Review: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

The Magnificent Ambersons

Rating

Director

Orson Welles

Screenplay

Orson Welles (Novel: Booth Tarkington)

Length

1h 28m

Starring

Joseph Cotton, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Richard Bennett, Orson Welles

MPAA Rating

Not Rated

Review

How do you follow one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history? With a film that is nearly its equal. The Magnificent Ambersons may have suffered from studio tinkering but the underlying narrative and directorial skill remain intact.

Orson Welles’ follow-up to the groundbreaking Citizen Kane is built on that film’s techniques and tells the story of two families, one wealthy, one not, rising and falling against the backdrop of the emergence of the automobile industry. Starring Welles muses Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead, the legendary filmmaker creates a compelling examination of love, family, and perceived entitlement.

Booth Tarkington’s novel seems like a strange choice for Welles as a filmmaker. There’s no grand central character whose motives are tarnished by greed, wealth, or revenge, depending on whom you consider the key figure of the film. It would be very easy to suggest that George (Tim Holt), the spoiled son of the Old Money Amberson-Minafer family, is that character. He appears on screen far more frequently than Eugene (Cotten), the bootstrap-raising young inventor who develops the idea for and makes a fortune off of the horseless carriage. Both characters diverge in personality and perseverance. One recognizes the value of hard work while the other squanders his opportunities assuming his cash will always be there.

Yet, in the conflicted relationship between George and Eugene, the attraction of a filmmaker like Welles becomes more evident. Holt is overbearing as George, instilling in him a genuine selfishness that helps bolster the character, but ultimately grates on the audience’s nerves for all the wrong reasons. George and Eugene are at war over Lucy, George’s mother and the woman Eugene desperately wanted to marry but lost to George’s father Wilbur Minafer (Don Dillaway). While Eugene is pining for Lucy, Aunt Fanny (Moorehead) fancies Eugene, but their potential pairing never occurs. Moorehead is a tremendous, compelling force late in the film, but some of her early scenes when engaged in a shouting match with Holt’s George are shrill.

Welles was a master of perspective and framing. There are few segments of the film where you can’t see his painterly touch at work. Take for instance an early scene in a dress shop where a handful of gossips are discussing the young Amberson-Minafer boy. They are all kept in deep focus, moving in and out of the conversation with ease. It’s a stunning shot for a mere expository scene. Later in the film, when grave news arrives for the Minafer clan, Welles uses the vertical heights of a gorgeous staircase to frame George and Fanny, a beautiful composition. These are the reasons why Welles was such a tremendous and important filmmaker. His influential touch is felt in nearly every scene (at least the ones the studio didn’t have re-shot and re-edited over Welles’ objections) even if it’s a slight step below his prior masterwork.

The Magnificent Ambersons remains a divisive film because of how it was changed in spite of Welles’ notes. Had it been fully under his direction, it could have surpassed Kane but until (or even if) the missing footage is found, we may never know. However, the foundation was great enough to overcome any perceived egregious alterations. It remains a vibrant and fascinating film that we could only be so lucky as to find the missing footage for. It seems unlikely but that shouldn’t dampen your appreciation for this fine film.