The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved. Directors: Booth Tarkington (from the novel by), Orson Welles (script writer) Stars: a list of 21 titles created 03 Dec 2010 a list of 30 titles created 15 Feb 2014 a list of 35 titles created 07 Oct 2014 a list of 44 titles created 26 Dec 2014 a list of 23 titles created 14 May 2015 Title: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) 7.9/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins. See more awards » Photos An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi. Director: Orson Welles Fascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot. Director: Orson Welles The Moorish general Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality it is all part of the scheme of a bitter ensign named Iago. Director: Orson Welles An American adventurer investigates the past of mysterious tycoon Arkadin...placing himself in grave danger. Director: Orson Welles In fog-dripping, barren and sometimes macabre settings, 11th-century Scottish nobleman Macbeth is led by an evil prophecy and his ruthless yet desirable wife to the treasonous act that ...

See full summary » Director: Orson Welles The career of Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff as roistering companion to young Prince Hal, circa 1400-1413. Director: Orson Welles An unassuming office worker is arrested and stands trial, but he is never made aware of his charges. Director: Orson Welles A documentary about fraud and fakery. Director: Orson Welles A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in a Mexican border town. Director: Orson Welles A trio of classy card sharps targets the socially awkward heir to brewery millions for his money, until one of them falls in love with him. Director: Preston Sturges A young woman discovers her visiting uncle may not be the man he seems to be. Director: Alfred Hitchcock A woman has two lovers. When one man finds out about the other, he acts as a villain and chases after the protagonist. Director: Orson Welles Edit Storyline The young, handsome, but somewhat wild Eugene Morgan wants to marry Isabel Amberson, daughter of a rich upper-class family, but she instead marries dull and steady Wilbur Minafer.

Their only child, George, grows up a spoiled brat. Years later, Eugene comes back, now a mature widower and a successful automobile maker. After Wilbur dies, Eugene again asks Isabel to marry him, and she is receptive. But George resents the attentions paid to his mother, and he and his whacko aunt Fanny manage to sabotage the romance. A series of disasters befall the Ambersons and George, and he gets his come-uppance in the end. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> Real life screened more daringly than it's ever been before! See more » Genres: 10 July 1942 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Der Glanz des Hauses Amberson See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Tim Holt and Anne Baxter walk past a nickelodeon movie theater advertising a film starring Jack Holt , Tim's father. However, the scene takes place a considerable amount of time earlier than that in which Jack Holt began his career in silent films (1914). See more » Goofs In scene where Lucy and George say goodbye while walking down the street, Lucy's hair is pulled behind her neck.

In closeup, as she watches George leave, her hair is in ringlets hanging in front of shoulders, then reverts to original hairdo when she goes into pharmacy. See more » Quotes [first lines] Narrator : The magnificence of the Ambersons began in 1873. Their splendor lasted throughout all the years that saw their midland town spread and darken into a city. In that town, in those days, all the women who wore silk or velvet knew all the other women who wore silk or velvet, and everybody knew everybody else's family horse and carriage. The only public conveyance was the streetcar. A lady could whistle to it from an upstairs window, and the car would halt at once and wait for her, ... See more » Crazy Credits All of the credits except the RKO logo, the film's title and the copyright notice are recited orally (by Orson Welles) at the end of the film, not written out onscreen. As Welles recites the names of the production crew, we see such items as a motion picture camera when he says "Director of Photography", a pair of hands turning knobs as he says the words "Sound Recording By", etc.

See more » Connections Referenced in Lianna (1983) See more » Soundtracks String Quintet In E, Op. 13 No. 5: Minuet (uncredited) User Reviews (Philadelphia, PA) – See all my reviews People may initially be thrown by the title MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. Some may consider it a stuffy period piece before seeing it if they know only of the novel. Don't make this mistake if you have not witnessed this cinematic milestone. The title, of course, is caustic and refers to the 19th century family sarcastically. Who else but the great Orson Welles could follow up a masterwork like CITIZEN KANE with such a cynical and important drama. The "magnificence of the Ambersons" is neither grand, nor respectable. It is tragic and doomed, epitomized by young "Georgie" (played by Tim Holt), whose main ambition in life is to be a yachtsmen. He is buried under the lore of his family name and he is headed towards his well-deserved "comeuppance".

The film itself, like many of Welles' great pictures, was absolutely butchered by the studio (RKO Pictures) and destroyed the credibility of the young auteur. In many ways, the mess surrounding the film's release, the tragedy and loss of the Ambersons, and the theme of modern technology "taking over" all come together to leave all parties disappointed. Disapproving moviegoers miscalculated the message, led the studio to make the cuts behind Welles' back, and placed a lot of artists in some bad situations. (For an excellent account of this truly remarkable story behind the film, read Joseph McBride's bio "Orson Welles") 50 minutes of film were burned, however, the 88 minutes left for us to see contain some incredible, even revolutionary moments. Joseph Cotten plays his consummate "2nd place" character, a man unable to have his real true love. (See THE THIRD MAN, NIAGARA) He is in love with an "Amberson" (probably the only righteous family member played by Dolores Costello) but loses out to a more "respectable" man.

The essential themes of industrialism and change that will ruin the Amberson family stem from Cotten's position as an inventor. He has created the horseless carriage, or automobile, however primitive, which is continuously trashed by the hateful "Georgie". Cotten's invention is part of the growth and change that many families of the late 19th century may have ignored, only to have their lives passed over and fortunes lost. Plot elements aside, this central theme is the powerful backbone that leads to the inevitable destruction of the narrow-minded Tim Holt. The latter aspects come across on screen so memorably because of Orson Welles' continued experimentation with film. Incredible b & w photography, at first a hazy glow depicting the early prime years of the Ambersons, then a stark, dark force portraying shame and sadness, is amazing to see. Overlapping dialogue is used even better here than in KANE and Welles' narration is so omniscient and on the mark, relaying the town's thoughts on this once grand family. Long tracking shots throughout the constantly changing town go unnoticed unless seen a couple of times. When you realize the passage of time through these devices, you will be in awe.

