William Wyler's 'The Heiress' (1949)

In this episode, I talk about William Wyler’s 1949 film, "The Heiress." Olivia de Havilland plays Catherine Sloper, a shy and sheltered woman living with her cold father in Washington Square, New York in the mid-1800s. When she meets an attractive and alluring man played by Montgomery Clift, she falls passionately in love for the first time, but their relationship will force her to confront painful truths about love and desire.

I talk about how the film explores heartbreak and transformation, and how it charts a woman’s devastating but powerful journey from innocence to experience, from illusion to reality, and toward a deeper understanding of herself. 

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My Sources:

• Article about the film, written by Frank Miller for Turner Classic Movies
• "The Heiress:" A Cruel Inheritance by Pamela Hutchinson for Criterion Collection
• Toni Morrison quote is from a 2015 documentary, "The Life of Toni Morrison"