The Magnificent Ambersons (film)
*The Magnificent Ambersons* is a black-and-white drama film directed by Orson Welles, released in 1942. It follows the decline of the Amberson family over two generations in Indianapolis during the late 1800s, set against the backdrop of industrialization and social change in America. The narrative explores themes of nostalgia and the struggle to hold onto the past as the characters confront shifting societal dynamics and emerging technologies. The film's protagonist, George Amberson Minafer, embodies the tension between privilege and responsibility, leading to complex familial and romantic entanglements.
Originally, Welles had a longer version of the film that was reshaped by RKO Studios due to mixed audience reactions at its premiere, resulting in significant cuts that altered its storyline and themes. Despite these challenges, *The Magnificent Ambersons* was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Agnes Moorehead. Its cinematography, praised for its innovative techniques, contributed significantly to the film’s mood and impact, although much of the original score by Bernard Herrmann was lost during post-production, leading to his decision to omit his name from the credits. Ultimately, the film is regarded as a significant, though flawed, work in Welles's career, reflecting the era's cultural shifts and the personal turmoil of the characters involved.
The Magnificent Ambersons (film)
- Release Date: 1942
- Director(s): Orson Welles
- Writer(s): Orson Welles
- Principal Actors and Roles: Anne Baxter (Lucy Morgan); Dolores Costello (Isabel Amberson Minafer); Joseph Cotten (Eugene Morgan); Tim Holt (George Minafer); Richard Bennett (Major Amberson); Ray Collins (Jack Amberson); Agnes Moorehead (Fanny Minafer)
- Book / Story Film Based On: The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Magnificent Ambersons is a black-and-white American drama by Orson Welles. It followed Welles’s renowned Citizen Kane, which was his debut film released a year earlier and a blockbuster hit.
The film tells the story of the Amberson family over two generations, detailing its rise and fall, complex relationships, as well as the social, economic, and technological changes that were impacting American life at the time. It looks at how one family is trying to hold onto the past while the present and future are happening, with the feeling that time is running out on the past.
The original film was long and purely Welles’s creation when he handed it to RKO Studios. Welles subsequently left the United States to make another film while The Magnificent Ambersons was being edited in post-production. Audiences’ reactions to the film’s initial showing had been sour and unimpressive, which led to the studio’s imposed cutting and editing of the film. The film was praised for its cinematography but the final cut left the film disconnected and contrary to Welles’s vision. Even so, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards but did not win in any category.
Plot
The film takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the late 1800s when industrialization in the United States is beginning to flourish. The Ambersons are a well-to-do and socially important family. To the shock of many in the community, Isabel Amberson breaks off her engagement with Eugene Morgan because of his awkwardness and her family’s higher social status, as well as an embarrassing incident for which she cannot forgive him. She agrees to marry Wilbur Minafer. Isabel gives birth to George, who becomes the center of her life. She spoils him and because he is the heir to his family’s fortune, he lives fabulously and acts privileged. He has no interest in taking a job or any responsibility.
After George returns home from college, his family throws a big party. It’s a major town event. Isabel’s former love, Eugene, has been living elsewhere since his marriage and is now a widower. He returns to Indianapolis with his daughter Lucy. His love for Isabel (and hers for him) is rekindled. George falls for Lucy even though she is completely unimpressed with him. He mocks her father’s invention, a horseless carriage, which comes to save the day when he and Lucy have a mishap in a horse-drawn sleigh. He also teases his Aunt Fanny, who is single and danced with Eugene at the party, saying she should marry him. Soon the family is distraught over the death of Wilbur Amberson, Aunt Fanny’s brother. The family’s fortune—in more ways than one—begins to fade.
George proposes to Lucy, who rejects him. He blames Eugene for his daughter’s response and ridicules Eugene’s silly invention and auto factory. Soon George learns about the relationship that his mother and Eugene had in the past and how the flame has been rekindled. Because of George’s animosity toward Eugene, Eugene tells Isabel that she must choose between them. Even though he loves her dearly, Eugene knows that George will never accept him. Isabel chooses her son and they decide to take a European trip together. George tells Lucy about the voyage and bids farewell, saying that he and his mother will not be returning.
News travels back to Indiana that Isabel became very ill on the trip, and when she returns she does not have long to live. Eugene tries to visit her before her death, but her condition does not allow it. Even though Isabel’s dying wish is to see Eugene one last time, her wish is not realized.
After Isabel’s death and her father’s death, the family fortune is nearly gone. George is forced to take a job, which ridicules his self-importance. To his misfortune, he is hit by a car and breaks both legs. Lucy and Eugene learn about George’s accident and go to visit him. After seeing Lucy, George asks for forgiveness for his behavior. He, Lucy, and Eugene reconcile.
Significance
At the initial screening of The Magnificent Ambersons, the film was too long, depressing, and unappreciated. An intense editing job, which cut the film’s length to less than ninety minutes (its original length was two hours) and changed the ending, public response and reaction improved. Yet the edited version appeared unfinished and not something that Welles would create. Welles’s absence—he was in South America working on the film It’s All True—during the film’s swift and abrupt second editing may have impacted its final form, even though he did do some of the editing himself. The film and its reception marked the beginning of Welles’s decline in Hollywood.
When the film was edited to make it shorter, the explanation as to why the Ambersons lost their fortune was lost. During this period in American history, when an agrarian, aristocratic society was being transformed by technological innovation and the rise of the middle class, certainly some families that were prominent in society were affected. The Ambersons gained their wealth and status through land ownership and with the advent of the automobile, land use was affected, which largely impacted their land holdings. Welles illustrates through the film that the Ambersons’ downfall was due to not recognizing and adapting to the changing times brought on by revolutions in industry and transportation.
Critics noted the film’s nostalgia, created by Welles’s signature narrative techniques, overlapping dialogue, long takes, and dramatic use of photography. Unlike Citizen Kane, Welles is not an actor in the film but he serves as the narrator. The cinematography added greatly to the film, as indicated through an Academy Award nomination in this category. Cinematographer Stanley Cortez used 360-degree pan shots of the glorious Amberson mansion, light and dark shots, as well as wide-angle, crane and head shots, and deep-focus perspective, which all contribute to the mood and dramatic theme of the film.
Bernard Herrmann arranged the score for the film, which was noted for its delicate sound, magnificent waltzes, and instrumentation. However, much of the score was lost in the post-production editing. Because of the loss of Hermann’s original score, he asked that his name be left out of the credits. The film’s score still received an Academy Award nomination.
Awards and nominations
Nominated
- Academy Award (1942) Best Picture
- Academy Award (1942) Best Supporting Actress: Agnes Moorehead
- Academy Award (1942) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
- Academy Award (1942) Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black-and-White)
Bibliography
Eagen, Daniel. America’s Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry. London: Continuum, 2010. Print.
Garis, Robert. The Films of Orson Welles. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. Print.
Klinowski, Jacek and Adam Garbicz. Feature Cinema in the 20th Century: 1913–1950. Vol. 1. London: Planet RGB, 2012. Print.
Kydd, Elspeth. The Critical Practice of Film: An Introduction. London: Palgrave, 2011. Print.
McElhinney, Andrew Repasky. Second Takes: Remaking Film, Remaking America. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013. Print.
Naremore, James. The Magic World of Orson Welles. New York: Oxford UP, 2015. Print.
Rasmussen, Randy. Orson Welles: Six Films Analyzed, Scene by Scene. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. Print.