Again, there is tragedy in both the film itself and its shoddy release and treatment in 1942. If only Welles stayed in America at the time and protected THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS from the long arm of the near-sighted studio system, he may have had #'s 1 and 2 on the AFI's list of 100 Greatest American films. 93 of 99 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: The Magnificent Ambersons [Region 2] The Magnificent Ambersons [Region 2] 4.3 out of 5 stars 119 93 people found this helpful 5.0 out of 5 starsEnjoy The Film Even More By Doing A Little Research! BySean Ryanon January 26, 2000 For those truly interested in what Welles' original version of "The Magnificent Ambersons" would have been like, I strongly recommend Robert Carringer's "The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction" and Peter Bogdanovich's "This Is Orson Welles".

Both books provide considerable detail regarding the significant re-editing and re-shooting which took place on this film. What remains in the released version of Welles' second film is astonishing, but much of the story's logic was lost in the re-cutting, as was important character motivation. Exactly why did the Ambersons lose their fortune? What propelled George to rebuff Eugene? Welles' original version answered these questions and presented an incredible vision of a world overrun by industry. The destruction of this original version of the movie is simply the greatest injustice done to American cinema. Alas, we can still marvel at the film's beautiful performances, the gorgeous "snow ride" scene, the astonishingly realistic "kitchen" scenes and Welles' incredible narration. By all means, watch this movie, but do some reading about what it was meant to be and then use your imagination to see the greatest American movie ever made. 50 people found this helpful 3.0 out of 5 starsSHAME ON WARNER BROTHERS!!! ByRichard Masloskion February 15, 2012 It is impossible to assign an accurate star rating to this product.

The actual movie - although butchered by a pack of money-mad pirates prior to the film's initial release back in 1942 - was most probably as magnificent as its title indirectly suggests. What remains of Welles' original vision is still magnificent. The dastardly doings of meddlers who cut here and there with all the perverse glee of cinematic Jack the Rippers and the replacement footage shot by hacks for an idiotic restructuring of the original film go far in compromising the impact and power of what was most assuredly in the original version. All of RKO's inept attempts to make the film a better one have merely ruined a masterpiece. What happened is somewhat akin to far lesser artists cutting apart Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and rearranging the apostles and even leaving a few out of the picture all together. So, in its original form, AMBERSONS would most likely have garnered a full five stars. Compromised by morons and strictly viewed as just a movie...three stars seems more honest. Sadly, on these boards we commentators cannot accord votes to a product's various elements.

I wish that such a system were enacted by Amazon, as too often folks have to explain why a certain something only gets a few stars - with the reason often being that the stars are for the quality of the item and not the quality of what the item is presenting. In this case - after having waited years for THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS to finally become available on DVD - what does Warner Brothers do to make this moment memorable? Pitifully, hardly a thing! No commentary whatsoever - even though the story of the plight of this ruined masterwork is a tale that must be told! No assemblage via frame grabs or story boards of what the actual Welles version was like before it was previewed in Pomona! (The picture of Joe Cotton and Agnes Moorehead on the DVD's backside is, ironically, a picture from the original ending before it was cut out and destroyed and its ending sickeningly re-shot.) But perhaps the shabbiest thing of all is that the DVD has NO chapter stops!!! WB initially released this film as part of a package deal when the recent 60th anniversary release of CITIZEN KANE graced store shelves late last year.

Back then, if you wanted AMBERSONS you had to shell out for both films. Now it is available individually. I am happy it is finally on more durable DVD and not tangle-prone tape. But....is this the best Warner Brothers can do??? Doesn't this already savaged and mutilated masterpiece deserve much, much better????? I think so!!! P.S. Am I in the Twilight Zone or what? Who is Georgia Backus and why is she the only person listed beside the DVD title here on Amazon? The IMDB tells us that she played a "matron" in AMBERSONS. Wouldn't it have been far wiser to list Agnes Moorehead or Anne Baxter or Dolores Costello instead???? Talk about neglect! The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Stark white letters on two black backgrounds in two title cards announce: A MERCURY PRODUCTION THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS From The Novel by BOOTH TARKINGTON After fading to another black screen, Orson Welles in an impressive, radio-announcer style voice-over narrates nostalgic segments taken from the first portion of Tarkington's literary work.

In the film's prologue (first ten minutes), the outer perimeter of the frames are edged or rimmed with a soft-focus, faded, vignetted effect, suggesting the time period and its fashions and giving the look of old faded photographs in an album. In the film's short beginning, all the major characters are economically introduced. The tone of the eloquent, beautiful narration chronicles youthful nostalgia and the changing pace of life in society. The film begins with a memory-image of a disappearing, magnificent age - from an earlier, gentler era of agrarianism and a landed aristocracy that was fast being replaced by the growth of industrialism, urbanism, and an industrial bourgeoisie. Welles' magisterial narration is in the left column, and the action of the film is described in the right column: NARRATION: The magnificence of the Ambersons began in 1873. Their splendor lasted throughout all the years that saw their Midland town spread and darken into a city. In that town in those days, all the women who wore silk or velvet knew all the other women who wore silk or velvet and everybody knew everybody else's family horse and carriage. The only public conveyance was the streetcar.

