The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total
Orson Welles
- Narrator
- (voice)
Edwin August
- Citizen
- (uncredited)
Georgia Backus
- Matron
- (uncredited)
Harry A. Bailey
- Citizen
- (uncredited)
Olive Ball
- Mary - Maid
- (uncredited)
Jack Baxley
- Reverend Smith
- (uncredited)
William Blees
- Young Man at Accident
- (uncredited)
Lyle Clement
- Citizen
- (uncredited)
Bobby Cooper
- George Minafer as a Boy
- (uncredited)
Don Dillaway
- Wilbur Minafer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of former silent star Dolores Costello's last roles. She was forced to retire from the film business as her face had become badly scarred by early film makeup, which was highly caustic.
- GoofsTowards the end of a long tracking shot with George and Lucy in a horse-drawn carriage, a portion of the rear end of a camera car and some sort of filmmaking equipment briefly enter the left side of frame.
- Crazy creditsAll of the credits except the RKO logo, the film's title and the copyright notice are recited orally (by Orson Welles) at the end of the film, not written out onscreen. As Welles recites the names of the production crew, items are seen, such as a motion picture camera when he says "Director of Photography", a pair of hands turning knobs as he says the words "Sound Recording By", etc.
- Alternate versionsFrom "Magnificent Obsession," a Vanity Fair article by David Kamp from April 2000: "On March 11, Robert Wise sent a 132-minute composite print (a print with picture and soundtrack synchronized) to Rio for Orson Welles to review. This is the version that scholars and Wellesophiles consider to be the 'real' Magnificent Ambersons. Curiously enough, the first blow against this version was dealt not by RKO but by Welles himself. Before he'd even received the composite print, he impulsively ordered Wise to cut 22 minutes from the middle of the film, mostly scenes concerning George Minafer's efforts to keep his mother and Eugene apart. Wise complied, and on March 17, 1942, The Magnificent Ambersons, in this form, had its first preview screening, in the Los Angeles suburb of Pomona. Sneak previews are a notoriously unreliable gauge of a film's worth and potential for success, and RKO did The Magnificent Ambersons a particular disservice by previewing it before an audience composed mostly of escapism-hungry teenagers, who had come to see the movie at the top of the bill, The Fleet's In, a feather-light wartime musical starring William Holden and Dorothy Lamour".
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une histoire seule (1989)
- SoundtracksThe Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
(1892) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Fred Gilbert
Sung a cappella by Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter,
Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins
Featured review
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.
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.
- SnoopyStyle
- May 1, 2015
- Permalink
- How long is The Magnificent Ambersons?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Glanz des Hauses Amberson
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $850,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 28 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) officially released in India in English?
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