Forever Amber is a 1947 American romantic historical drama film starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. 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, 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.
The Hays Office had condemned the novel, but within a month of its publication the film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox. The film on its release was initially condemned by the National Legion of Decency.
In 1947, Darnell won the title role after the original star, newcomer Peggy Cummins, proved too inexperienced for the role. In the novel, the newborn Amber is named by her dying mother after the color of her father's eyes. The film's publicity compared the novel Forever Amber to Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind. The search for an actress to portray Amber, a beauty who uses men to make her fortune in 17th-century England, was modeled on the extensive casting process for Scarlett O'Hara.
The film's score, by composer David Raksin, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Music Score.
Plot In 1644, during the English Civil War, a group of Roundheads pursue a Cavalier's carriage, which pauses to abandon a baby at a farmer's door. The Roundheads kill everyone aboard. The farmer and his wife adopt the infant, whose blanket is embroidered "Amber".
In 1660, the Restoration of the Monarchy begins. Sixteen-year-old Amber is a strong-willed beauty whose puritanical father has contracted her marriage to a farmer. Amber's dreams of an elegant life seem to come true when a group of Cavaliers arrives. She soon falls in love with the handsome Bruce Carlton. She begs Bruce to take her to London, but despite coaxing from his friend Almsbury, he refuses. Before the men leave for town, Bruce and Amber share a kiss.
Bruce and Almsbury are denied an audience with King Charles II. Back at their London tavern, Amber is waiting. Amber and Bruce begin an affair. He pampers her with new gowns and takes her to the theater. At one performance, Bruce approaches Barbara Villiers, a former girlfriend and the king's mistress, who asks her to persuade Charles to grant him ships for his privateer mission. Distraught at the thought of Bruce leaving, Amber stops Almsbury from warning Bruce that the king has arrived.
Charles later summons Bruce to court. Not wanting his friend to face the king's wrath alone, Almsbury goes with him. However, Charles grants Bruce's requests (to get rid of him as a potential rival) and sends him to Bristol that very night. At the tavern, Amber is sleeping. The next morning, she wakes to find Almsbury packing to return to Almsbury Hall, his ancestral home. The king has restored his rights. Bruce's room is empty. Almsbury tells Amber to go home, but she refuses. She will rise in station and marry Bruce, no matter what.
Almsbury gives her money from Bruce, but she is soon tricked and lands in Newgate, the debtors' prison, where she discovers that she is carrying Bruce's child. Black Jack Mallet, a highwayman, falls in love with her and helps her escape. They go to Mother Redcap's tavern, where Amber gives birth to a son, Bruce.
Amber lures fops into alleyways where Black Jack robs them. When Black Jack is killed by the king's guard, Amber flees and is discovered by Captain Rex Morgan. Captain Morgan takes her as his mistress and introduces her to theater friends. Soon, Amber works as an actress, and the Earl of Radcliffe takes an interest in her.
Almsbury, now married, comes to London and tells Amber that Bruce will return soon. Captain Morgan proposes, but she declines, believing she will reunite with Bruce. When Bruce returns, she turns down a chance to dine with the king. Amber introduces Bruce to their son, hoping he will want to settle down. When Morgan finds Bruce and Amber together, he challenges Bruce to a duel, saying that Amber is his fiancée. Bruce tries and fails to persuade Morgan to withdraw the challenge. Bruce kills Morgan and, blaming Amber, leaves England. Noting that he has killed a man and that their son is without a name, Bruce departs, saying, "May God forgive us both for our sins."
Amber marries the elderly Earl of Radcliffe, a widower, thereby becoming a countess. She departs her wedding reception early to find Bruce when she hears his ship has returned to London. But she soon discovers he has the Black Plague. Amber saves his life by killing a murderous, thieving nurse and lancing a boil on his chest. After Bruce discovers that Amber is married, he sails again for Virginia.
The Great Fire devastates London. Charles II plans to seduce Amber, but Radcliffe locks her in her room at home. While the fire rages in their house, Amber struggles with Radcliffe. A cruelly treated servant overpowers Radcliffe and throws him into the fire, killing him. Amber becomes Charles' mistress.
Bruce visits from Virginia with his wife, Corinna. He wants his son. Amber invites Corinna to dine with her and Charles, hoping that Charles will be attracted to a new face. Charles sees through the plot and allows Corinna to leave unmolested. Realizing that Amber still loves Bruce, Charles ends their relationship.
Bruce asks Amber for custody of their son. Thinking he will choose her, Amber asks the boy to decide. He states that he wants to go to Virginia with his father. Bruce invites Amber to come with them, but she stays and watches, heartbroken, as Bruce takes their son away.
