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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 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.
Original Release
12/28/1949
US Release
12/28/1949
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Olivia de Havilland | Catherine Sloper |
Montgomery Clift | Morris Townsend |
Ralph Richardson | Dr. Austin Sloper |
Miriam Hopkins | Lavinia Penniman |
Vanessa Brown | Maria / Mariah |
Betty Linley | Mrs. Montgomery / Mme Montgomery |
Ray Collins | Jefferson Almond |
Mona Freeman | Marian Almond / Maria Almond |
Selena Royle | Elizabeth Almond |
Paul Lees | Arthur Townsend |
Directors
Writers
Ruth Goetz, Augustus Goetz, Henry James
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Olivia de Havilland | Catherine Sloper |
Montgomery Clift | Morris Townsend |
Ralph Richardson | Dr. Austin Sloper |
Miriam Hopkins | Lavinia Penniman |
Vanessa Brown | Maria / Mariah |
Betty Linley | Mrs. Montgomery / Mme Montgomery |
Ray Collins | Jefferson Almond |
Mona Freeman | Marian Almond / Maria Almond |
Selena Royle | Elizabeth Almond |
Paul Lees | Arthur Townsend |
Harry Antrim | Mr. Abeel / M. Abeel |
Russ Conway | Quintus |
David Thursby | Geier |
Mary Bayless | Party Guest |
Nan Boardman | French Maid |
Jack Chefe | French Waiter |
Marcel De La Brosse | French Porter |
Ray De Ravenne | French Waiter |
Lester Dorr | Groom |
Arthur Dulac | French Bellboy |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
William Wyler | Producer |
Lester Koenig | Producer |
Robert Wyler | Producer |
Editors
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
1950 | Oscar | Best Picture | Nominated |
1950 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
1950 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
1950 | Oscar | Best Director | Nominated |
1950 | Oscar | Best Cinematography, Black-and-White | Nominated |
1950 | Oscar | Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White | Won |
1950 | Oscar | Best Costume Design, Black-and-White | Won |
1950 | Oscar | Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Won |
1950 | Golden Globe | Best Director | Nominated |
1950 | Golden Globe | Best Actress | Won |
1950 | Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |