The Heiress (1949)

Director
William Wyler

Main cast
Olivia de Havilland; Montgomery Clift; Ralph Richardson; Miriam Hopkins; Vanessa Brown

Genres
Drama, Romance

Description
Dull and plain Catherine (Olivia de Havilland) lives with her emotionally distant father, Dr. Sloper (Ralph Richardson), in 1840s New York. Her days are empty -- filled with little more than needlepoint. Enter handsome Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), a dashing social climber with his eye on the spinster's heart and substantial inheritance. William Wyler's Oscar-winning film is an adaptation of the Henry James novel Washington Square.


Similar movies

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job - showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
Set in 1870's New York, a spinster heiress is courted by a much younger, penniless man, much to the chagrin of her over-protective father, and must decide whether to spend the rest of her life alone, or marry a man who is interested in her only because of her inheritence.
An ambitious young man wins an heiress's heart but has to cope with his former girlfriend's pregnancy.
A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.
The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
A modern, punk adaptation of Shakespeare's classic. Told irreverently, this film attempts to impact the viewer in the same way theatre-goers were effected in Shakespeare's time. Bawdy, Violent, Humorous, and Romantic.
Lucy Honeychurch (Elaine Cassidy, Ghost Squad) and her nervous chaperone embark on a grand tour of Italy. Alongside sweeping landscapes, Lucy encounters a suspect group of characters — socialist Mr. Emerson and his working-class son George, in particular — who both surprise and intrigue her. When piqued interest turns to potential romance, Lucy is whisked home to England, where her attention turns to Cecil Vyse (Laurence Fox, Inspector Lewis). But now, with a well-developed appetite for adventure, will Lucy make the daring choice when it comes to love? Andrew Davies offers a new adaptation of the E.M. Forster classic.
Film adaptation of a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical based on a nun who becomes a governess for an Austrian family.
An auto-dynasty family experiences scandal, adultery, incest and power struggles in a juicy adaptation of Harold Robbins's best-selling novel. Ruthless patriarch Loren (Laurence Olivier) hires racecar driver Angelo (Tommy Lee Jones) to build a more efficient vehicle against the wishes of his grandson (Robert Duvall). But things get even messier when Angelo romances two women in Loren's life -- his great-granddaughter and his mistress.
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
In director Vicente Aranda's adaptation of the classic opera, a French writer documents the seductive power of the beautiful Gypsy Carmen (Paz Vega), who turns her charms on a young soldier (Leonardo Sbaraglia), awakening his passions but ultimately leading to tragedy. Jose becomes obsessed with Carmen and finds himself unable to control his jealousy, which forces him to make a deadly decision in this fiery story of love and betrayal.
Tells the story of Fisher Willow, the disliked 1920s Memphis débutante daughter of a plantation owner with a distaste for narrow-minded people and a penchant for shocking and insulting those around her. After returning from studies overseas, Fisher falls in love with Jimmy, the down-and-out son of an alcoholic father and an insane mother who works at a store on her family's plantation.
Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger in the woods.
In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a doctor must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier.
In director Baz Luhrmann's contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.
Edwardian England. A precocious girl from a poor background with aspirations to being a novelist finds herself swept to fame and fortune when her tasteless romances hit the best seller lists. Her life changes in unexpected ways when she encounters an aristocratic brother and sister, both of whom have cultural ambitions, and both of whom fall in love with her.
Amid big-budget medieval pageantry, King Richard goes on the Crusades leaving his brother Prince John as regent, who promptly emerges as a cruel, grasping, treacherous tyrant. Apprised of England's peril by message from his lady-love Marian, the dashing Earl of Huntingdon endangers his life and honor by returning to oppose John, but finds himself and his friends outlawed, and Marian apparently dead. Enter Robin Hood, acrobatic champion of the oppressed, laboring to set things right through swash buckling feats and cliffhanging perils!
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.
A young single mother, Mercedes, is about to marry solid, dependable Frank, when a dashing aviator, Clay, comes into her life. But when pilot Clay crash-lands on a small, remote island he sends the inhabitants into a tailspin.
This lovely, 1991 adaptation of Elizabeth Von Arnim's novel has a superb cast and a tone so mellow you can feel your pulse get slower. Josie Lawrence and Miranda Richardson play a pair of unhappily married women who rent an Italian villa for a month, sharing the rent with a crusty Englishwoman (Joan Plowright) and a lonely aristocrat (Polly Walker). Sun, rest, sinking into the green grass for long naps--they all have a soulful effect on the quartet, and then on the men in their lives who make a surprise visit. Mike Newell (Into the West) directs with seeming effortlessness, and it is impossible not to be swayed by the promise of restoration for these burdened characters--or for anyone alive. Wonderful performances all around, including a particularly sensitive one by Alfred Molina and a very funny one by Jim Broadbent.
Tragic Anna leaves her cold husband for dashing Count Vronsky in 19th-century Russia.
