The Magnificent Ambersons

Once upon a time there was a guy named Orson Welles, and everyone thought he was fabulous (including himself). His reputation had grown so much through his theatre and radio work that he was given free reign to make his first film. The result was Citizen Kane, often now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Unfortunately, this film was also a thinly veiled account of the life of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, something that Hearst did not appreciate. Welles narrowly escaped a complete bollocking, but his film career was virtually scuttled as a result. His follow-up to Citizen Kane was The Magnificent Ambersons, another ambitious opus of progress and loss that might've been every bit as impacting as Citizen Kane had the powers-that-be given him the same free reign he had enjoyed for his first film. Alas, The Magnificent Ambersons was cut down substantially by parties other than Welles, re-edited and even partially re-filmed, and Welles would never be given creative control ever again. He flew too high and his wings melted.

The Ambersons of the title are a 19th century upper class family whose fortune comes from familial and class-based wealth. George Amberson (Tim Holt) is the spoilt and selfish grandson of Major Amberson (Richard Bennett), and much of the film focuses on him. Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotton) is an early automobile entrepeneur and inventor who once attempted to court George's mother, Isabel (Dolores Costello), in their youth. The film introduces us to this backstory before moving to the 1900s, where Eugene's daughter, Lucy (Anne Baxter), becomes the object of affection for Isabel's rotten son, George. It's a complicated film to explain beyond that, it's basically about this courtship but it's also about the relationship between Eugene and Isabel and a lot of it is an allegory for the changing times.

Welles' narration and his masterful knack for editing, composition and deftly handled rhythm allows for a wonderful series of opening scenes where he examines the changing fashions and trends of a bygone era, calling to mind a slower time when such thngs could be enjoyed and time wasn't so precious. The automobile motif builds on this further, demonstrating the ways in which early cars were an instrument for change and how the world changed due to the increased mobility and opportunities this afforded. Welles also darkens the corners of the screen for the film's prologue, alluding to the silent film era to evoke this earlier time, and introduces the main characters via a chorus of gossiping townsfolk (the mass media of the 19th century), with the camera placed in amongst their heads as if the viewer is one of the crowd.

The film is full of brilliant little touches like this... such as preluding a scene by focusing on a running, groaning tap and then switching to George and his uncle talking in the bathroom as the uncle runs a bath. The camera lens also closes in after a car as it chugs off into the distance, as if the film is consciously acknowledging the vehicle's success as the end of an era. Another great sequence that comes to mind is where some characters walk from room to room, and the camera pulls back in front of them as it anticipates where they'll walk. Another is of the image of Major Amberson's broken, unsure face as offscreen characters can be heard asking him questions, his face fading away under flickering firelight as he talks confused nonsense. The film is full of great and inspired scenes like this, and it's sad to think how much more was lost when it was cut to shreds by the studio.

Basically, the story of The Magnificent Ambersons is of a son's selfishness and it's ultimate cost. George is a horrid character, embodying the privilege of the privileged, and his downfall seems to be an indictment of the class-based wealth of the 19th century. But even as we watch the Ambersons go from riches to ruin, we don't really feel better for it. The film moves from the joyous to the depressingly eerie, touching on themes like the cost of progress, unrequited love and forgiveness as it evokes a tone of melancholic bittersweetness. As a tale of the nouveau riche vs. old money, you couldn't really ask for a finer and more elegant example. It's a shame that the intended director's cut of this film will never be seen though, and that the studios never allowed Welles to continue his exploration of these themes.

DIRECTOR: Orson Welles
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Orson Welles, based on the novel by Booth Tarkington.
KEY ACTORS: Joseph Cotton, Tim Holt, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Richard Bennett, Orson Welles

RELATED TEXTS:
- The novel The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. It's actually the second book in a trilogy of novels that looked at the social and economic upheaval experience by America's aristocratic class between the Civil War and the early 20th century. The other two novels are The Turmoil and National Revenue.
- Remade as The Magnificent Ambersons, a 2001 TV movie
- As mentioned, Welles' previous film was Citizen Kane, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in.
- Another film that looks at the industrialisation of America in the early 20th century is There Will Be Blood.
- Booth Tarkington's works have also been adapted as the films Clarence and Alice Adams.
- The Royal Tenenbaums is almost a modern-day take on the Amberson family.