The Heiress (1949 movie)
William Wyler spins Henry James's novel Washington Square into The Heiress, a cinematic battle of wills between a timid old maid (Olivia de Havilland); her cold, arrogant father (Ralph Richardson); and a rakish fortune-hunting suitor (Montgomery Clift). Wyler adeptly harnesses the diverse acting styles -- Hollywood studio, Shakespearean, and Method, respectively -- exhibited by the leads to heighten the psychological tension. Richardson was nominated for an Oscar and de Havilland captured one for her transformation from wallflower to iceberg. A poignant score by Aaron Copland punctuates the inflexibility and deliberate grandeur of 1880s New York Society that Henry James depicted.
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The film was named to the National Film Registry in 1996.
Tropes used in The Heiress (1949 movie) include:
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