Film Summaries, Film Casts, Film Makers

Wuthering Heights
Los Abismos de Pasion
The Heiress
The Innocents
Pygmalion
My Fair Lady
A Doll's House--Jane Fonda
A Doll's House--Claire Bloom
A Streetcar Named Desire

Wuthering Heights

In this screen version of the first half of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel, Ellen Dean (Flora Robson) tells about the intense love of Catherine (Sarita Wooten as a child and Merle Oberon as an adult) and Heathcliff (Rex Downing as a child, Laurence Olivier as an adult), which, thwarted by Heathcliff's poverty, along with Edgar Linton's (David Niven) money, is fully realized only after the death of the two lovers.

1939, B/W, 104 minutes. Samuel Goldwyn Production. Music Scorer: Alfred Newman. Screenwriters: Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht. Cinematographer: Gregg Toland. Editor: Daniel Mandell. Production Design: James Basevi. Set Decoration: Julia Heron (uncredited). Costume Design: Omar Kiam. Makeup: Robert Stephanoff (as Blagoe Stephanoff). Director: Wiliam Wyler.

Additional Cast: Geraldine Fitzgerald (Isabella), Douglas Scott, Hugh Williams (Hindley), Miles Mander (Lockwood), Donald Crisp (Dr. Kenneth), Leo G. Carroll (Joseph), Cecil Humphreys (Judge Linton), Cecil Kellaway (Mr. Earnshaw), Romaine Callendar (Robert), Helena Grant (Miss Hudkins), Susanne Leach (Guest), Tommy Martin (Little Boy), Schuyler Standish (Little Boy), William Stelling (Dancer), Harold Entwistle (Beadle) Mme. Alice Ahlers (Frau Johann), Vernon Downing (Giles), Frank Benson (Heathcliff Servant), Eric Wilton (Linton Servant), Major Sam Harris (Wedding Guest).

Awards for Wuthering Heights 1939:

Academy Awards Nominees:
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Laurence Olivier)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Geraldine Fitzgerald)
Best Art Direction (James Basevi)
Best Director (William Wyler)
Best Music, Original Score (Alfred Newman)
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Another Medium (Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur)
Best Picture (Samuel Goldwyn, Producer)
Academy Awards Winners:
Best Costume Design (Omar Kiam)
Cinematographer (Gregg Toland)

New York Film Critics Circle Awards Winners 1939:
Best Film

The National Board of Review List of Best Actors (Laurence Olivier)

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Los Abismos de Pasion

This screen version of the first part of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel, Wuthering Heights, was filmed in Mexico. This movie depicts the passionate love of Catalina (Cathy) (Irasema Dilian) and Alejandro (Heathcliff) (Jorge Mistral). When Catalina marries Eduardo (Edward) (Earnesto Alonso) for money, Alejandro marries Eduardo's sister, Isabel (Lilia Prado), for revenge. Ricardo (Hindley) (Luis Aceves Castaneda) gets revenge on Alejandro by shooting him in Catalina's tomb. Only after death will the lovers live happily.

1954, B/W, 90 minutes. Tepeyac Produccionnes, S.A. Óscar Dancigers, Abelardo L. Rodríguez. Music Scorer: Raul Lavista, who adapted Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde. Screenwriters: Luis Buñuel, Arduino Maiuri, Julio Alejandero de Castro. Cinematographer: Agustin Jiménez. Editor: Carlos Savage. Production Design: Edward Fitzgerald. Set Decoration: Raymundo Ortiz. Costume Design: Armando Valdés Peza. Makeup: José Jurado. Hair Stylist: Felisa L. de Guevara. Makeup Artist (as Felisa Guevara). Director: Luis Buñuel.

Additional Cast: Francisco Reiguera (José), Hortensia Santoveña (Maria), Jaime González Quiñones as Jaime González (Jorge).

