THE HEIRESS

US, 1949, 118 minutes, Black and white.
Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson.
Directed by William Wyler.

The Heiress is an excellent film, interesting and moving and, ultimately, very sad. It is based on the Goetz play of Henry James novel, Washington Square. Although the film is based on a play, it does not seem stagebound. Rather the action of the story is confined to the heroine and the vitality of the film is in her conflicts and anguish.

Henry James is a difficult novelist, especially with his delicate sensibility and attention to detail of emotion and conflict. There have not been very many screen versions of his work. One could note Jack Clayton's version of The Turn of the Screw, The Innocents and Peter Bogdanovich's film of Daisy Miller. In the present film, delicacy of feeling (and the suffering possible for a person of such sensibility) is a keynote for interpreting the interplay of characters in what is, regarding the plot, a fairly conventional and commonplace story: the unprincipled money-seeker trying to deceive by wooing the plain heiress.

Olivia de Havilland was at the peak of her dramatic acting in the middle and late forties. She won an Oscar in 1946 for To Each His Own. In 1948 she was seen in the intensely dramatic The Snake Pit. 1949 brought The Heiress and another Oscar. Montgomery Clift gives another of his excellent performances as the spendthrift hero and Ralph Richardson is fine as the demanding father of the heiress. The film was directed by William Wyler, maker of such award-winning films as Jezebel, Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives and Ben Hur.

1. What are the implications of the title - regarding wealth, the daughter of her father, greed and ambition?

2. Comment on the musical background of the film. What did it add? Especially the French song - its use in the credits, being sung by Morris Townsend, and its use to convey Catherine's feelings. How, was the nineteenth century atmosphere of the film communicated - manners, settings, etc?

3. How important was the theme of love in the film - Catherine and her relationship to her father? Her love for Morris? Dr Sloper and his dislike of his daughter? The absence of love? Morris Townsend and his self-love - use of Catherine's affections? Lavinia and her romantic attitude towards love? Morris Townsend's sister and her love for him?

4. How did the film throw light on nineteenth century romantic attitudes towards love? The parties, conversations, flirting, various ways of attracting men? Lavinia's conversations? What judgement was being made on romantic attitudes?

5. How important was the theme of greed? Here you taken in by Morris Townsend? Did you believe he was sincere? How did this affect your attitude towards Catherine and her belief in him? Hhy did Morris use Catherine? Has he not aware of his lies? How did he condemn himself by running away? Why did he return? How did he deceive Lavinia and not deceive Catherine? The theme of. Innocence versus experience? Who was innocent and who was experienced?

6. How did the film explore the value of truth? Dr. Sloper's lies to himself and his self-deception about his own wife? Speaking the truth to Catherine - her self-awareness? Being deceived by Morris? The brutal discovery of the truth? How did it hurt her - could she face this? Why was Morris incapable of telling the truth?

7. Did you find Catherine an attractive personality? Did you agree with Olivia de Havilland's portrayal of Catherine? What had made Catherine so reserved and shy? How did the continual comparison with her mother lower her sense of self-esteem? How did Catherine take her place in society? How was this shown? How did she change when Morris Townsend proposed to her - was this transformation communicated by Olivia de Havilland? Why was she unwilling to give up Morris? Could she not face the possibility of the truth? Why was she so easily deceived? How did her father's truth-telling hurt her? Did she really hate hint and did she elope because of this? How disillusioned was she with Morris? How cruel was she in her final turning away of Morris? She said she had been taught by masters. Mas this true? The impact of the final sequence of the film with Morris knocking on the door?

8. Did you find Morris an attractive personality, credible? Why? Was he plausible in his arguments about himself, spending his money, experience, manners? Did you immediately agree with Dr. Sloper? Would the marriage have succeeded? How much truth was revealed in the sequence between Dr. Sloper and Morris's sister? How disgusting was his running away - his return? Did you feel any sympathy for him at the end?

9. Dr. Sloper - what kind of man was he? As a doctor, as a father? Why was he so severe in his expectations? Why did he idealise his dead wife? Why did he disregard his daughter's feelings? Did he really love her and want to protect her? Did he need to be so brutal with her, to tell her the truth in such a brutal way? Did he learn by this experience (by not disinheriting her)? Did you feel sympathy for him during his illness and reliance on Catherine? Why did she refuse to go to him? Was she right? What insight into fatherhood and love did the portrayal of Dr. Sloper give?

10. The importance of Lavinia in the film - as Dr. Sloper's sister, and contrast to him? As a romantic widow, continual chatter about her husband, a picture of adult society, social gadding about, plotting and planning and its shallowness? How much did she contribute to Catherine's disillusionment? Why did she continue to help Morris years later? Was she a good woman? Why?

11. How did the film portray the crises? How did it concentrate on faces? On the house, rooms, atmosphere?

12. How did the film leave you emotionally? What was your reaction to Catherine? Was she right?

13. What insight into human behaviour did this film give? Was it a faithful version of Henry James' sensibility about human behaviour?