A lady could whistle to it from an upstairs window, and the car would halt at once, and wait for her, while she shut the window, ... put on her hat and coat, ... went downstairs, ... found an umbrella, ... told the 'girl' what to have for dinner...and came forth from the house. Too slow for us nowadays, because the faster we're carried, the less time we have to spare. DESCRIPTION OF FILM ACTION: As the film slowly opens from a black background, there is a straight-on shot of a Gothic brick house [it is not the Amberson mansion - which is across the street], with horses and buggies passing by and respectably-costumed figures on the sidewalk. A quaint old horse-drawn streetcar from the Western-Midland Transit Co. (No. 1) pulls into view from left to right and stops in front of the house. Passengers leisurely get off and mill around, as the car waits for a neighbor of the Ambersons, Mrs. Johnson, who has signalled the car from her upstairs window with a cry of 'Yoo-hoo' (not a whistle), to come downstairs, hastily run forward and eventually to take her seat on the streetcar.

Faintly, the soundtrack plays Bernard Herrmann's version of Emil Waldteufel's ' 1878 waltz Toujours ou jamais.' NARRATION: [This short montage on changing male fashions was inserted here by RKO Studios into the original sequence of the prologue - slightly earlier than Welles had intended.] During the earlier years of this period, while bangs and bustles were having their way with women, there were seen men of all ages to whom a hat meant only that rigid, tall silk thing known to impudence as a stovepipe. But the long contagion of the 'Derby' had arrived; one season the crown of this hat would be a bucket, next it would be a spoon. Every house still kept its bootjack. But hightop boots gave way to shoes and Congress gaiters, and these were shaped through fashions that shaped them now with toes like box ends and now with toes like the prows of racing shells. Trousers with a crease were considered plebian; the crease proved that the garment had lain upon a shelf, and hence was ready-made.

With evening dress, a gentleman wore a tan overcoat, so short that his black coat-tails hung visible five inches below the overcoat. But after a season or two, he lengthened his overcoat till it touched his heels, and he passed out of his tight trousers into trousers like great bags. DESCRIPTION OF FILM ACTION: Fashions and customs of the day are rapidly being changed, in this fashion montage sequence. In a crowded saloon bar with swinging doors, men in stovepipe hats drink heartily. (Protagonists in the drama to follow - but now presented anonymously - model the older and newer styles.) Wilbur Minafer [unrealistically, this is in fact George Minafer, the only child of Wilbur] in a stovepipe hat and frock-coat sits in a boat and rows his pretty sweetheart Isabel with a parasol over her shoulder out onto a lake. A stovepipe hat is knocked off a man's head - Major Amberson's head - by a snowball, symbolic of their replacement by new, more democratic styles.

Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), a young representative of the new industrial bourgeoisie who narcissistically values the latest modern clothing, stands before an oval mirror and tries on two new styles of derby/bowler hats. He also uses a bootjack to try on new styles of shoes. High-top boots are soon superceded by shoes and Congress gaiters. Humorously, a vain-minded Morgan tries on more new fashions in front of a long, ornately-framed mirror - two kinds of shoes, two changes of pants (he balances on one leg as he struggles to put them on), and he models two fashionable evening overcoats (with accompanying baggy trousers). Morgan leaves his front door, bearing a smartly-wrapped gift package under his arm. NARRATION: In those days, they had time for everything: Time for sleigh rides, and balls, and assemblies, and cotillions, and open house on New Years, and all-day picnics in the woods, and even that prettiest of all vanished customs: the serenade.

DESCRIPTION OF FILM ACTION: It is now wintertime as the seasons pass by very rapidly - a counterpoint to the notion that "they had time for everything." The house is pictured with snow on its roof. Horse-drawn sleighs pass the front gates from left to right. Boys throw snowballs at each other. As the serenade is mentioned, the season dissolves and is transformed into the season of spring and then summer and then to twilight on a moon-lit summer night. The house is strung with pretty lanterns. Then, the image turns dark, the moon disappears, and the only light that glows is on the left of the frame. NARRATION: On a summer night, young men would bring an orchestra under a pretty girl's window, and flute, harp, fiddle, cello, cornet, bass viol would presently release their melodies to the dulcet stars. DESCRIPTION OF FILM ACTION: One summer evening, Eugene runs with his bass fiddle and a group of other youthful musicians with their instruments into the foreground to serenade Isabel Amberson under her window.

But he is a little drunk and tipsy - he trips and rolls over backwards, making a clown of himself as he crunches and splinters his bass viol beneath him (in obvious contradiction, the narration speaks of the release of melodies to the dulcet stars). At the upstairs window behind lace curtains, Isabel witnesses the spectacle when he disgraces himself and is sprawled before her. The young man looks up to appeal to the woman at the window with lace curtains - she is amused, but because she is an Amberson, she is displeased by the awkward display. She frowns and turns away reprovingly, withdrawing and spurning Eugene. (Visually, Eugene's disappointing collapse outside the house speaks volumes about the nature of his courtship for Isabel and his long-term relationship with her for the next generation.) [This next scene should have immediately followed the men's fashion montage in the prologue, with Eugene dressing himself up - and leaving his front door - to look good and call for Isabel after the embarrassing incident on her front lawn.] Against so homespun a background, the magnificence of the Ambersons was as conspicuous as a brass band at a funeral. Eugene Morgan walks along the street (Amberson Blvd.) in daylight.