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The Heiress

This movie was based on Ruth and Augustus Goetz's 1948 Broadway play The Heiress, and Henry James's 1880 work, Washington Square. Olivia de Havilland plays the shy, plain Catherine Sloper, who is deceived by a handsome fortune-hunting suitor, Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift). Ralph Richardson stars as Catherine's arrogant father, a wealthy doctor who assumes anyone attracted to his unaccomplished daughter is merely after her (his) money.

1949, B/W, 115 minutes. Universal Productions. Music Scorer: Aaron Copland. Screenwriters: Ruth and Augustus Goetz. Cinematographer: Leo Tover. Editor: William Hornbeck. Production Design: Harry Horner. Art Direction: Harry Horner, John Meehan. Set Decoration: Emile Kuri. Costume Design: Edith Head, Gile Steele. Director: William Wyler.

Additional Cast: Miriam Hopkins (Aunt Lavina Pennimen), Selma Royle (Mrs. Elizabeth Almond), Betty Linley ( Mrs. Montgomery), Mona Freeman (Marion Townsend), Paul Lees (Arthur Townsend), Ray Collins (Jefferson Almond), Vanessa Brown (Maria), Harry Antrim (Mr. Abeel), Russ Conway (Quintus), David Thursby (Geier).

Awards for The Heiress

Academy Awards Nominees 1950:
Best Director (William Wyler)
Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Richardson)
Best Cinematography (Leo Tover)
Best Picture (William Wyler)
Academy Awards Winners:
Best Actress (Olivia de Havilland)
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (John Meehan, Harry Horner, Emily Krul
Best Costume Design (Edith Head and Gile Steele)
Best Music Score (Aaron Copland)
New York Times Annual "Ten Best" Series

Golden Globes Awards Winner 1950:
Best Motion Picture Actress (Olivia de Havilland)

National Board of Review "Ten Best" Films of the Year 1949
Best Actor (Ralph Richardson) (Also for The Fallen Idol)

National Film Preservation Board 1996:
Selected for Registry

New York Film Critics Circle Awards Winner 1949:
Award Best Actress (Olivia de Havilland)

Writers Guild of America Awards Nominees 1950:
(Screen) Best Written American Drama (Ruth Goetz and Augustus Goetz)

Parents' Magazin Special Merit Award

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The Innocents

This screen version was based on the 1950 Broadway play The Innocents, by William Archibald, and Henry James's 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw. Young Miss Giddens, governess (Deborah Kerr), believes her two charges, Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin), to be haunted by--perhaps even obsessed with--two ghosts. The film delves into the supernatural, tantalizing the viewer into questioning whether the ghosts are indeed real or figments of the governess' imagination.

1961, B/W, 99 minutes. Producer: Jack Clayton. Music Scorer: Georges Auric. Screenwriters: William Archibald, Truman Capote, John Mortimer. Cinematographer: Freddie Francis. Editor: James B. Clark (as James Clark). Art Direction: Wilfred Shingleton. Costume Design: Motley. Hair Stylist: Gordon Bond. Makeup Artist: Harold Fletcher. Director: Jack Clayton.

Additional Cast: Michael Redgrave (The Uncle) Michael Redgrave, Megs Jenkins (Mrs. Grose), Clytie Jessop (Miss Jessel), Peter Wyngarde (Peter Quint), Isla Cameron (Anna the Maid), Eric Woodburn (uncredited) (The Coachman).

Awards for The Innocents 1951:

BAFTA Film Awards Nominations 1962:
Best Film from any Source

Edgar Allan Poe Awards Winner 1962:
Edgar Best Motion Picture (Truman Capote and William Archibald)

National Board of Review Awards Winners 1962:
Best Director (Jack Clayton)

Writers Guild of America Nominee 1962:
Best Written American Drama (William Archibald and Truman Capote)

Pygmalion

In this film version of George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play, Leslie Howard is Henry Higgins, a phonetics professor who tries to teach a Cockney guttersnipe girl, Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller), the language and manners of a lady. The film and play focus on Higgins' efforts to pass Eliza off as a princess when she and Higgins attend a festive ball for the Queen of Transylvania.

