For his part, Clift, a praticioner of Lee Strasberg's "method acting," considered de Havilland an inferior actress and made his feeling known in a letter to his friend, actor Sandy Campbell: "She memorizes her lines at night and comes to work waiting for the director to tell her what to do. Havilland often complained that she had to deliver her lines in front ofĪn actor who was always looking in the opposite direction - at Rostova and not at her. He was the most fashionable youth I ever saw."Ĭlift and de Havilland did not get along well on the set, barely speaking to each other throughout the entire shoot.
But when Clift showed up in full make-up and costume, the writer was astonished: "The transformation was startling. "He looked like a bum, and I thought, how could he ever play the suave, elegant Townshend?" Goetz said. When Augustus Goetz first met Clift on the Paramount set, the actor was wearing a torn jacket, jeans and a T-shirt, part of a bohemian image he was cultivating at the time. Wyler's next choice was Montgomery Clift, who was then enjoying critical acclaim for his debut film performance in Fred Zinnemann's The Search (1948) and had just completed Red River (1948) for Howard Hawks. Because of Flynn's reputation and persona as a rake, however, Wyler thought he would be too obviously untrustworthy from an early stage and ultimately decided against his casting. Miniver (1942) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).įor the role of Morris Townsend, Wyler initially considered Errol Flynn, who had famously co-starred with de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and eight other pictures for Warner Bros. Wyler, who was also working at Paramount, was one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood at the time, having helmed such acclaimed pictures as Wuthering Heights (1939), Mrs. Upon returning to Los Angeles, de Havilland telephoned director William Wyler and proposed The Heiress as a possible project on which she hoped they could collaborate. When she saw The Heiress on Broadway, she immediately felt that the role of Catherine Sloper would be perfect for her. to be released from her contract and winning a landmark judgment in December 1944, she resumed her career at Paramount Pictures, winning an Academy Award for Best Actress for her heartfelt performance in Mitchell Leisen's To Each His Own (1946). Meanwhile, Olivia de Havilland had finally reached the point where she was fully in charge of her career, selecting only those roles that she felt would challenge her and enable her to grow as an actress.
In 1949, The Heiress was staged in London by John Gieguld, with Peggy Ashcroft and Wendy Hiller alternating in the title role and Ralph Richardson becoming famous as Dr. Wendy Hiller starred as Catherine Sloper, Basil Rathbone as her domineering father and Peter Cookson as her fortune-hunting suitor, Morris Townsend. Produced and directed by Jed Harris, the play opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in September 1947, closing a year later after 410 performances. Washington Square was already an American classic when the husband and wife writing team of Ruth and Augustus Goetz adapted it to the stage under the name The Heiress. One of the few Jamesian stories set in his native land, Washington Square was published in 1880, a year before The Portrait of Lady, widely considered by literary experts to be James's masterpiece. The basic storyline of The Heiress originated in Washington Square, a novella written by American-born author Henry James, based on a true story related to him by his close friend, English stage actress Fanny Kemble, concerning her brother's unsuccessful attempt to marry a rich woman. A satisfied Catherine then silently ascends the stairs as Morris desperately bangs at her locked door.
Her widowed aunt, Lavinia Penniman (Mirian Hopkins), asks her how she be so cruel, to what Catherine respondes, "I have been taught by masters." She calmly orders her maid Maria (Vanessa Brown) to bolt, leaving Morris outside shouting her name. When Morris returns, Catherine takes her revenge. He promises to come back that night for her, while she tells him that she will start packing her bags. She pretends to forgive him and tells him that she still wants to elope as they originally planned. Again, he professes his love for Catherine, claiming that he left her behind because he could not bear to see her destitute. Several years later, Morris returns from California, having made nothing of himself. He does not and dies within days, leaving Catherine his entire estate. Sloper that she still loves Morris and challenges him to change his testament if he is afraid of how she will spend his money after he dies. A few days later, a heartbroken Catherine has a bitter argument with her father, who reveals that he is dying.
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