He bears a smartly-wrapped gift package under his arm for a lady. At the Amberson gate, he doffs his hat toward "us" and toward various townsfolk. Like a Greek chorus [one of whom is Agnes Moorehead who plays Aunt Fanny], they narratively comment on the many splendors of the Amberson dwelling, inhabited by the richest family in the town: There it is, the Amberson mansion. The pride of the town...Sixty thousands dollars worth of woodwork alone. Hot and cold running water, upstairs and down. And stationary washstands in every last bedroom in the place. Eugene approaches the Amberson's front door with a frosted panel and rings the bell. He has come to call on the beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello, wife of John Barrymore) again, the only daughter of Major Amberson. Sam (J. Louis Johnson), the black butler who answers the door informs him that Isabel is "not home." On a second attempt with a bouquet of flowers, he is again rejected and told: "No sir. Miss Amberson ain't at home to you, Mr.

Morgan." The group of anonymous bystanders, again functioning like a Greek chorus outside the house that gossips about the public and private lives of the Ambersons, describe how the proud, powerful Amberson family disapproves of Eugene's antics and awkward courtship (and his non-aristocratic status): I guess she's still mad at him...Isabel. Major Amberson's daughter. Eugene Morgan's her best beau. Took a bit too much to drink the other night right out here and stepped clean through the bass fiddle serenadin' her. Isabel is described as "a delightful-looking young lady"- she is also being courted a dependable and respectable, but dull, pallid, colorless and passionless gentleman named Wilbur Minafer (Don Dillaway). At the wheel of his new experimental "horseless carriage," Eugene - an industrial pioneer, sputters the machine into view, bringing another bouquet of flowers for his sweetheart, but he again suffers rejection and disappointment from her outside an ice cream shop.

[After his frustrated but hopeful attempt to win Isabel's love, Eugene disappears from the film for awhile, as the story follows instead the life of Isabel's adored progeny - George.] Within a barber shop (a typical site for male gossip), Uncle Jack (Ray Collins) turns around toward the camera from the barber's chair and describes Wilbur to the audience: "Wilbur? Wilbur Minafer? I never thought he'd get her. Well, what do ya know? Well, Wilbur may not be any Apollo, as it were, but he's a steady young business man." A neighbor of the Ambersons, an underwear-dressed Mrs. Foster (Anne O'Neal) gossips to a group of women in a dressmaker's shop (a typical site for female gossip) about the planned Amberson-Minafer marriage - a love-less marriage of convenience after Eugene's disgraceful and clumsy courtship: What she minds is his (Eugene) makin' a clown of himself in her own front yard. Made her think he didn't care much about her. She's probably mistaken but it's too late for her to think anything else now. The wedding will be a big Amberson-style thing.

Raw oysters floating in scooped-out blocks of ice. The band from out of town. And then Wilbur will take Isabel on the carefulest little wedding trip he can manage. And she'll be a good wife to him. But they'll have the worst-spoiled lot of children this town will ever see...She couldn't love Wilbur, could she? Well, it'll all go to her children, and she'll ruin them. As time passes, her prophetic prediction about Isabel's marriage (and child) is close to the truth: (Welles' voice in narration) The prophetess proved to be mistaken in a single detail merely...Wilbur and Isabel did not have children; they had only one. (Mrs. Foster's voice intones) Only one! But I'd like to know if he isn't spoiled enough for a whole carload. (Welles' continues) Again, she found none to challenge her. George Amberson Minafer, the Major's one grandchild, was a princely terror. Although there is "only one" child - he is a spoiled, insufferable, hateful, daredevil brat dressed in velveteen and with golden ringlets in his hair.

Young George Minafer (Bobby Cooper) - [he is not an Amberson] is introduced while riding recklessly through town in a tiny carriage, whipping his buggy pony. Careening by, he upsets a gardener with a hoe. Although indulged and adored by his mother, everyone in town longs to see George receive his ultimate "come-uppance": There were people, grown people they were, who expressed themselves longingly. They did hope to live to see the day, they said, when that boy would get his come-uppance. The words of the off-screen narrator are questioned by a married couple in the street: Wife: His what? Husband: His come-uppance! Something's bound to take him down someday. I only want to be there. When derisively called "girlie curlie" by the son of the local lawyer Benson (Erskine Sanford), the pair fight and wrestle on the lawyer's front lawn. Benson views the scrappy fight from a window, exasperatedly rapping on the glass: "Boy!

Boy!" After he comes out and drags the two boys apart, George rebelliously punches him in the stomach when Benson calls him a "disgrace" and a "bad little boy." As the scene cuts, he loudly and angrily tells the parent to "Go to ..." [The word 'Hell' is blatantly censored as Benson shouts back "What?!"] In the garden of the Amberson mansion after the fight, George (wearing a kilt and tam-o'-shanter) is reprimanded by his parents and aged patriarch Major Amberson (Richard Bennett) as he stands formally in front of them. [The characters in the scene look like tableaux figures posed before an artistic backdrop of an old painting.] George, positioned in the foreground, dominates the scene and shows total disregard for his accusers or family behind him.

Wilbur, squeezed to the right side of the frame, reads only a sentence from a letter written by a concerned citizen about George's foul use of language: "This was heard not only by myself but by my wife and the lady who lives next door." Taking center stage in a lordly manner, George conceitedly and haughtily denounces the neighbor as a "liar," "story-teller" and as "riff-raff." After inaccurately referring to himself as an Amberson, he causes his grandfather to laugh boisterously: "Grandpa wouldn't wipe his shoe on that old storyteller...I mean, none of us Ambersons wouldn't have anything to do with them. I'll bet if he wanted to see any of us, he'd have to go around to the side door." Although his doting, sheltering mother requests that he never use bad language again, George half-heartedly assents to her wishes - with a mischievous last word: Isabel (to George): You must promise me never to use those bad words again. George: I promise not to... (pause) unless I get mad at somebody.