1938, B/W, 85 minutes. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Production, Producer, Gabriel Pascal. Original Music: Arthur Honegger. Musical Director: Dr. William Axt. Screenplay and Additional Dialogue: George Bernard Shaw, Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, W. P. Lipscomb. Cinematographer: Harry Stradling. Editor: David Lean. Art Direction: John Bryan. Costume Design: Ladislaw Czettel (as Professor L. Czettel). Directors: Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard.

Additional Cast: Wilfred Lawson (Alfred P. Doolittle), David Tree (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Esme Percy (Neppommuck), Jean Cadell (Mrs. Pearce), Scott Sunderland (Col. Pickering), Marie Lohr (Mrs. Higgins), Everley Gregg (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill), Leueen MacGrath (Clara Eynsford-Hill), Esme Percy (Count Aristid Karpathy), Violet Vanbrugh (Ambassadress), Iris Hoey (Ysabel), Viola Tree (Perfide), Irene Browne (Duchess), Wally Patch (Bystander), H. F. Maltby (Bystander), Stephen Murray (Police Constable), O. B. Clarence (Vicar), George Mozart (Bystander), Ivor Barnard (Bystander), Kate Cutler (Grand Old Lady), Cathleen Nesbitt (Guest at Embassy Ball), Cecil Trouncer (Guest at Embassy Ball), Frank Atkinson (Guest at Embassy Ball), Leo Genn (Guest at Embassy Ball), Eileen Beldon (Guest at Embassy Ball), Anthony Quayle (French Hairdresser).

Awards for Pygmalion 1938:

Academy Awards Nominees 1939:
Best Actor (Leslie Howard)
Best Picture (Gabriel Pascal, Producer)
Academy Awards:
Best Screenplay (George Bernard Shaw, Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, W. P. Lipscomb)

The National Board of Review Awards List of Best Actors and Actresses:
Best Actresss (Wendy Hiller)

New York Times Annual "Ten Best" List:

The Annual Top Money-Making Films:
Number 10

Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup Winner 1938:
Best Actor (Leslie Howard)

Mussolini Cup Nominee 1938
Best Film (Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard)

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My Fair Lady

In cooperation with Frederick Loewe, Alan J. Lerner adapted George Bernard Shaw's 1913 Pygmalion into a musical. Audrey Hepburn is Eliza Doolittle, the Cockney flower girl transformed into a lady by phonetics and Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison).

1964, Color, 170 minutes. Producer: Jack Warner. Musical Scorer: Frederick Loewe, André Previn. Screenwriter: Alan J. Lerner. Choreographer: Hermes Pan. Lyrics Writer: Alan J. Lerner. Cinematographer: Harry Stradling. Editor: William H. Ziegler (as William Ziegler). Production Design: Cecil Beaton, Gene Allen (uncredited). Set Decoration: George James Hopkins. Costume Design: Cecil Beaton. Makeup: Gordon Bau, Makeup Supervisor: Jean Burt Reilly. Hair Stylist Supervisor. Robert J. Schiffer. Director: George Cukor.

