Forever Amber (film)

Forever Amber
Theatrical release poster
Directed byOtto Preminger
John M. Stahl (uncredited)
Screenplay byPhilip Dunne
Ring Lardner Jr.
Story byJerome Cady
Based onForever Amber
by Kathleen Winsor
Produced byWilliam Perlberg
StarringLinda Darnell
Cornel Wilde
Richard Greene
George Sanders
CinematographyLeon Shamroy
Edited byLouis R. Loeffler
Music byDavid Raksin
Production
company
20th Century Fox
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • October 22, 1947 (1947-10-22)
Running time
138 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.4 million[1]
Box office$5 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[2][3]
3,918,690 admissions (France)[4]
L-R: George Sanders, Linda Darnell, and Richard Haydn

Forever Amber is a 1947 American romantic historical drama film[5] starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde.[6] It was based on the book of the same title by Kathleen Winsor. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, and Jessica Tandy.

The film was adapted by Jerome Cady, Philip Dunne and Ring Lardner Jr., and directed by Otto Preminger,[7] who replaced original director John M. Stahl after 39 days of filming and $300,000 of production. The movie was originally budgeted at $4.5 million.[8]

The Hays Office had condemned the novel, but within a month of its publication the film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox.[9] The film on its release was initially condemned by the National Legion of Decency.[10]

In 1947, Darnell won the starring role in the highly anticipated film adaptation when the original star, newcomer Peggy Cummins, proved too inexperienced for the role. In the novel, the newborn Amber is so named by her dying mother after the color of her father's eyes. Publicity at the time compared the novel Forever Amber to Gone with the Wind. The search for the actress to portray Amber, a beauty who uses men to make her fortune in 17th-century England, was modeled on the extensive process that led to the casting of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

The film's score, by composer David Raksin, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Music Score.[11]

  1. ^ "Church Said to Insist 'Amber' Change its title". Variety. November 26, 1947. p. 1.
  2. ^ "All Time Domestic Champs", Variety, January 6, 1960 p 34
  3. ^ "Top Grossers of 1947". Variety. January 7, 1948. p. 63. Retrieved June 11, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  4. ^ 1948 French box office at Box Office Story
  5. ^ "Forever Amber". www.tcm.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  6. ^ Guttridge, Peter (May 29, 2003), "Obituary: Kathleen Winsor: Author of the racy bestseller 'Forever Amber'", The Independent (London, England), p. 20
  7. ^ "Forever Amber". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference jump was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Bernstein, Adam (June 1, 2003), "Kathleen Winsor, 83, 'Forever Amber' author", The Seattle Times, p. A29
  10. ^ Leff, Leonard J.; Simmons, Jerold L. (2001). The Dame in the Kimono: Hollywood, Censorship, and the Production Code (Second ed.). University Press of Kentucky. pp. 204–5. ISBN 0813171075. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  11. ^ "The 20th Academy Awards (1948) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2011.