During the holidays, George Minafer (Tim Holt) returns at age twenty as a sophomore from his schooling without any change in his arrogant personality and air of superiority - he passes through town again like a charioteer in a horse and buggy, whipping one of the bystanders: "...nothing about him encouraged any hope that he had received his come-uppance." A ball is held at the Amberson mansion in George's honor and as an old friend of the family, Eugene is invited to the winter's social function - the last magnificent Amberson occasion: Cards were out for a ball in his honor, and this pageant of the tenantry was the last of the great long-remembered dances that everybody talked about. [From this point on until much later in the film, the voice-over narration ceases.] Eugene Morgan returns to his hometown after eighteen years' absence as a widower, bringing his now-grown, attractive daughter Lucy Morgan (Anne Baxter in her film debut) back to the town where he was born and to the place where he was previously denied admission.

In a long, flowing dolly/tracking shot, Eugene and Lucy enter from the snowy outside into the two front doors of the exquisite, splendid mansion the night of the lavish party - winddraft-swept and with the sound of tinkling crystal chandeliers and Christmas tree ornaments. When Eugene is reunited with Isabel in the hallway, he obviously still retains his love for her, and she with him. The Magnificent Ambersons | Film from RadioTimes The Magnificent Ambersons Our Score by David Parkinson Orson Welles's follow-up to Citizen Kane is one of cinema's flawed masterpieces. Adapted from Booth Tarkington's novel, it tells the compelling story of the decline of a wealthy family in the face of sprawling industrialisation. Joseph Cotten plays the aspiring inventor whose love for the beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello) is continually thwarted by family pride and whose rise provides the counterpoint to their fall. We shall never see the director's true vision, as executives at RKO felt the film was too long and the plot depressing. They ordered over 40 minutes of cuts, destroyed the footage and tacked on a happy ending directed by production manager Freddie Fleck.

Out of the country on location, Welles was powerless to do anything about it. It says much for his genius that this is still a brilliant exercise in nostalgia and film technique. Summary A successful car manufacturer is reunited with his lost love, now a wealthy high society widow, and hopes to give their relationship a second chance. Her selfish son strives to keep them apart, as industrial progress leaves the whole family facing an uncertain future. Period drama, written, directed and narrated by Orson Welles, starring Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. Cast & Crew The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) Torrent Downloads - download free torrents! is the place to go for all your classic movies. ........................................................................................................................................ The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) The young, handsome, but somewhat wild Eugene Morgan wants to marry Isabel Amberson, daughter of a rich upper-class family, but she instead marries dull and steady Wilbur Minafer. Their only child, George, grows up a spoiled brat. Years later, Eugene comes back, now a mature widower and a successful automobile maker.

After Wilbur dies, Eugene again asks Isabel to marry him, and she is receptive. But George resents the attentions paid to his mother, and he and his whacko aunt Fanny manage to sabotage the romance. A series of disasters befall the Ambersons and George, and he gets his come-uppance in the end. Joseph Cotten ... Eugene Morgan Video : 637 MB, 1009 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 640*480 (4:3), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5, Audio : 60 MB, 96 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR, ........................................................................................................................................ People may initially be thrown by the title MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. Some may consider it a stuffy period piece before seeing it if they know only of the novel. Don't make this mistake if you have not witnessed this cinematic milestone. The title, of course, is caustic and refers to the 19th century family sarcastically.

Who else but the great Orson Welles could follow up a masterwork like CITIZEN KANE with such a cynical and important drama. The "magnificence of the Ambersons" is neither grand, nor respectable. It is tragic and doomed, epitomized by young "Georgie" (played by Tim Holt), whose main ambition in life is to be a yachtsmen. He is buried under the lore of his family name and he is headed towards his well-deserved "comeuppance". The film itself, like many of Welles' great pictures, was absolutely butchered by the studio (RKO Pictures) and destroyed the credibility of the young auteur. In many ways, the mess surrounding the film's release, the tragedy and loss of the Ambersons, and the theme of modern technology "taking over" all come together to leave all parties disappointed. Disapproving moviegoers miscalculated the message, led the studio to make the cuts behind Welles' back, and placed a lot of artists in some bad situations.

(For an excellent account of this truly remarkable story behind the film, read Joseph McBride's bio "Orson Welles&quot 50 minutes of film were burned, however, the 88 minutes left for us to see contain some incredible, even revolutionary moments. Joseph Cotten plays his consummate "2nd place" character, a man unable to have his real true love. (See THE THIRD MAN, NIAGARA) He is in love with an "Amberson" (probably the only righteous family member played by Dolores Costello) but loses out to a more "respectable" man. The essential themes of industrialism and change that will ruin the Amberson family stem from Cotten's position as an inventor. He has created the horseless carriage, or automobile, however primitive, which is continuously trashed by the hateful "Georgie". Cotten's invention is part of the growth and change that many families of the late 19th century may have ignored, only to have their lives passed over and fortunes lost. Plot elements aside, this central theme is the powerful backbone that leads to the inevitable destruction of the narrow-minded Tim Holt.

The latter aspects come across on screen so memorably because of Orson Welles' continued experimentation with film. Incredible b & w photography, at first a hazy glow depicting the early prime years of the Ambersons, then a stark, dark force portraying shame and sadness, is amazing to see. Overlapping dialogue is used even better here than in KANE and Welles' narration is so omniscient and on the mark, relaying the town's thoughts on this once grand family. Long tracking shots throughout the constantly changing town go unnoticed unless seen a couple of times. When you realize the passage of time through these devices, you will be in awe. Again, there is tragedy in both the film itself and its shoddy release and treatment in 1942. If only Welles stayed in America at the time and protected THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS from the long arm of the near-sighted studio system, he may have had #'s 1 and 2 on the AFI's list of 100 Greatest American films. ........................................................................................................................................

