Forever Amber (1947)
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14% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
57% of users liked it
(160 ratings)
They said it couldn't be done, but they did it: Kathleen Winsor's "notorious", bestselling bodice-ripper Forever Amber actually made it to the screen in 1947 with full censorial approval. Of course, it was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor's novel, but… More They said it couldn't be done, but they did it: Kathleen Winsor's "notorious", bestselling bodice-ripper Forever Amber actually made it to the screen in 1947 with full censorial approval. Of course, it was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor's novel, but the end result pleased fans of the book and bluenosed nonfans alike. A last-minute replacement for British import Peggy Cummins, Linda Darnell steps into the role of 17th century blonde bed-hopper Amber as though she'd been born to play it. Feeling suppressed by her Puritan upbringing, Amber heads to London, finding considerable success as a courtesan (that's the polite word for it). The first real love of her life is dashing soldier Bruce Carlton, who leaves her pregnant and penniless when he marches off to war. Subsequent amours include the sadistic Earl of Radcliffe (a superbly loathsome performance by comic actor Richard Haydn), handsome highwayman Black Jack Mallard (John Russell) and privateer Captain Rex Morgan (Glenn Langan). Surviving the Plague and the Great London Fire with nary a hair out of place, Amber ends up in the arms of no less than King Charles II (wittily portrayed by George Sanders), but true love, as personified by Bruce Carlton, will always elude her. Taking no chances, 20th Century-Fox sent out Forever Amber with a spoken prologue, heard over the opening credits, which explained that the film in no way endorsed its heroine's libertine behavior, and that she would be amply punished for her sins before fadeout time (that prologue has thankfully been removed from current prints). A model of restraint by today's standards, Forever Amber was sufficiently titillating in 1947 to post an enormous profit, far in excess of its $4 million budget. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Otto Preminger
- Written By
- Jerome Cady, Philip Dunne, Ring Lardner, Jerry Cady
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 22, 1947 Wide
- On DVD
- Oct 5, 1994
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox Film Corporat
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Here is a $4 million (and claimed to be more) picture that looks its cost.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
The film runs for two hours and twenty minutes, which is just about an hour too long considering its repetitious nature and the fact that it is pretty trashy stuff.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Preminger's direction lacks the sophisticated lightness of touch that Mitchell Leisen brought to the in some ways similar Kitty.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's a lush Fox production, photographed in Technicolor by the great Leon Shamroy and directed by a wholly uninterested Otto Preminger.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Preminger's lavish production of the erotic historical novel is artistically one of his weakest films, but also one of his biggest commercial hits.
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Cast
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Jane Ball
as Corinne Carlton
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Linda Darnell
as Amber St. Clair
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Edmund Breon
as Lord Redmond
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Cornel Wilde
as Bruce Carlton
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Richard Greene
as Lord Almsbury
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Leo G Carroll
as Matt Goodgroome
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Robert Coote
as Sir Thomas Dudley
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George Sanders
as Charles II
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Jessica Tandy
as Nan Britton
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Anne Revere
as Mother Red Cap
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Natalie Draper
as Countess of Castlemaine
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Richard Haydn
as Lord Radcliffe
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Alma Kruger
as Lady Redmond
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Glenn Langan
as Capt. Rex Morgan
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Alan Napier
as Landale
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John Russell
as Black Jack Mallard
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Margaret Wycherly
as Mrs. Song
- Robert Adler
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Leonard Carey
as Dead Caller
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Ellen Corby
as Marge
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James Craven
as Messenger
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Cyril Delevanti
as Cobbler
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Vernon P. Downing
as Fop
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Edith Evanson
as Sarah
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Robert Greig
as Magistrate
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Victoria Horne
as Quaker
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Boyd Irwin
as Lord Rossmore
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Ian Keith
as Tybalt
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Skelton Knaggs
as Blueskin
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Lillian Molieri
as Queen Catherine
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Ottola Nesmith
as Mrs. Chiverton
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Tempe Piggott
as Midwife
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Will Stanton
as Dead-Eye
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Houseley Stevenson Sr.
as Mr. Starling
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Tom Stevenson
as Groom
- Gilchrist Stuart
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Norma Varden
as Mrs. Abbott
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Cecil Weston
as Woman
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Frederic Worlock
as Actor
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Richard Bailey
as Bob Starling
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Tim Huntley
as Ivers
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Peter Shaw
as Deacon
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Pati Behrs
as Makeup Artist
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David Ralston
as Drunken Pop
- David Murray