Additional Cast: Marni Nixon (Voice of Singing Eliza), Bill Shirley (Voice of Singing Freddy), Jack Raine (Voice of Singing Freddy), Mona Washburn (Mrs. Pearce), Wilfred Hyde-White (Col. Pickering), Stanley Holloway (Alfred P. Doolittle), Gladys Cooper (Mrs. Higgins), Jeremy Brett (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Theodore Bikel (Zoltan Karpathy), Isobel Elsom (Mrs. Eysnford-Hill), John Alderson (Jamie), John McLiam (Harry), Ben Wrigley (Costermonger), Clive Halliday (Costermonger), Richard Peel (Costermonger), Eric Heath (Costermonger), James O'Hara (Costermonger), Kendrick Huxham (Elegant Bystander), Frank Baker (Elegant Bystander),Walter Burke (Main Bystander), Queenie Leonard (Cockney Bystander), Laurie Main (Hoxton Man), Maurice Dallimore (Selsey Man), Owen McGiveney (Man at Coffee Stand), Marjorie Bennett (Cockney with Pipe), Britannia Beatey (Daughter of Elegant Bystander), Beatrice Greenough (Grand Lady), Hilda Plowright (Bystander), Dinah Anne Rogers (Maid), Lois Battle (Maid), Jacqueline Squire (Parlor Maid), Gwendolyn Watts (Cook), Eugene Hoffman (Juggler), Kai Farrelli (Juggler), Joe Evans (Cockney), Marie Busch (Cockney), Mary Alexander (Cockney), William Linkie (Cockney), Henry Sweetman (Cockney), Andrew Brown (Cockney), Samuel Holmes (Cockney), Thomas Dick (Cockney), William Taylor (Cockney), James Wood (Cockney), Goldie Kleban (Cockney), Elizabeth Aimers (Cockney), Joy Tierney (Cockney), Lenore Miller (Cockney), Donna Day (Cockney), Corinne Ross (Cockney), Phyllis Kennedy (Cockney), David Robel (Cockney), Iris Bristol (Flower Girl), Alma Lawton (Flower Girl), Gigi Michel (Toff), Sandy Steffens (Toff), Sandy Edmundson (Toff), Marlene Marrow (Toff), Carol Merrill (Toff), Sue Bronson (Toff), Lea Genovese (Toff), Jack Greening (George), Ron Whelan (Algernon Bartender), John Holland (Butler), Roy Dean (Footman), Charles Fredericks (King), Lillian Kemble-Cooper (Lady Ambassador), Barbara Pepper (Doolittle's Dance Partner), Ayllene Gibbons (Fat Woman at Pub), Baroness Rothschild (Queen of Transylvania), Ben Wright (Footman at Ball), Oscar Beregi, Jr. (Greek Ambassador), Buddy Bryan (Prince), Grady Sutton (Ascot Type), Orville Sherman (Ascot Type), Harvey Dunn (Ascot Type), Barbara Morrison (Ascot Type), Natalie Core (Ascot Type), Helen Albrecht (Ascot Type), Diana Bourbon (Ascot Type), Moyna MacGill (Lady Boxington), Colin Campbell (Ascot Gavotte), Marjory Hawtrey (Ad Libs at Ascot), Paulle Clark (Ad Libs at Ascot), Allyson Daniell (Ad Libs at Ascot), Betty Blythe (Ad Lib at Ball), Nick Navarro (Dancer), Tom Cound (Footman), William Beckley (Footman), Alan Napier (Ambassador), Geoffrey Steele (Taxi Driver), Jennifer Crier (Mrs. Higgins's Maid), Henry Daniell (Prince Gregor of Transylvania), Patrick O'Moore (Man), Victor Rogers (Police Officer), Michael St. Clair (Bartender), Brendan Dillon (Leaning Man), Olive Reeves-Smith (Mrs. Hopkins), Miriam Schiller (Landlady), Elzada Wilson (Ad Lib at Church), Jeanne Carson (Ad Lib at Church), Buddy Shea (Ad Lib at Church), Jack Goldie (Ad Lib at Church), Sid Marion (Ad Lib at Church), Stanley Fraser (Ad Lib at Church), George Pelling (Ad Lib at Church), Colin Kenny (Ad Lib at Church), LaWana Backer (Ad Lib at Church), Monika Henreid (Ad Lib at Church), Anne Dore (Ad Lib at Church), Pauline Drake (Ad Lib at Church), Shirley Melline (Ad Lib at Church), Wendy Russell (Ad Lib at Church), Meg Brown (Ad Lib at Church), Clyde Howdy (Ad Lib at Church), Nick Wolcuff (Ad Lib at Church), Martin Eric (Ad Lib at Church), John Mitchum (Ad Lib at Church), Major Sam Harris (Guest at Ball).

