Forever Amber (1947)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Kathleen Winsor (novel)
Jerome Cady (adaptation)

Release Date:

10 October 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

1660, England. Amber St. Clair aims to raise herself from a country girl to nobility, and succeeds, but loses her true love in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Ambition | Sexual Promiscuity | 1660s | Duel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Linda Darnell	...	Amber St. Clair
Cornel Wilde	...	Bruce Carlton
Richard Greene	...	Lord Harry Almsbury
George Sanders	...	King Charles II
Glenn Langan	...	Capt. Rex Morgan
Richard Haydn	...	Earl of Radcliffe
Jessica Tandy	...	Nan Britton
Anne Revere	...	Mother Red Cap
John Russell	...	Black Jack Mallard
Jane Ball	...	Corinne Carlton
Robert Coote	...	Sir Thomas Dudley
Leo G. Carroll	...	Matt Goodgroome
Natalie Draper	...	Countess of Castlemaine
Margaret Wycherly	...	Mrs. Spong
Alma Kruger	...	Lady Redmond

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #11495, Adult Audience)

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Peggy Cummins was originally cast as Amber, but proved unsuitable and was replaced by Linda Darnell.

Quotes:

King Charles II: [to his spaniels] Children, children, what distressing behavior.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shag (1989)

Women's Lib in Merry Olde England

"You've done very well for yourself, Amber."

With this line, Cornell Wilde's character shows himself a master of understatement. It is delivered coldly, with neither criticism nor respect.

FOREVER AMBER is the portrait of a peasant girl who refused to be destroyed by her poverty and the hopeless prospects awaiting her. She used her sexuality and her brains to become the King's consort.

This film presents a vivid portrait of life in England before the Cromwellian revolution. It was an amoral, extremely cynical, heartlessly cruel society.

Linda Darnell's performance is a tour de force. She manages to play the strumpet, while letting the audience see her strength of character shining through all the while. Her love for the fickle Bruce Carlton/Cornell Wilde is too deep for him to ever understand.

One of the most haunting episodes in classic films is the depiction of London in the grip of the Black Plague. Amber risks her life by staying at Bruce's side through his delirium and personally performing the surgery that saves him.

Amber's tragedy is one that every woman who has ever had to fight for herself in this world can recognize. The movie is far more than a period soap opera. In fact, with David Raksin's incredible orchestral score, the production could have provided the framework for the composition of a real opera.... La Boheme, move over!