Themes: Crowned Heads, Playing the Field, Prostitutes
Main Cast: Jane Ball, Linda Darnell, Edmund Breon, Cornel Wilde, Leo G. Carroll, Richard Greene, Robert Coote, George Sanders, Jessica Tandy
Release Year: 1947
Country: US
Run Time: 140 minutes
Plot
They said it couldn't be done, but they did it: Kathleen Winsor's "notorious", bestselling bodice-ripper Forever Amber actually made it to the screen in 1947 with full censorial approval. Of course, it was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor's novel, but the end result pleased fans of the book and bluenosed nonfans alike. A last-minute replacement for British import Peggy Cummins, Linda Darnell steps into the role of 17th century blonde bed-hopper Amber as though she'd been born to play it. Feeling suppressed by her Puritan upbringing, Amber heads to London, finding considerable success as a courtesan (that's the polite word for it). The first real love of her life is dashing soldier Bruce Carlton, who leaves her pregnant and penniless when he marches off to war. Subsequent amours include the sadistic Earl of Radcliffe (a superbly loathsome performance by comic actor Richard Haydn), handsome highwayman Black Jack Mallard (John Russell) and privateer Captain Rex Morgan (Glenn Langan). Surviving the Plague and the Great London Fire with nary a hair out of place, Amber ends up in the arms of no less than King Charles II (wittily portrayed by George Sanders), but true love, as personified by Bruce Carlton, will always elude her. Taking no chances, 20th Century-Fox sent out Forever Amber with a spoken prologue, heard over the opening credits, which explained that the film in no way endorsed its heroine's libertine behavior, and that she would be amply punished for her sins before fadeout time (that prologue has thankfully been removed from current prints). A model of restraint by today's standards, Forever Amber was sufficiently titillating in 1947 to post an enormous profit, far in excess of its $4 million budget. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Forever Amber was a tremendous popular hit in its day, largely because of its "racy" subject, well known to viewers of the time because the novel upon which it is based had also been tremendously popular; however, much of the sex had to be considerably diminished for the screen version; in 1947, this didn't seem to matter too much, but modern audiences will probably be bothered by the film's "hinting" approach. Still, for the time, the film does have a number of "shocking" elements -- the heroine has a child out of wedlock and is clearly using her sexual wiles to gain favors and position, even if this is not exactly spelled out. What really works against Amber, however, isn't the lack of sexual detail so much as the lack of sexual chemistry between the leads. Linda Darnell, of course, simply exudes sexuality (even if she comes across as far too 20th century in her manner), but she gets nothing back from Cornel Wilde, and so the intense passion that Darnell's character feels for Wilde's makes no sense. And if that makes no sense, her motivations throughout the film make no sense. Coming off much better is George Sanders, simply delicious in the kind of role he was born to play. Sanders is such a good match for the role that he could easily have walked through it and still have come off a winner; but he adds nuance and detail that guarantee he steals practically every scene in which he appears. Otto Preminger's direction is so-so, but the physical production is lush and lavish. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
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. The character Amber in the novel was so called because of her hair color, and this is the only major film in which Darnell — normally known for her raven hair and somewhat Latin looks — appears as a redhead. 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.
