The Heiress

film by Wyler [1949]

Written by Lee Pfeiffer

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Article History

The Heiress, American dramatic film, released in 1949, that was adapted from the play of the same name by Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz. Both the play and the film were based on the Henry James novel Washington Square (1881).

Set in New York City before the Civil War, The Heiress features Olivia de Havilland as Catherine Sloper, the plain-Jane daughter of a tyrannical rich man (played by Ralph Richardson) who dominates her life and subjects her to constant comparison to her vibrant mother, who died when Catherine was young. When she becomes involved with a young man (Montgomery Clift) who wants to marry her, Catherine’s father suspects him of being a fortune hunter. A meeting he has with the man’s sister strengthens that belief. Catherine’s father threatens to disinherit her if she continues the relationship, and she must make the difficult choice between wealth and a love that may or may not be truly reciprocated.

Unusually depressing for a major studio romance, The Heiress is nonetheless regarded as a great film. Director William Wyler resisted any temptation to sanitize the largely unsympathetic characters. Clift in particular played against type; prior to this film he had been marketed strictly as a romantic lead. De Havilland earned an Academy Award for her portrayal of Catherine, who overcomes her timidity by the film’s end.