A young novelist, Richard Harland, meets beautiful Ellen Berent on a train where they fall in love and are soon married. When tragedies take first his handicapped young brother, then his unborn son from him, Harland gradually realises that his wife's insane jealousy may be the cause of the tragedies in his life. Yet another shock awaits them all, as Ellen's emotions become uncontrollable.
A love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain, and the fortunes of her eccentric family, struggling to survive in a decaying English castle. Based on Dodie Smith's 1948 novel with the same name.
Me and Orson Welles is a period-drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant.
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
Tale of torrid and forbidden love between Christie and Bates in the English countryside. Based on L.P. Hartley's novel by the same name, with screenplay by Harold Pinter. Won the Palme d'Or in Cannes and four BAFTA awards. Was nominated for eight more BAFTAs as well as two Oscars.
Adapted from a 1964 novel of the same name, the film follows a day in the life of George Falconer (Colin Firth), a British college professor reeling with the recent and sudden loss of his longtime parter. This traumatic event makes George challenge his own will to live as he seeks the console of close friend Charley (Juliane Moore) who is struggling with her own questions about life.
True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a patient named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Marisa Paredes is Leocadia ("Leo") Macias, a woman writing “pink” romance novels under the alias of Amanda Gris that are very popular all across Spain. Unlike her romantic novels, her own love life is troubled. Leo has a less than happy relationship with her husband Paco, a military officer stationed in Brussels then later in Bosnia, who is distant both physically and emotionally.
Paper Heart follows Nick and Charlyne on a cross-country journey to document what exactly "love" is. Interviewing ministers, happily married couples, chemists, romance novelists, divorce lawyers, a group of children and more, the determined young girl attempts to find definition and perhaps even experience the mysterious emotion.
Renowned 70-year-old poet Lee Jeok-yo falls for a 17-year-old girl named Eun-gyo. Upon realizing his love for the teenager, the poet goes through emotional turmoil and self-destruction, while willing to give up his fame as one of the nation’s most respected literary figures. Involved in the love triangle is Lee's student Seo Ji-woo, a novelist in his 30s who also becomes obsessed with the girl.
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One of them an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, the other only days away from walking down the aisle. Both meet two beautiful women on their trip and become romantically involved with them.
Based on the novel of the same name by Edith Wharton, it is about a husband and wife (Ethan and Zeena), who need an extra hand around the house due to Zeena's debilitated body and constant illness. The young woman who joins them is a beautiful, spirited person. She and Ethan fall in love much to the dismay of Zeena. Written by Jason Ihle
The ten year marriage of of Caroline Van Dyke and Greg Grannard is falling apart. A young woman, Allison, plots to become his second wife. Caroline's friend, novelist Julian, has long loved her and now sees his chance, but she refuses him and goes to Paris to file for divorce. Julian follows but on hearing that Greg has fallen on financial hardship Caroline returns to help him. Greg tells Caroline that his now-wife Allison is pregnant and Caroline realizes that she loves Julian and to travel to China with him and be married. Allison and Greg have a bitter row in the car, which then smashes into a tree killing Allison and injuring Greg. Caroline tells Julian she will stay with Greg until he is well, but marries Julian in the hospital with a promise to join him as soon as she can.
College nerd, Agastya Rao alias Champu, has a crush on Piya Goel, and is thrilled when she invites him to a dance, only to be heart-broken when he finds out that she really digs another guy. Years later, when he finds out that his college sweetheart is about to divorce her husband, decides to try his hand at wooing her. He gets the unsolicited help of one-time Bollywood wonder Suhaan Kapoor, who accompanies Agastya to New York, assists him in successfully wooing and proposing to Piya. On the night of their engagement, Agastya will find out that Suhaan only wanted to help him because of Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act - so that could relieve him of the financial burden of paying alimony to Piya, who was the girl he had secretly married much against the wishes of the entire Goel clan. Watch what happens when Suhaan finds out that he has a daughter named Suhaani - and that he still has strong feelings about Piya.
Romance novelist Liam Bradley (Dylan Bruce) has already found massive success with three books written under the pen name Gabriel August, but he's mysteriously unknown to his legions of readers. With his first book written as a way to heal after a broken relationship, Liam has slowly become disheartened with writing strictly for romantic fantasy, something evident to a sweet, but honest, journalist who reviews books, Sophie Atkinson (Amy Acker), whom he meets by chance on a plane. The two begin a tentative relationship in Sophie’s home town of Portland, Oregon, where Liam has come to find inspiration for his newest entry. Liam’s agent puts him on the spot with a long-planned reveal of Gabriel August’s true identity, but Sophie doesn’t know of his public persona. The longer Liam avoids telling her the truth, the deeper a hole he digs for himself. Will their romance survive once his true identity comes to light?
In the late 1940's, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez were America's notorious "Lonely Hearts Killers". Their lethal scam was simple; they would swindle and then viciously murder lovelorn war widows who would answer their personal ads in which Ray would describe himself as a sexy Latin Lover. Based on a true story.