If one could have a single wish regarding movie history, surely it would be the rediscovery of the nearly one hour cut out of what seem to be all existing prints of this! Even with the tampering, it is a gorgeous movie. To me, it is superior to "Citizen Kane." Wells himself was partially at fault for its being butchered: Had he stayed in the United States and not pursued a new, eventually unfulfilled dream, he surely could have fought RKO. The narration by Welles at the beginning is like the dream storytelling of any child or young person. The words so beautiful, the tones so calm and mellifluous! And the final credits, in which he reads the crew and then the cast, are astonishingly moving. In between is a touching story that is acted and filmed with rare integrity. Dolores Costello is a haunting presence. Agnes Moorhead, as the Neurotic aunt, gives a performance rarely equaled in movie history.

Stanley Cortez was cinematographer for three great movies (and many other fine ones): "The Magnificent Ambersons," "Night of the Hunter," and "The Naked Kiss." Each relies strongly on its look and Cortez created three very different, memorable canvases. One fan hope against hope that the lost footage turns up in someone's basement, unlikely as that is. Even so, once seen this movie is never forgotten. ........................................................................................................................................ As most reviewers have stated, Welles' film suffered at the hands of studio interference and it is to the film's credit that, despite such butchery, it still remains a marvellous piece of entertainment. The emotional story revolves around family relationships, about love denied, unrequited or made to suffer. It is also a social portrait of the failure of one family to come to terms with progress (symbolised by the motor car in the film). Tim Holt is excellent as George Minafer and I think we are meant to view him ambivalently: he is both a loveable ne'er do well as well as a spoiled egotist who puts his emotions/feelings before everyone else's. Agnes Moorehead deservedly won praise for her portrait of the plain Aunt Fanny.

Her final disintegration (blackly comic when George thinks she's scalding herself at a hot boiler only to be told that there's no water due to their reduced circumstances) mirrors the descent of the Ambersons into obscurity and genteel poverty. The only memory of their faded glory is in the names they give to the new roads leading to the suburbs. As with ‘Citizen Kane', wealth does not always protect people from unhappiness. And it's interesting to note how the Amberson's huge mansion, once the social centre of town with its balls & serenades, becomes an empty derelict monument to a by-gone age. In a sense, the whole film is ambivalent. You can't stop progress as Eugene (Joseph Cotton) states in the dramatic scene where he & George clash over motor cars, but Gene is also aware that things might not necessarily change for the better. Life will become faster etc. After George receives his comeuppance, I quite liked the symbolic irony of him falling victim to a car accident. Finally, it would be nice if production companies could have the courage of their convictions and actually left capable, intelligent directors to make films without interfering with their vision.

Prod companies are still obsessed with preview viewings and initial reactions to films. Yes, sometimes a film might need altering, and most studios want a decent return on their investment but it would be good if they could keep faith even if a film receives an initially hostile reaction. Many great works of art have been initially misunderstood; and great films, like great art, stand the test of time. ........................................................................................................................................ In the newspaper reporting the auto accident that injured George Amberson Minafer, the left hand column is "Stage Views" featuring the picture and byline of "Jed Leland", the theater critic in Citizen Kane (1941), also directed by Orson Welles. Leland was played by Joseph Cotten, who plays Eugene Morgan in this movie. RKO chopped 50 minutes of the film and added a happy ending while Orson Welles was out of the country. The footage was subsequently destroyed; the only record of the removed scenes is the cutting continuity transcript. The scenes with the automobile ride with the snow were filmed in an abandoned icehouse instead of the RKO stage reserved for such shots.

However, it took much longer than anticipated because the equipment kept having problems that were brought on by the cold (film jamming because of frozen condensation, lenses fogging up, etc.). Because of this everyone involved, except for Orson Welles, contracted a terrible head cold. On its original release, the film was shown as a second feature on a double bill with Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942). Tim Holt and Anne Baxter walk past a movie theater advertising a film starring Jack Holt, Tim's father. The preview of the movie occurred a short time after Pearl Harbor. Because of this, most of the audience review cards stated that they didn't want to see a depressing movie, and that it should have more laughs and a happy ending. With Orson Welles out of the country, the production team had to make the cuts and changes without his input. Orson Welles suspected that author Booth Tarkington based the lead character George on Welles himself for a variety of reasons: Tarkington was a friend of the Welles family, Welles had a reputation for being a spoiled, difficult child and Welles's full name was George Orson Welles, so he was called George or Georgie while growing up.

The earliest Morgan Automobile shown in the film is actually an 1892 Philion Road Carriage, one of the oldest existing American built cars and the only one produced. It can still be seen at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. After a disastrous preview, it was clear to the suits at RKO that the film was too long, too dense and too sombre. Welles, however, had decamped to Brazil where he was in the midst of working on a film called "It's All True" (which was never completed). Welles had been shipped out there under the auspices of Nelson Rockefeller, one of the chief shareholders in RKO, to make a film boosting US-South American wartime relations. With him out of the way, however, the onus of re-cutting and trimming the film fell on editor Robert Wise. The 50 minutes that Robert Wise cut out of the original film were destroyed, ostensibly to free up vault space at RKO. There was conjecture though that this was to prevent Welles attempting to make any changes to what was left of his film.

Ironically, RKO's reshot ending for the film - a much more uplifting affair than the one that Welles had intended - is much closer to the ending in the novel. A print of Welles' rough cut was allegedly sent to the director on location in Brazil. It has yet to be found. The first major film to have nearly all its credits narrated rather than appear on screen. Producer Bryan Foy was one of many who felt that the film was too long. Upon hearing that 40 minutes had to be excised, Foy is alleged to have said: "Just throw all the footage up in the air and grab everything but 40 minutes." From a budget of $1 million, the film lost over $600,000 - a huge amount of money for a small studio like RKO. To persuade RKO head George Schaefer to approve this film as a follow-up to Citizen Kane (1941), Welles played him the Mercury Theater of the Air radio version. It is claimed that Schaefer fell asleep during this.

Nevertheless, he greenlighted the film for $1 million, an unheard-of move for a studio whose policy was not to make films that cost more than $750,000. The set for the Ambersons mansion was one of the most elaborate and expensive sets ever built at the time. While Welles would direct "Ambersons" during the day, at the same time each night he would act his part of a Turkish policeman in Norman Foster's film Journey Into Fear (1943). In the absence of Welles, the re-editing of the film was left in the hands of two men: Robert Wise, the physical editor, and Jack Moss, the RKO studio representative. A phone was put into Moss's office that fed directly to Welles's hotel room in Rio. According to future director Cy Endfield, who was working with Moss at the time, often when the phone rang, suspecting it was Welles with his latest batch of comments and suggestions for the re-edit, Moss would simply not answer the call. Similarly, when Moss received lengthy telegrams from Welles with more suggestions and thoughts, he would throw them away.

Welles demanded that the inside of the Ambersons mansion be built as if it was a real house, with continuous rooms of four walls and ceilings. This enabled his camera to roam around the house freely and shoot from any angle. The consensus of opinion according to nearly everyone who saw the original conclusion - which included a tour of the decaying Amberson mansion - was that it was much more powerful than the tacked-on "happy" ending. Welles later described the 88 minute version as if "it had been edited by a lawnmower". Composer Bernard Herrmann had his name removed from the credits in protest at the way RKO messed about with his work. Aunt Fanny did not feature in Welles' radio adaptation. Twenty years later, Welles was still planning an epilogue starring the older Joseph Cotten, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead and Tim Holt. After attending the first preview, RKO president George Schaefer wrote to Welles: "Never in all my experience in the industry have I taken so much punishment or suffered as I did at the Promona preview". Robert Wise's first directing experience, although uncredited.

Attempts to send Robert Wise to Brazil so that he could work alongside Welles were prevented due to wartime travel restrictions. Robert Wise was one of the many vocal detractors of the critically derided 2002 Alfonso Arau mini-series remake. One of former silent star Dolores Costello's last roles. She was forced to retire from the film business as her face had become badly scarred by early film make-up which was highly caustic. Agnes Moorehead's signature scene - which secured her an Academy Award nomination - in which she bemoaned the turn of the Ambersons fortunes and her inability to provide for George, was actually cobbled together from original footage and hastily reshot scenes. The latter had no input from Welles. Ray Collins was the only member of the cast to have featured in Welles' radio version in 1939. The main poster for the Ambersons was designed by Norman Rockwell. Sets were re-used by Val Lewton in Cat People (1942) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944) to help save production costs resulting from a ridiculously small budget.

The re-cutting of this film caused a deep rift in Orson Welles' friendships with Robert Wise and Joseph Cotten. Cotton later wrote several letters of apology to Welles, and the two later reconciled. Welles and Wise, however, remained on acrimonious terms for the rest of their lives. According to Peter Bogdanovich, Orson Welles said many times that this film could've been "much better than Citizen Kane (1941)." Also, while Welles always refused to watch any of his films, he was in a hotel room in the 70s with many friends and ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’ was on TV, and he was talked into watching the rest of it. It is said that he was teary throughout, and confessed that although the ending didn't work, he still liked the film.

related torrents The Magnificent Ambersons The Magnificent Ambersons Thursday February, 16 2017 at 10:30 AM Films in BOLD will Air on TCM * | "They said we'd be artistically free When we signed that bit of paper They meant let's make a lot of money And worry about it later" -- The Clash, "Complete Control" The world is littered with damaged artwork, whether it's broken classical sculpture or poorly edited novels. But for film buffs there are two mutilated masterpieces that immediately come to mind: Greed (1925) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). The fact that even in their present, truncated form both are powerful, essential works only raises never-ending questions of "What If?" Director Orson Welles had long been interested in Booth Tarkington's novel The Magnificent Ambersons (which had been filmed as Pampered Youth in 1925). Apart from Welles' fascination with 1890s America he was also drawn to the novel's exploration of social illusions and the changes technology creates as it follows the fortunes of a Mid-Western family over two decades.

In fact, Welles previously adapted the novel for CBS radio's Campbell Playhouse in October 1939, with guest star Walter Huston. So when he was looking for a follow-up to Citizen Kane (1941), this was one of the things he considered after rejecting a thriller set in Mexico, a film of Cyrano de Bergerac and a story based on wife murderer Landru to star Charlie Chaplin (the latter eventually became Monsieur Verdoux (1947) without Welles' involvement). The trick was to convince RKO studio executive George Schaefer to produce The Magnificent Ambersons, which Welles did by playing a recording of the radio broadcast. Welles claimed that Schaefer went to sleep after listening to a few minutes of it, but in any case Ambersons was approved by the studio and Welles now had a new film project. Unfortunately, he no longer had total control over the production as he had with Citizen Kane. Due to some earlier financial maneuvering, The Magnificent Ambersons and Journey Into Fear (1942, in which Welles acted only) didn't come under his original contract.

