Cinema: New Picture, Oct. 24, 1949

The Heiress (Paramount) is a handsomely mounted, sumptuously acted film about a wallflower whose only social grace is a neat hand at embroidery. Directed and produced by William Wyler (Wuttiering Heights, The Best Years of Our Lives), The Heiress bears the Wyler trademark of painstaking high gloss. It is also a solid and impressive movie aimed at adults.

Based on a Broadway misinterpretation of Henry James's Washington Square, the film shows a timid, plain heiress (Olivia de Havilland) courted by a charming idler (Montgomery Clift). Her father (Ralph Richardson), who regards her as...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!