Morris Townsend (played by Montgomery Clift), a poor yet charming man who seems taken by Catherine and quickly forms a relationship that has rapidly skipped to marriage. While her father believes that Morris is purely interested in Catherine for her massive inheritance, Catherine refuses to believe it and falls further and further in love with this new stranger, finally gaining some level of independence for herself by standing up to her father’s toxic mental manipulation. Whether genuine or not, Catherine is determined to change her situation and become more than the quiet girl she once was before, which may push her into a stronger place, but also runs the risk of turning her into a much colder version of herself.

Failing to make a hit at the box office yet winning over critics and the Academy with a total of 8 nominations (with 4 wins under its belt), The Heiress is a solidly constructed film with strong performances, decent writing, effective production value and pretty great direction.

Based on a 1880 novel written by Henry James titled ‘’Washington Square’’ before later being adapted into a relatively popular 1947 stage play, The Heiress seems to carry over many similarities from its theatre counterpart, like the plot remaining mostly unchanged, Ralph Richardson reprising his role as the father, to even both Ruth and Augustus Goetz (a screenwriting couple who originally adapted the story into a play) acting as screenwriters for the film. You can feel the theatre basis for this story through the low stakes nature of the plot, a heavier focus on character monologues and speeches than on grand spectacle or dramatic conflicts, the well furbished yet singular nature of the sets, and even how the themes and time period are portrayed. While the plot does feel fairly un-cinematic, it (much like a lot of classic movies) is able to pick out the specific strengths of the source material and make it function fairly well as a film, containing enough decent pacing as to not overstretch this simple idea, and enough of an unassuming atmosphere that it isn’t entirely clear where the film is heading. Given the set up and how much of this movie is dedicated to proving whether or not this relationship is based on a lie, you’d figure it would be pretty cut-and-dry what the outcome would be (and in many ways, it does follow that expected route), but the film’s less heavy-handed and more subdued approach makes the results a little less predictable, and everything from the dialogue, the visuals and especially the acting, support this attitude, making it more about watching the people and how they respond, rather than what is being said and how much the audience believes them.

The director for this film was William Wyler, an incredibly successful filmmaker with a track record packed with award-nominated movies like Mrs. Miniver, Ben Hur, The Best of Our Lives, Dodsworth, Wuthering Heights, Roman Holiday, etc. With this in mind and his clear strength in working with actors, you can feel how he is able to command this film with precision and depth when it very easily could’ve been slow and underwhelming. The screenplay isn’t bad by any means and houses a few solid lines and speeches, but while not predictable, it’s not really surprising either, relying more on the execution of the premise rather than the content within its word. Even with this hurdle, it still has memorable scenes, solid visuals that aren’t overstated but still get across a cinematic touch, and truly great performances that have far more nuance behind their expressions than any of their words.

This movie was a big one for Olivia de Havilland as it won her an Oscar for Best Actress (the second time she was gifted one), but it also feels like this was a redemption role for her considering she never truly enjoyed playing ingénue parts and much preferred work that challenged her in some form or fashion. Catherine isn’t the most complex character, but as the film progresses, she suddenly becomes almost a mockery of those sappy shallow parts she played in previous films. The film presents her as this very soft-spoken, easily caught-off-guard, remarkably boring person who barely has any traits or personality to speak of, which makes it a valid question as to why anyone would be so head-over-heels for her in such a short period of time. As more cruelness is placed onto her, that sweetness is changed into something more bitter, steely, and surprisingly cut-throat and malicious, adopting a persona that feels less human, but is more in line with what everyone around her hoped she’d be like. These two identities are pulled off very well by de Havilland, giving the character an awkward smile, passive nature and incredibly uncomfortable stature in the opening to truly get across her mousey demeanor, and then very effectively pulls off the identity switch into meanness with biting remarks, a cold lifeless stare and just enough of a sardonic sense of wit to make it feel more natural than just a total 180 flip. It’s a very well-handled role and a very well-acted one, which can also be said for the rest of the cast.

The amount of facial acting in this film is incredibly impressive, with everyone being able to say a lot with their body language and shifts in mannerisms in a subtle but not unnoticeable manner. Montgomery Clift does great at playing this seemingly well-meaning man who you never truly know what he’s thinking, making it a genuine question as to whether he’s a good soul who just comes across as shady on accident, or a truly incredible player who knows every emotion to play up in order to win good graces. Ralph Richardson is also great as the father, with a quiet and almost pleasant tone of voice that hides a lot of passive aggressive undertones which is beautifully drawn out in every line he speaks, Miriam Hopkins brings a fun sense of spark to an otherwise morose cast, and even most of the background actors are played fairly well even if they don’t have the same level of in-depth qualities that the other performers are given.

The look of the film was also one of the components that was heavily praised at the year’s Academy Awards, with the movie having the leading number of nominations at eight and winning four including Best Actress, Best Score, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. For a film with not a lot of locations to showcase (it’s really just the one room in this house), you need to make that set look very nice and eye-catching in order to not dull your audience, and the movie does manage that. The look of the set handled by Harry Horner, John Meehan, and Emile Kuri is appropriately decadent, lavish and fitting for the time period, but isn’t really a look that is incredibly showy or stands out that much against other similarly designed locations that have a bit more personality.

You can feel that this is a movie that the Academy Awards fell in love with considering the number of nominations it received and therefore plays things in a manner that would appeal to them even when on their own, some parts aren’t incredibly unique or different from the norm. This can be seen in the production design, but also in the score by Aaron Copland, which is a piece that certainly isn’t bad and works within the movie (especially when transitioning the tone from cheer to chagrin), but it’s not a very memorable tune. On the other end, the cinematography by Leo Tover and the costume design by Edith Head and Gile Steele get a few moments to shine, with a few shots being framed very effectively and even a tad bit gothic, and Catherine’s attire going from frilly and childish and cold and elegant is a nice touch.

The Heiress isn’t a showstopper by any means and anybody searching for classic movies isn’t going to be blown away by what it shows off, but for someone who is casually searching and comes across this film, they should like what they see. It doesn’t have the depth of a Tennessee Williams story, but there is enough of an understanding about what it’s talking about, that it doesn’t feel like it’s talking down to them either, and from the strong direction, decent script, and effective performances, you will get your retro cinema fill. Considering Olivia de Havilland was one of the last remnants of this past era and was able to leave behind such a magnificent career that in spite of some ups and downs, showcased some great range and talent, seeing her in this Oscar-winning performance would be a good starting off point for anyone hoping to learn more about her.