Awards for My Fair Lady 1964:

Academy Awards Nominees 1965:
Best Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper)
Best Supporting Actor (Stanley Holloway)
Best Screenplay Based on Another Medium (Alan J. Lerner)
Best Film Editing (William H. Ziegler)
Academy Awards Winners:
Best Picture (Jack L. Warner, Producer)
Best Actor (Rex Harrison)
Best Director (George Cukor)
Color Cinematography (Harry Stradling)
Art Direction/Set Direction (Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, and George James Hopkins)
Sound (George Groves)
Best Musical Scoring (André Previn)

The New York Film Critics Awards Winners:
Best Picture
Best Actor (Rex Harrison)

The National Board of Review Awards Winner:
Best English Language Film

Golden Globe Awards Nominees 1965:
Motion Picture Actress--Musical/Comedy (Audrey Hepburn)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role--Motion Picture (Stanley Holloway)
Golden Globe Awards Winners:
Best Motion Picture as Musical/Comedy
Best Actor of Musical/Comedy (Rex Harrison)
Best Motion Picture Director (George Cukor)

The Directors Guild of America Awards 1965:
Best Director (George Cukor and David Hall, Assistant Director) (Plaque)

New York Times Annual "Ten Best" Series:
Number 7 on the Annual Top Money-Making Films
Number 141 on the Top 200 Money-Making Films of All Times

American Cinema Editors, USA Nominee 1956:
Best Edited Feature Film (William H. Ziegler)

BAFTA Film Awards Nominee 1966:
Best British Actor (Rex Harrison)
BAFTA Awards Winner 1966:
Best Film from any Source (George Cukor)

Cinema Writers Circle Awards Winner, Spain 1966:
Best Foreign Film (Mejor Pelíícula Extranjera)

David di Donatello Awards Winner:
Best Foreign Production (Migliore Produzione Straniera) (Jack L. Warner, Producer)

Laurel Awards Nominees 1965:
4th Place Golden Laurel Supporting Performance, Male (Stanley Holloway)
Laurel Awards Winner:
Golden Laurel Musical Performance, Male (Rex Harrison)

Road Show Awards Winner:
3rd Place Golden Laurel Comedy Performance, Female (Audrey Hepburn)

Writers Guild of America Nominee 1965:
(Screen) Best Written American Musical (Alan Jay Lerner)

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A Doll's House

This screen version of Henrik Ibsen's famous 1879 play stars Jane Fonda as Nora Helmer, a woman whose individuality is suppressed by the Victorian Age in which she lives. The plot centers on Nora's effort to assert her independence from her husband, who sees Nora as his little "Doll" (a metaphor for the subjugated woman of the Victorian period).

1973, Color, 109 minutes. I. C. A. Production, Joseph Losey. Music Scorer: Michel Legrand. Screenwriter: David Mercer. Cinematographer: Gerry Fisher. Editor: Reginald Beck. Art Direction by: Elliot Scott. Costume Design: Beatrice Dawson. Director: Joseph Losey.

Additional Cast: David Warner (Torvald Helmer), Trevor Howard (Dr. Rank), Delphine Seyrig (Christine Linde), Edward Fox (Nils Krogstad), Anna Wing (Nursemaid Anna-Marie), Morten Floor (Bob), Tone Floor (Emmy), Dagfinn Hertzberg (Krogstad's Son), Ellen Holm (Krogstad's Daughter), Frode Lien (Ivar), Ingrid Natrud (Dr. Rank's Maid), Pierre Oudrey (Olssen).

Award for A Doll's House 1973:
New York Film Festival Entry.

A Doll's House

Claire Bloom is Nora Helmer, a doll-like wife who searches for a true identity in the Victorian Age of suppression.

