Forever Amber

Moviecut—Forever Amber

source: Forever Amber

Just watched "Forever Amber" the other night on TCM and it was very riveting! I had seen this movie many many years before, and I do vividly recall the final scene when Amber from her window, was watching Carleton and son leaving for Virginia. The movie from the other night closed abruptly with Amber closing the window and the credits appeared. Something didn't seem right! I remember years ago, Amber getting some kind of invitation from the palace, and she immediately shifted her attention from Carleton and the boy to the royal invitation without another thought to her former lover. That scene defined Amber St.Clair in all its essence.

Otto Preminger is a director whose movies I've come to really admire and enjoy, from his early black and white noirs of the mid - 40's to his boundary-challenging movies of the mid-to-late 50's and his political thrillers of the early 60's. While he has probably never had the consistency to be accorded the reverence paid to, say Hitchcock or Ford, or more recently perceived auteurs like say Wyler and Hawks, I find myself rating many of his movies quite highly. How then, he landed this gig of adapting a popular, racy historical novel of the day for the big screen, is difficult to credit. It is what it is, as the phrase goes. It's a richly decorated costume drama concerning the rather unoriginal story of a baby girl, abandoned by her Cavalier family during the 17th Century English Civil War and left Moses-like at the door of a Puritan Roundhead middle-aged couple to be brought up in their image as a God-fearing do-gooder young woman, to be married off at the earliest opportunity to the local neighbour's son. Well, Moses young Amber isn't and when she starts to realise the effect of her dazzling beauty on men of all social positions, it's obvious she'll not be chained to a life of dull drudgery. Instead, she will unabashedly use her considerable attributes and feminine wiles to move her up the social ladder, in the end leading her all the way up into the orbit of the philandering King Charles II. The only trouble is she's still madly in love with her first and only love, the adventurer Bruce Carlton, also the father of her son. How will Amber's conflicting loyalties resolve themselves and will she ever find true love? All Preminger merely has to do here is set up his cameras and let the episodic moments occur in Amber's eventful life. Adapting chameleon-like to her surroundings, be they a prison or the Royal Court, her ruthless ambition and determination to succeed are unstoppable, with only two men able to thwart her, Carlton and the King. The Production Code was still in play and Preminger this early in his career wasn't about to test it as he would in the 50's, so a lot of Amber's shenanigans are diluted for the viewing public, even if its still fairly obvious to deduce that she didn't get ahead by playing the choir-girl. The movie certainly sprawls as Preminger piles in the major incidents of the courtesan's lurid life and he gets good performances from Linda Darnell in the title role and especially George Sanders as the sly old king, the one person better than Amber at practicing the dark art of deception. I enjoyed the film without ever really engaging with it, often admiring the backgrounds and costumes more than the drama itself. The film had a massive budget and it was Preminger's main job I guess to present the movie in such a way as to ensure it made its money back and that it did. It is possible to make a blockbuster movie which has lasting cinematic merit but "Forever Amber" isn't one of those and isn't really one of those I would choose to sit through again in a hurry.

The novel "Forever Amber" was wildly popular after debuting in 1944. But it also was banned in 16 states as well as abroad! Why? Because it was essentially a historical where the leading lady, Amber, sleeps her way from obscurity to the mistress of some of the most important men in the land. Today, it would be seen as somewhat tame...but in the 1940s it caused a sensation. Now this brings up a serious problem In the Hollywood of 1947, the Production Code made it virtually impossible to film the script unless huge changes were made in the story. Well, apparently Twentieth Century-Fox STILL didn't sanitize the story enough...and the Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the film. The movie was quickly withdrawn from theaters, scenes were re-shot and it returned to theaters....where it was wildly successful. Despite a huge price tag of $6,000,000, it went on to be the top grossing film of the year. I wonder how much of the Catholic Legion of Decency hubbub actually ended up HELPING the film! Linda Darnell stars as Amber St. Clair, a young girl from a good middleclass English family who lived during the Restoration period (when the monarchy was invited back to rule after the death of Cromwell in 1660). Amber is NOT a normal lady by any standard of the day and her family shocked when she not only refuses to marry the man they picked out for her but she then runs away to make her fortune. This essentially consists of sleeping her way up through the English gentry....with a brief period in which she slummed it with a highwayman. Throughout all her many affairs, she is most devoted to Bruce Carlton (Cornel Wilde)...though they never seem to connect up for long. When I watched the movie, I could tell some cuts had been made in a few places. One was odd, as she suddenly ended up pregnant...and you really weren't sure what happened there and it remained that way through much of the picture! Well, she obviously slept with a guy....but who? And, after the baby was born you don't hear any more about the baby until late in the story. Was the tike misplaced somewhere or perhaps taken by aliens and then returned? Who knows?! As far as the film goes, in many ways it's like a reworking of the Pre-Code film, "Red-Headed Woman"...in which Jean Harlow's character sleeps her way up through the social ranks. But of the two, "Red-Headed Woman" is the better film in many ways....mostly because it was much more open about the character's sexuality and the movie ended with the character receiving neither punishment nor learning a thing along the way! But with bowing to the Legion of Decency's demand for cuts, the film comes off as more episodic and confusing about Amber's sex life! Plus, let's be honest, the film is a lot less entertaining when it's less sleazy. As far as the production goes, it looks nice in rich Technicolor...but is also a tad stilted and dull after a while.

"Forever Amber" was one of those ambitious studio projects that was in trouble from the beginning. The result is nowhere near as bad as one would guess. Based on a novel by Kathleen Winsor (who had definitely been thinking about the story since she saw Gone with the Wind 8 years earlier), the story concerns Amber, a great beauty at the time the Stuarts were restored to the English throne. Amber is ambitious for the finer things in life, a la Madame Bovary. She leaves her life of poverty, and the man she is told to marry, and gets a ride to the big city with Bruce Carlton (Cornel Wilde) and Lord Almsbury (Richard Greene), two adventurers who want to get the money promised them by King Charles II (George Sanders) for their last voyage and then go off to sea again. Amber falls in love with Carlton immediately. The two have a romance, but for Carlton, it's more a dalliance. However, he leaves Amber pregnant. She's cheated out of the money he gave her by two con artists, and she's arrested. Amber escapes prison with the help of a highwayman (John Russell), who uses her in his robbery gang; she seduces the victim to go with her, and he's robbed. One night, as the police chase her, she runs into the home of Captain Rex Morgan (Glenn Langan). Morgan tells Amber that if she takes a job on the stage, she will have the king's protection. So the next thing we know, Amber is a performer. Eventually she winds up as a favorite of King Charles and lives in the palace with her son. The film started out starring Peggy Cummins, who apparently wasn't doing a very good job. She was replaced with Linda Darnell, who is as gorgeous as a blond as she was as a brunette. Though she's very sensual as Amber, she's not particularly vixenish or fiery. Her costumes are absolutely stunning. The whole color production is stunning, sumptuously produced. As one might guess, the story was mighty scandalous in the '40s, with Amber sleeping her way to the top, as it were. The film received horrific publicity because the Catholic church demanded changes, and if they didn't get them, the film would get the feared "C" rating (condemned) which meant Catholics couldn't go and see it. The changes were made, the film was rated B (objectionable in part for all) but because of all the bad publicity, it didn't make much money. "Forever Amber" moves a little slowly, and Darnell has no chemistry with Cornell Wilde. Not only that, but there isn't much film footage showing why she fell for him. The cast is pretty good, with a charming performance by Richard Greene and a nice character turn by Anne Revere. Sanders is a real standout, as is Richard Haydn as the Earl of Radcliffe. Wilde doesn't register much; he could never warm up the camera, but he looks good here. A derivative film, but worth seeing for Darnell's great beauty.

Story takes place in 1660 England. Strong willed 16 year old Amber St. Clair (Linda Darnell) falls in love with bland Bruce Carlton (Cornel Wilde). She follows him to England but he doesn't love her. So Amber decides to become rich and powerful no matter what. The book this was based on was a HUGE bestseller in the 1940s. It was (for its time) a racy book that makes it clear that Amber sleeps her way to the top. Also the book was historically accurate and (even at 800+ pages) a fascinating read. 20th Century Fox took the book, jettisoned all the racy stuff (more or less) and spent great care and no expense in bringing this to the screen. It's in beautiful color with gorgeous costumes and sets. Sure, there are plot holes and bad acting but this is never dull and speeds along. Even at 140 minutes it didn't seem too long. Darnell is beautiful and pretty good in the lead. George Sanders matches her playing Charles II. He's clearly enjoying himself. Richard Greene is good also popping up as a friend of Ambers. However Wilde is pretty bad as Carlton--you keep wondering what Amber sees in him. The silly wig he wears doesn't do him any favors. It's kind of funny to realize this was considered pretty dirty back in 1947. It wouldn't raise an eyebrow today and, as it is, the movie never makes it clear that Amber is sleeping around. So it's colorful, elaborate and well worth catching. The book was better but this is easier than reading it! An 8.

While watching "Home Sweet Homicide"there was a reference to the novel this movie is based on,and,oh well I had seen it as a youth and hardly remembered other than I liked it.Time to revisit.What a idea for a novel over 70 years old,set in a period over 350 years old,England under King Charles 11.The story may seem like a pot boiler in todays terms,but for its day it had to be something as I'm sure this movie was,and for me,still is.Forget that Linda Darnell, Cornel Wilde, Richard Greene,George Sanders and a host of other great actors of that day made this fine film,or that Otto Preminger directed.Whats important is the story.Based on a novel by Kathleen Winsor we have a epic story of a love consummated but never achieved.By that I mean even though the two principals conceive a child on a lonely rainy night the faiths intervene to prevent them from having a true relationship despite the far reaching unbelievable attempts of the woman and the seemingly indifference of the man at that moment.Although the faiths are not done with them until………….

Wow, this movie is long. It also makes "Mary Poppins" look like a BBC production, as the number of English actors in this War and Peace sized epic of ye Olde England during the Restoration can be counted on one hand... and that's probably being generous. I was just amazed how remarkably American everyone in this movie sounds, with the sole exception of George Saunders and Jessica Tandy. Even "Black Jack Mallard" sounds just like John Wayne. Yet it can't be any worse than its source, Kathleen Winsor's lengthy yet mediocre wartime pulp novel, which is essentially a thousand pages of lines like: "It was not until after he was dead that Amber realized how much Rex Morgan had meant to her." Despite the long running time and the coma-inducing script, Linda Darnell tries her best to portray Amber "I want much more than this provincial life" St. Clare, who goes from Puritan Miss to Material Girl within about 15 minutes (and 15 costume changes). I agree with the previous reviewer that this movie would have been much more enjoyable if there had been some glimmering of a spark between Linda Darnell and Cornell Wilde. But Wilde is a crashing bore, and probably the least attractive of all of Amber's boyfriends. God only knows why she finds him so fascinating... no doubt because it was in the script. After the increasingly slutty Amber jumps in and out of various situations like a Jack in the box, the movie grinds to a halt when Cornell Wilde comes back to London with his wholesome new American missus. **SPOILERS** In a situation more than reminiscent of "Madama Butterfly," Wilde then wants to take Amber's illegitimate kid back to the Colonies with him, where he can raise him away from all that decadent old world nastiness. Although, unlike Butterfly, Amber doesn't commit ritual suicide (although I rather kept wishing she would) she lets the kid go, and... that's it. Linda Darnell turns towards the camera, emoting, and roll credits. That is, all in all, quite possibly the lamest ending I've seen in any movie, ever. Mainly one watches a movie like this for the eye candy, but the sets are nothing to write home about and the costumes only bear a passing resemblance to actual Restoration fashion. Full-bottomed wigs and petticoat breeches are nowhere to be seen, all the doublets are padded thickly in the shoulders like gangster suits, and Linda Darnell herself wears a succession of poofy dresses indistinguishable from a hundred other costume epics done in the '40s. "Frenchman's Creek," filmed three years before, actually does a far better job in the costuming department (and with honest-to-God English actors in the lead roles!) Also, for old swashbuckling Hollywood glamor, Errol Flynn's "The Adventures of Don Juan" is a thousand times more entertaining, and for anyone with a passing interest in the period of time that "Amber" strives to portray, should immediately hie themselves to a video store and get "Restoration" with Sam Neill and Robert Downey Jr. "Forever Amber" is right in that it seemingly takes forever, and goes nowhere. It is, in a word, interminable.

This is actually a response to an ill-considered and inaccurate review by someone calling themselves neroville. In this stolid discussion he(or she) makes the unfounded assertion that "everyone" sounds American and says also you can count the English actors on one hand. This, of course is patently and demonstrably false. Certainly Linda Darnell (who replaced English actress Peggy Cummings) is unable to even suggest an Englishwoman. Cornel Wilde isn't much better, though he does harden his A's unconvincingly (cahn't). Glenn Langan doesn't do it either and John Russell, who did mostly westerns, could be described as sounding like John Wayne. However there are a number of other people who do sound English since they are of English descent. They include: George Sanders, Richard Greene, Richard Haydn, Margaret Wycherly, Leo G. Carroll, Jessica Tandy and Robert Coote just to name a few. So unless you've got a seven-fingered hand... Don't tar the good with the bad. Get it right, neroville!