The Heiress (1949) The celebrated and multiple award winning director William Wyler was possibly the worst and best director of actors.
Incapable of telling his actors how he wanted a scene played or what kind of performance he was looking for, Wyler simply made them do another take......over and over and over again, until they did one to his satisfaction. Even if it meant 99 takes or more......
Wyler's technique drove actors to untold levels of exasperation, exhaustion and pure rage........that is, until they picked up their "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" Academy Awards.
No other director led so many stars to Oscar gold than the relentless Wyler......and sure enough, "The Heiress", an adaptation of the Henry James novel 'Washington Square', snagged a Best Actress for Olivia de Havilland.
She plays Catherine, the plain, lonely and socially awkward daughter of an imperious, aristocratic mid-19th century physician (Ralph Richardson). Throughout the film, Richardson's cold, unloving Dr. Austin Sloper never misses an opportunity to belittle and degrade his hapless daughter for the crime of not being as beautiful and vivacious as her mother, his late wife.
de Havilland makes use of her huge expressive eyes as this abuse is heaped upon her.....and she makes you ache for her at every cruel moment she endures.
But Wyler's real stroke of genius was the casting of the young, ultra-sensitive method actor Montgomery Clift as de Havilland's would-be suitor, Morris Townsend.
Clift, playing a penniless dandy who (supposedly) has fallen head over heels in love with Catherine, excels so deftly at passionate earnestness that an audience could believe his sincerity without question.......and maybe only wonder just a little if he was only after Catherine's vast inheritance.
Other actors lacking Clift's lighter-than-air touch might have gone one way or the other with this role. It's a tribute to his subtle work here that he'll keep you wondering about his true intentions right up until the film's final shot.
You'll find nothing flashy in the filmmaking here......Wyler was never that kind of director. But his non-stop tyranny over his actors propelled them to create their greatest work.
And "The Heiress", also gifted with a rich, omnipresent Aaron Copland score, stands as the epitome of Wyler's cinematic artistry. 4 stars (****).
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