As Catherine ascends the stairs, we see another faint glimmer of a smile, this time seemingly triumphant.Ī friend and fellow cinephile, with whom I discussed this scene, reads into the ending a bit differently than I do. Catherine completely ignores Morris, leaving him outside knocking and banging on the door to be let in. I shall see that he doesn’t come a third time.Īs Morris comes, Catherine instructs the maid: “Bolt it, Maria.” Maria bolts the door, then proceeds to go to bed. Here, Catherine starts to show signs of an almost hypnotic possession. Catherine continues this act of happiness until he leaves, and proceeds to let her aunt know that she has no intention of going with Morris. They agree to marry, and Morris says he will come for her at 9. ![]() But strangely, her tone of voice is almost that of a villain, and it becomes clear that she is putting on an air for Morris. ![]() When Morris comes in and asks for forgiveness, Catherine’s expression changes only around 6:51, when we see that she’s beginning to accept his coming on to her. The actions of the others in her life have hardened her, but the right circumstances can make her soften to what she used to be. Look at how her expression changes so subtly and gracefully–from cold and distant, to sad, to hopeful, to wistful and nostalgic, to sad again, and then ultimately back to cold and distant, but this time with an air of calculation about her. There is SO MUCH to be analyzed about this character. For me, this is what single-handedly secured de Havilland’s Best Actress Oscar. If we saw a little spark of the old Catherine in that tiny smile, this 31-second character examination is that smile magnified x 1000. Then we see what is probably my favorite bit in the entire movie. This indicates that Catherine is NOT over Morris, and still maintains a hope that he might come. We see that she has not been totally hardened after all–a bit of the old Catherine is still there, waiting and hoping for Morris to come. The little glimmer of optimism disappears as quickly as it came, and she immediately becomes angry with her aunt for asking Morris over. Her mouth turns up into a small, hopeful, optimistic smile when she hears the bell signaling Morris’ arrival. Take a look at her face, at 1:22 of the first video I embedded. However, de Havilland’s portrayal of Catherine gives us an incredibly real portrait of this woman, and it is magnificently clear that there many, many facets to Catherine. My reading on the ending is that Catherine has been so hardened by the constant abuse from her father and by the treachery of Morris that her only answer is to become jaded and cold, as they were. When he comes for her later that evening, instead of leaving to marry him, she turns the tables and commits her own act of desertion, leaving him pounding on the door and calling her name, while she ascends the stairs away from him. Catherine initially says it is too late for apologies, but then becomes strangely seductive with him, accepting his proposal for marriage. When her father dies, Catherine inherits his fortune and lives alone in the large house, rejecting any form of kindness or compliments. Two years later, Morris suddenly returns, asking for forgiveness for his desertion. ![]() In the wake of Morris’ desertion, Catherine, previously a sweet, naive girl, turns into a cold, distant woman. I am going to begin by giving you the video of the final scene so you may examine it at any point as you read.īy this time in the movie, we have learned that Morris’ intentions are not honorable, as he deserted Catherine when her father threatened to disinherit her if they married. Ultimately Morris’ true intentions are revealed, and the final scene is a chilling act of psychological manipulation and revenge. Montgomery Clift plays a charming suitor by the name of Morris Townsend, and Ralph Richardson is Catherine’s cold and undemonstrative father, suspicious of Morris’ motives. Catherine firmly believes that Morris’ intentions are correct, and the conflict between Catherine and her father becomes more escalated as the film progresses. The film was directed by William Wyler, and stars Olivia de Havilland in the title role of Catherine Sloper, a young and naive heiress set to inherit her father’s significant fortune. An intensely human story against the backdrop of straight-laced and cold 1840’s New York, I consider The Heiress to be not only one of the great films of the decade, but a real triumph in filmmaking. Catherine Sloper ascends the stairs in the final scene, leaving fortune-hunter Morris Townsend banging on the door.īrowsing through TCM’s Summer Under the Stars lineup a few weeks ago, I was very pleased to see one of my favorite movies of all time, The Heiress, scheduled for a primetime spot during TCM’s lineup of Montgomery Clift movies yesterday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |