The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

One wonders what movie would have resulted if Orson Welles would have been able to get his own cut, as opposed to what RKO Radio decided to show to the world. In spite of what one sees on the screen, even a chopped up film by the studio and directed by Orson Welles is better than no Orson Welles, at all!

Booth Tarkington wrote a novel that reflected America's entrance in the industrial age. Mr. Tarkington being a good friend of Mr. Welles' father, must have been an early influence in young Orson. We can see that in a way, both men were interested in the changes America went through in the XIX century.

"The Magnificent Ambersons" presents the saga of a prominent family in their spiral downfall. At the same time, Eugene Morgan, a revolutionary inventor is laughed at because of the contraption that will change the face of the country: the automobile. While the Ambersons lose their fortune, Eugene Morgan makes his own. In the end, it is sad to see how Morgan with all his money couldn't have Isabel, the love of his life, or his daughter, for that matter, couldn't make the snobbish Georgie care enough for her.

What Orson Welles can't be fault on is the impeccable performances he got out of most of the Mercury Group. Joseph Cotten, as always, projects an elegant figure as Eugene. The gorgeous Dolores Costello is seen in all her beauty. The young Anne Baxter was perfect as Lucy. Ray Collins and Richard Bennett also do an outstanding job, as well as young Tim Holt. The best of all is Agnes Moorehead, who makes Fanny a creation. Ms. Moorehead is in fact a luminous presence in all her scenes in the movie.

Robert Wise, who went to become a film director, is credited with the original editing, although two others were not credited, who could have been instrumental in what RKO did to the picture, Mark Robson and Jack Moss. The original costumes by Edward Stevenson are incredible.

One could only hope that somewhere, hidden in a vault, a director's copy will be found as Orson Welles directed it and then, hopefully, we shall see the marvelous movie Orson Welles intended to make.

Fmovies: If you think Citizen Kane is wonderful, then, if you haven't already seen it, find a copy of "Ambersons" as soon as you can. To me, "Ambersons" surpasses "Kane" in complexity and perhaps richness of characters. The story of the long-term results of love deferred, unrequited love, and long-suffering love, are even more interesting with Welles' direction using overlaid dialogue and odd camera angles. My favorite part is when old Major Amberson speaks to the camera and it becomes apparent he's lost his mind. Chilling. The Ambersons captures a time more than a century ago in America when passions were suppressed and civility masked a boiling interior. This film was edited severely, I've read. This is another mystery, because the remaining footage is superb. We can only wonder what the original "Ambersons" might have been.

This is a wonderful film, one of great pathos and sensitivity. Orson Welles was drawn to Tarkington's novel because Tarkington had been a friend of Welles' father and Welles identified strongly with the story, seeing something of his own family's history there.

Whether it is better than Kane is a fun question for film clubs to debate (I did once but I don't now), but it is interesting to note that while Orson Welles was particularly bitter that RKO re-shot his ending to make it more appealing to audiences, if you read the novel you will see that it is the novel's ending that RKO tacked on. Welles' ending was of his own invention and would have given the film a completely different tone.

So it is ironic that Welles always seemed to claim that RKO had destroyed the integrity of the novel's story when they only preserved it, if rather poorly in execution.

The Magnificent Ambersons fmovies. It's almost common knowledge in the realm of the film world about the history of the Magnificent Ambersons, which leaves a minor problem when trying to criticize it. Orson Welles made the film's final running length at around two hours and fifteen minutes. While he was out of the country filming 'It's All True!' (another doomed film in the Welles cannon), RKO pictures, the studio that had granted Welles total freedom for Citizen Kane and a few future projects, cut out fifty minutes (mostly of the last fifty), put a happy ending, and released it on a double-bill with a B movie. Although it's attributable in retrospect to the War starting up (after all, who wants a -downer- period piece) and to the difficulty the studio had with Welles' reputation, the fact that the 90 minute version that now exists is the only version available is a tragedy in and of itself. Unless if someone follows the wild rumor that a print was dumped by the studios into the ocean and pulls it up, this is all we can get.

Still, incomplete Welles is more satisfying than no Welles, or most other studio product of the period. Welles takes Booth Tarkington's novel (inspired in part by Welles himself as a child- George being Welles' name) and makes it into a sumptuous, striking, and altogether unique drama of the changing of the times, and how people cope with changes or go with them. The story is one of those involving the minds and hearts of the upper class. Joseph Cotten (as usual charming &/or cool, dramatic) is Eugene, the man who wanted Isabel Amberson's hand in marriage. She married another man, and their child George was early on a hard-head case (these scenes are some of the best of the film, with deliberate staging of close-ups, medium shots, and basically setting up the technical style of the Wellesian cinema). As he grows up, he's still a little hard-headed (played in one of the top, intense performances in any Welles film by Tim Holt), as he is against the changing of the times, in particular of Eugene's re-founded courtship of the mother following his father's death. There is also the character of his Aunt Fanny, in another perfect performance from Agnes Moorhead (the mother from Citizen Kane).

Alongside this examination of a family's downfall amid the changing of personal relations, and of George's own complex emotional problems, and of George's coming-of-age, there's also the examination of the transition from the horse and buggy to automobiles, to the heavier boost of the industrial age. Welles as a narrator is somber, observant of it all, and mostly leaves the film to his actors. There's some real thought put into the issues, and not just through the realistic (though of course theatrical) dialog, but more specifically through the style. 'Kane' introduced audiences to Welles knack at long-takes, deep focus, unusual and expressionistic close-ups, heightening the drama that unfolds. 'Ambersons' is no exception, and there are some very memorable scenes where the camera just stays on people, and then when it moves it makes the mis en scene more concentrated, direct. The use of light is also equally impressive at times- like in interior shots of a staircase when George and Fanny are in an argument, it's all encompassing, and not distracting enough from the story. The best consistency of any Welles film, even when it has some flaws, is the control that can be seen through much of it (there's also a very spooky shot that stays with me towards

The Ambersons are the wealthiest family in Indianapolis. Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten) and Isabel Amberson are in love but she marries the dull Wilbur Minafer instead. Their only child George grows up a spoiled arrogant brat. Everybody in town is looking forward to his comeuppance. George falls for Lucy Morgan who is the daughter of Eugene Morgan. Eugene is in the new automobile business which George ridicules and belittles at every chance. George ridicules everybody and their professions while having an aimless outlook himself. After Wilbur's death, Isabel and Eugene rekindle their romance and enrages the petty temper of little George. While the Morgans gain greater and greater success through their automobile, the fortunes of the Ambersons decline.

George is such an annoying petty character that it's hard to base the movie around him. He's really the villain in Eugene and Isabel's lives. Orson Welles is a magnificent filmmaker and everything looks terrific. It's just hard to care about this character. Like the rest of the town, I'm just waiting for his comeuppance and I don't like that feeling. I'd rather have his redemption where he learns generosity. At least, he gets to responsibility but that part is short and the movie rushes to its ending.

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.