1973 Color, 95 minutes. Producer Hillard Elkins. Music Scorer: John Barry. Screenwriter: Christopher Hampton. Cinematographer: Arthur Ibbetson. Director: Patrick Garland. Editor: John Glen (II). Production Design: Eileen Diss. Costume Design: John Furniss, Edith Head. Director: Patrick Garland.

Additional Cast: Anthony Hopkins (Torvald Helmer), Ralph Richardson (Dr. Rank), Anna Massey (Christine Linde), Denholm Elliot (Nils Krogstad), Dame Edith Evans (Nursemaid Anna-Marie), Helen Blatch (Helen), Kimberley Hampton (Bob), Daphne Riggs (Old Woman), Mark Summerfield (Ivar), Stefanie Summerfield (Emmy).

Awards for A Doll’s House

BAFTA Film Awards Nominees 1974:
Best Costume Design (Beatrice Dawson)
Best Supporting Actor (Denholm Elliott)

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A Streetcar Named Desire

This screen version of Tennessee Williams' 1947 play stars Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois, a "Woman with a Past," who comes to live in New Orleans with her sister (Kim Hunter) and brother-in-law (Marlon Brando). The clash between Brando's brutish Stanley Kowalski and Leigh's neurotic Blanche DuBois formulates the action in this powerful drama.

1951, B/W, 125 minutes. United Artists Production, Producer: Charles K. Feldman. Music Scorer: Alex North. Screenwriter: Tennessee Williams, Adapter: Oscar Saul. Cinematographer: Harry Stradling. Editor: David Weisbart. Art Direction: Richard Day. Set Decoration: George James Hopkins, Costume Design: Lucinda Ballard, Make-up: Gordon Bau. Director: Elia Kazan.

Additional Cast: Karl Malden (Harold {Mitch} Mitchell, Rudy Bond (Steve), Nick Dennis (Pablo Gonzales), Peg Hillias (Eunice), Wright King (A Collector), Richard Garrick (A Doctor), Ann Dere (The Matron), Edna Thomas (Mexican Woman), Mickey Kuhn (A Sailor), Mel Archer (uncredited) (Foreman), Marietta Canty (uncredited) (Giggling Woman with Eunice), John George (uncredited), Chester Jones (uncredited).(Street Vendor), Lyle Latell (uncredited) (Policeman), Maxie Thrower (uncredited) (Passerby), Charles Wagenheim (uncredited) (Passerby).

Awards for A Streetcar Named Desire

Academy Awards Nominees 1952:
Best Picture (Charles K. Feldman, Producer)
Best Director (Elia Kazan)
Best Actor (Marlon Brando)
Best Screenplay (Oscar Saul and Tennessee Williams)
Best Music (Alex North)
Best Sound Recording (Nathan Levinson)
Best Cinematography (Harry Stradling)
Academy Awards Winners:
Best Actress (Vivien Leigh)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Karl Malden)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kim Hunter)
Best Art Direction (Richard Day and George James Hopkins)
Best Costume Design (Lucinda Ballard )

BAFTA Awards Nominees 1953:
Film Award Best Film from any Source
BAFTA Awards Winner:
Best Film Actress (Vivien Leigh)

Golden Globes Awards Winners 1952:
Best Supporting (Actress Kim Hunter)

National Film Preservation Board 1999:

National Film Registry New York

Film Critics Circle Awards Winners 1951:
Best Actress (Vivien Leigh)
Best Director (Elia Kazan)
Best Film (Charles K. Feldman)

Venice Film Festival Award 1951:
Special Jury Prize (Elia Kazan for having produced a stage play on screen,
poetically interpreting the humanity of the characters, thanks to masterly direction.)

Volpi Cup Winner 1951:
Best Actress (Vivien Leigh)

Golden Lion Nominee 1951:
Best Director (Elia Kazan)

Writers Guild of America Nominee 1952: (Screen) Best Written American Drama (Tennessee Williams)

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