When Catherine Morland is given the opportunity to stay with the childless Allen family in Bath, she is hoping for an adventure of the type she has been reading in novels. Soon introduced to society, she meets Isabella Thorpe and her brother John, a good friend of her own brother, James. She also meets Henry Tilney, a handsome young man from a good family and his sister, Eleanor. Invited to visit the Tilney estate, Northanger Abbey, she has thoughts of romance but soon learns that status, class and money are all equally important when it comes to matters of the heart.
This remake of the 1946 movie of the same name accounts an affair between a seedy drifter and a seductive wife of a roadside cafe owner. This begins a chain of events that culminates in murder. Based on a novel by James M. Cain.
When his wealthy grandfather finally dies, Jason Stevens fully expects to benefit when it comes to the reading of the will. But instead of a sizable inheritance, Jason receives a test, a series of tasks he must complete before he can get any money. Abigail Breslin and Lee Meriwether also star in this coming-of-age drama based on the novel by Jim Stovall.
In Scotland 1874, Jack is born on the coldest day ever. Because of the extreme cold, his heart stops beating. The responsible midwife in Edinburgh finds a way to save him by replacing his heart with a clock. So he lives and remains under the midwife's protective care. But he must not get angry or excited because that endangers his life by causing his clock to stop working. Worse than that, when he grows up, he has to face the fact he cannot fall in love because that too could stop his delicate heart.
A lesbian hires a male escort to break the heart of the bisexual woman who has just dumped her.
Man and woman (Peter Dobson and Samantha Mathis) fall in love in a heart transplant facility. They are both attracted to a little girl (Mary Matilyn Mouser) who turns out to be the orphan of their heart donors...
A washed up golf pro working at a driving range tries to qualify for the US Open in order to win the heart of his succesful rival's girlfriend.
"A Millionaire's First Love" focuses on Kang Jae-Kyung's struggle with a clause in his grandfather's will that says he will only get his inheritance if he graduates from a high school in the country. Relocated into the mountains, he finds puppy love with a naive country girl. Can love change the spoiled urbanite and awaken his gentler side?
Born in Dehra Dun, temperamental and ambitious Kamna changes her name to Kamini, hires Babu as her Manager and becomes one of the most sought-after heroines in Bollywood. As a publicity stunt and to get the attention of film-maker Karan Johar, she recruits Rahul to pose as her childhood sweetheart and future husband - which result in nothing but insecurities for both...
Brian Cox stars as Jacques, the curmudgeonly owner of a gritty New York dive bar that serves as home to a motley assortment of professional drinkers. Jacques is determinedly drinking and smoking himself to death when he meets Lucas (Dano), a homeless young man who has already given up on life. Determined to keep his legacy alive, Jacques deems Lucas is a fitting heir and takes him under his wing, schooling him in the male-centric laws of his alcoholic clubhouse: no new customers, no fraternizing with customers and, absolutely no women. Lucas is a quick study, but their friendship is put to the test when the distraught and beautiful April (Isild Le Besco) shows up at the bar seeking shelter, and Lucas insists they help her out.
Novalee Nation is a 15-year-old Tennessee transient who has to grow up in a hurry when she's left pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend on a roadside in Sequoyah, Okla., and takes refuge in the friendly aisles of Wal-Mart. In short order, some eccentric, kindly strangers "adopt" Novalee and her infant daughter, helping them buck the odds and build a new life.
Phir Kabhi tells the story of two high school sweethearts who rekindle their romance at a school reunion decades later at their old age.
Whatever became of Robin Hood after his famed tale of good deeds ended? Now you can find out, in this sequel that takes place years after Robin and his merry men bested the Sheriff of Nottingham. After following Richard the Lionhearted to the crusades, Robin (Sean Connery) returns to Sherwood Forest to find things drastically changed. Audrey Hepburn plays the stalwart Marian … who's joined a nunnery!
Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. Two daughters are the titular opposites.
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
A man learns he will inherit a fortune if he marries -- by 7 p.m. today.
The setting is the east shore of the Caspian Sea (today's Turkmenistan) where the Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov has been fighting the Civil War in Russian Asia for a number of years. After being hospitalised and then demobbed, he sets off home to join his wife, only to be caught up in a desert fight between a Red Army cavalry unit and Basmachi guerrillas. The cavalry unit commander, Rahimov, "convinces" Sukhov to help, temporarily, with the protection of abandoned women of the Basmachi guerrilla leader Abdullah's harem. Leaving a young Red Army soldier, Petrukha, to assist Sukhov with the task, Rahimov and his cavalry unit set out to pursue fleeing Abdullah.Sukhov and women from Abdullah's harem return to a nearby shore town. Soon, looking for a seaway across the border, Abdullah and his gang come to the same town...
Amar, Prem and Meet are longtime friends who have gone through every phase of growing up together and are now bored of their insipid married lives. To add a little spice to their lives they plan a wild adventure at their college reunion! When fun turns into something more insidious and deceitful, they find themselves being led astray and right into a seductive web of danger. Packed with innuendo and double meaning, this is an adult comedy based on a strong undertone of sex.

© Valossa 2015–2024