Cast Linda Darnell as Amber St. Clair Cornel Wilde as Bruce Carlton Richard Greene as Lord Harry Almsbury George Sanders as King Charles II Glenn Langan as Capt. Rex Morgan Richard Haydn as Earl of Radcliffe Jessica Tandy as Nan Britton Anne Revere as Mother Red Cap John Russell as Black Jack Mallard Jane Ball as Corinna Carlton Robert Coote as Sir Thomas Dudley Leo G. Carroll as Matt Goodgroome Natalie Draper as Countess of Castlemaine Margaret Wycherly as Mrs. Spong Alma Kruger as Lady Redmond Lillian Molieri aka Lupe Mayorga as Queen Catherine Norma Varden as Mrs. Abbott Alan Napier as Landale Ian Keith as Tybalt
Production Development Forever Amber was adapted from Kathleen Winsor's debut novel published three years earlier. Macmillan, which had published Gone with the Wind, was excited about the book's commercial possibilities and launched it with an initial run of 175,000 copies. William du Bois of The New York Times called Winsor a "born storyteller". The same paper called the book "one of the most expertly packaged bundles of literature in years". The novel was number-one on The New York Times Best Seller List. However, the novel was banned in several countries, including Australia.
Before the novel was published, Winsor's agent suggested she should not submit her manuscript into a competition MGM was holding for first-time authors because the agent felt they could get more than the $125,000 prize money.
In November 1944, 20th Century Fox bought the screen rights for $200,000, one of the largest amounts paid for a novel. (By way of comparison, Edna Ferber received $175,000 for Saratoga Trunk; MGM paid $125,000 for Green Dolphin Street and $200,000 to A. J. Cronin for The Green Years; Ernest Hemingway was paid $150,000 for For Whom the Bell Tolls).
The following month, Winsor announced she had signed a contract with Fox to adapt her novel into a script with screenwriter Jerome Cady and producer William Perlberg, act as a technical advisor, and shoot a screen test. Cady finished the script by March. By August 1946, Philip Dunne had written another draft and John Stahl was hired to direct the film. At the time, Dunne was one of the studio's top screenwriters and Stahl had directed Leave Her to Heaven (1945) for Fox.
In a 1986 interview with Patrick McGilligan, Dunne later called the novel "worthless" and believed any adaptation "would be foolish to try to recover the intent of the author which is to please that part of the public that likes to lick its lips while reading." To placate the Production Code Administration (PCA), Amber's lovers was reduced from over 30 in the novel to five in the film. Winsor evidently had little involvement in the script and the film. "We had to be more straitlaced with Amber than we would with another picture", Perlberg explained, "Everyone is waiting for a chance to jump on us."
Casting
Similar to David O. Selznick's casting search for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara, there was an extensive, well-publicised talent search for an actress to portray the title role of Amber St. Clair. In November 1944, Gene Tierney was reported to be the frontrunner. Maureen O'Hara, who was under contract to Fox, lobbied hard for the role, and even wore a period dress in the studio commissary. Paulette Goddard and Annette Simonds also lobbied for the part.
Perlberg told The New York Times he was searching for "a young Vivien Leigh" or "an English Lana Turner." Peggy Cummins, an Irish actress who had appeared on stage in Junior Miss, was reportedly the 37th actress who screen-tested for the role. By October 1945, she was the new frontrunner. In February 1946, studio president Darryl F. Zanuck announced that Cummins had been cast in the title role, along with Cornel Wilde as her main love interest, Bruce Carlton.
At the time, Wilde was, after Tyrone Power, the leading "swashbuckling" style star under contract to Fox. Richard Greene was the other leading contender for the part, and Wilde was suspended at Fox due to a dispute over roles. However, Zanuck decided on Wilde, and the suspension was lifted. James Mason, who had starred in The Seventh Veil (1945), was offered the role but declined because he thought it was "a silly book" and the "script didn't improve it".
By December 1945, Reginald Gardiner was cast as Charles II. Glenn Langan was cast by January 1946. By February 1946, Vincent Price was cast in a supporting role as Lord Almsbury, a friend of Bruce Carlton.
Production under John Stahl Principal photography began in March 1946, with a planned shooting schedule intended to last 103 days. Cummins was to appear in every scene but one. During filming, on March 30, Cummins collapsed on set due to illness. Filming was halted twice, reportedly due to illness on Cummins' part. On April 30, after 39 days of filming and $1 million had been spent, Fox announced that production was suspended for three months. Cummins and Stahl were later assigned to other projects. Zanuck issued a statement, explaining the film had been "suspended until late summer due to the quality of the film, so far shot, not measuring up to the high standard originally planned."
The New York Times explained that studio executives felt Cummins had appeared too young to play Amber as the character aged in the story. Nevertheless, Cummins remained under contract to Fox and was cast in The Late George Apley (1947), Moss Rose (1947), and Escape (1948). However, she left the studio in 1948.
Production under Otto Preminger