IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.7K
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In seventeenth-century England, Amber St. Clair aims to raise herself from country girl to nobility, and succeeds, but loses her true love in the process.In seventeenth-century England, Amber St. Clair aims to raise herself from country girl to nobility, and succeeds, but loses her true love in the process.In seventeenth-century England, Amber St. Clair aims to raise herself from country girl to nobility, and succeeds, but loses her true love in the process.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Edmund Breon
- Lord Redmond
- (as Edmond Breon)
Margot Grahame
- Bess
- (scenes deleted)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the film for its "glamorization of immorality and licentiousness", and it demanded the studio (20th Century-Fox) make changes so the film would be removed from their '"Condemned" list. The studio defiantly refused, initially, but when the actual boycotts began to occur, it caved in. During a period of about two months, Fox and representatives of the Legion of Decency discussed how the film could be changed to meet the Legion's approval. Among the scenes added was a narrated prologue over the credits which said the main character would be punished for sins, a new ending in which Amber watches Lord Carlton leave for Virginia and ends up accepting a supper invitation from the King's equerry, plus the deletion of scenes suggesting Amber had many lovers and the addition of new scenes to condemn her immorality. After these changes were made, the Legion of Decency took the film off the "Condemned" list and moved it to the "Class B-Objectionable in Part" listing, but the film's bookings had been severely cut due to the earlier condemnation. Fox president Spyros P. Skouras later apologized to the Legion, not for offending them but for refusing to conform to them.
- Quotes
King Charles II: [to his spaniels] Children, children, what distressing behavior.
- Crazy creditsPrologue: "1644--The English Parliament and Oliver Cromwell's army have revolted against the tyrannical rule of Charles I. England is aflame with civil war..."
- Alternate versionsA couple of weeks after its record breaking premiere, studio heads finally caved into Catholic protests and re-cut the movie. Among the changes:
- References to Amber's sex life and any acts of non-marital romance were cut.
- SPOILER: A new ending in which Amber watches her son go off with Bruce.
- Redubbed dialogue in the form of Cornell Wilde repentative of his behaviour: "In Heaven's name, Amber, haven't we caused enough unhappiness?" and "May God have mercy on us both for our sins."
- Also a prologue was added that condemned the character's actions: "This is the tragic story of Amber St. Claire... slave to ambition.. stranger to virtue... the wages of sin is death".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)
Featured review
Lavish costumer from best-selling historical romance...
Kathleen Windsor's racy best-seller lost some of its punch in transition to the screen--mainly because censorship restrictions forced a complete whitewash of Amber St. Clair's exploits in bed-hopping. What is left is mild compared to today's graphic depiction of sex--but since the story unfolds against an interesting historical background in London during the reign of Charles II, it is worth viewing. Linda Darnell was not the first choice for Amber--Peggy Cummins began the role but after filming several scenes was dismissed as being too immature. Linda makes a voluptuous, willful Amber. Cornel Wilde is excellent as Bruce Carlton, her true love--although an unrequited one by the film's end. George Sanders does a terrific job as Charles II, spouting some of the film's wittiest dialogue and clever in his cat-and-mouse game with Amber. Richard Haydn as the Earl of Radcliffe gives perhaps the most interesting performance in the entire film, particularly during the fire sequences. The London fire is staged with authority, as are the scenes involving the Black Plague. David Raksin's musical background is a sumptuous, richly textured score (now available on CD from Marco Polo records). A film full of rich details under Otto Preminger's direction--but not as strong because of censorship restrictions and the inability to tell the story the way Windsor wrote it. The ending is entirely too abrupt in the video print with the original lengthier ending missing for some reason. Fans of Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde will especially like this one.
helpful•311
- Doylenf
- Apr 8, 2001
- How long is Forever Amber?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Amber, die große Kurtisane
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 18 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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