Welles started working on the Ambersons screenplay in the summer of 1941, while aboard the yacht of fellow director King Vidor. Welles was also producing a full radio schedule and a live magic show (with Dolores Del Rio as his assistant). Filming on The Magnificent Ambersons started October 28th and ended January 22nd. (Journey Into Fear had started earlier in January and some days Welles would work on Ambersons in the morning and Journey at night.) Welles hired some of his former Mercury Theatre performers like Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. In fact, Ray Collins was the only actor from the original radio version of Ambersons that was cast in the film. Welles himself had played George on the radio but now brought in B-Western actor Tim Holt. Years later Welles said Holt was "One of the most interesting actors that's ever been in American movies, and he decided to be just a cowboy actor." Strangely enough, cinematographer Gregg Toland, who was so important to Citizen Kane, was not hired for this movie; in his place was Stanley Cortez, hired just the day before start of filming.

Most of the filming was done on the RKO lot. The Ambersons' house was a specifically constructed set with walls that could move up or out to allow camera passage. Some winter scenes were shot in a L.A. icehouse so the actors' breath would be visible though the intense cold caused lights to pop and the constant smell of fish annoyed the cast and crew. Shooting was tightly organized and everything seemed to go according to plan. Though nobody realized it at the time, The Magnificent Ambersons became an ill-fated project when Welles was personally asked by Nelson Rockefeller to make a film in Latin America as part of the wartime Good Neighbor Policy. Naturally Welles agreed not realizing the chain of events this would follow. On February 2nd 1942, he left for Miami where he spent three days with editor (and future director) Robert Wise working on a rough cut of Ambersons. Wise was planning to concentrate on the editing in Brazil while Welles would be filming the carnival for his U.S. government commissioned film. This never happened due to sudden wartime travel restrictions though a copy of the film's rough cut was sent to Brazil for Welles to work on when he had the time.

(Don't get your hopes up that this print still exists. Many Welles scholars have tried to track it down with no luck. Besides, the print would most likely have disintegrated in that climate.) Another stroke of bad luck occurred on March 17th at a now infamous preview of the film in Pomona, California. The standard story is that the audience was hostile and disapproving, which sent the studio into a panic over what they considered Welles' excesses. But critic/historian Jonathan Rosenbaum has examined the 125 original comment cards and reports that 53 were positive; in fact, many were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. When you consider that the preview of the lengthy and admittedly somber Ambersons occurred immediately after a showing of the lightweight Dorothy Lamour musical, The Fleet's In, the audience response seems much more favorable than reported. Nevertheless, the studio executives considered the Pomona preview a disaster but their attitudes may have been influenced by the general dislike of Welles in Hollywood, a factor which had resulted in Citizen Kane winning only one Oscar. Welles sent a 37-page memo listing revisions to Wise, fully expecting to participate in the further editing.

Instead, at the studio's insistence Wise started not only recutting the film - "hacking" might be a better word - but even shooting new scenes. Also shooting additional footage were second-unit director Freddie Fleck and production manager Jack Moss. This resulted in Welles' elegant tracking shots being reduced to bits and pieces and many of the darker scenes tracing the family's fall were abbreviated or altogether eliminated. Producer David Selznick requested that a copy of Welles' rough cut be submitted to the Museum of Modern Art but this was considered too expensive and never done. Even worse, the studio eventually pulled the plug on the Latin American film, claiming to be alarmed at Welles' prolific spending, an unfounded charge. (Welles spent years unsuccessfully trying to gain control of the South American footage; surviving material was eventually edited by others and released in 1993 as It's All True.) After two more previews were held, The Magnificent Ambersons was eventually released on July 10, 1942 with a running time of 88 minutes.

This was about 30 to 40 minutes shorter than the first preview (unfortunately, there's no accurate account of that running time) but probably even more footage from Welles' original cut was deleted. The excised footage was destroyed by the studio so that no reconstruction could be made - the same thing that happened to Greed (and later to The Red Badge of Courage 1951, among others). The final version ofThe Magnificent Ambersons did indeed lose money for the studio but then so had Citizen Kane so it's hard to imagine that all the reworking actually improved the box office returns. Still, The Magnificent Ambersons is now recognized as a classic and some film scholars consider it even better than Citizen Kane. Recently, Welles' original shooting script was used by director Alfonso Arau for a remake - which apparently runs even longer than Welles' original - and premiered at the Munich Film Festival in July 2001. It recently aired on the A & E Network to mixed reviews. Through much of the 1970s Peter Bogdanovich worked on lengthy interviews with Welles (eventually published as This Is Orson Welles).

One night while Welles was watching TV with Bogdanovich and friends he happened to be flipping through channels when The Magnificent Ambersons appeared on the screen. Welles went past it but others in the room wanted to watch it so he reluctantly agreed. Welles watched quietly, occasionally pointing out where scenes had been cut, before standing up with his back to the others. They had seen the tears in his eyes. Producer/Director: Orson Welles Screenplay: Orson Welles, based on the novel by Booth Tarkington Production Design: Albert S. D'Agostino Cinematography: Stanley Cortez, Russell Metty, Harry J. Wild Costume Design: Edward Stevenson Film Editing: Jack Moss, Mark Robson, Robert Wise Original Music: Bernard Herrmann, Roy Webb Principal Cast: Joseph Cotten (Eugene Morgan), Dolores Costello (Isabel Amberson Minafer), Anne Baxter (Lucy Morgan), Tim Holt (George Amberson Minafer), Agnes Moorehead (Fanny), Ray Collins (Jack), Erskine Sanford (Roger Bronson), Richard Bennett (Major Amberson). BW-89m. Closed captioning. Descriptive Video. by Lang Thompson

Question: Which 1942 film starring Tim Holt, Joseph Cotton, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Dolores Costello and Richard Bennett was adapted by Orson Welles from a novel by Booth Tarkington?
Answer: The Magnificent Ambersons