Joseph Cotten

Dolores Costello

Anne Baxter

Tim Holt

Agnes Moorehead

Ray Collins

Erskine Sanford

Richard Bennett

Orson Welles

Edwin August

Georgia Backus

Harry A. Bailey

Olive Ball

Jack Baxley

William Blees

Lyle Clement

Bobby Cooper

Don Dillaway

Heenan Elliott

John Elliott

William Elmer

James Fawcett

Mel Ford

Nancy Gates

Nina Guilbert

Maynard Holmes

Edward Howard

Harry Humphrey

Elmer Jerome

J. Louis Johnson

Lew Kelly

Del Lawrence

Bert LeBaron

John McGuire

Philip Morris

Anne O'Neal

Gil Perkins

Charles R. Phipps

Hilda Plowright

Drew Roddy

Henry Roquemore

Jack Santoro

Gus Schilling

Kathryn Sheldon

Sada Simmons

Dorothy Vaughan

James Westerfield

Joe Whitehead

Bernard Herrmann

Albert S. D'Agostino

Vernon L. Walker

Darrell Silvera

Stanley Cortez

Edward Stevenson

Helen Thurston

David Sharpe

Mel Berns

Jack Moss

Terry Kellum

Robert J. Schiffer

Harry Mancke

James G. Stewart

Maurice Seiderman

Roy Meadows

Jack MacKenzie

John E. Tribby

Clifford Stine

James Thompson

Chesley Bonestell

Earl B. Mounce

Mark Robson

Bailey Fesler

Robert Wise

Booth Tarkington

A. Roland Fields

Mark-Lee Kirk

Fred Fleck

Bill McLellan

Claire Cramer

George Schaefer

Drama

Romance

The Magnificent Ambersons

Mercury Productions

RKO Radio Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

This is a actually quite a sad story; though given the wealth and opportunity offered the young "George" (Tim Holt) it might seem fatuous to say so. He is born into a family with money, status and privilege so, consequently, grows up into a young man with little, if any, appreciation of anything - all he wants to do is sail boats. As the plot develops, we see the return of "Eugene" (Joseph Cotton) the man his mother, now widowed, (Dolores Costello) really did love before a childish spat drove her into the arms of the dreary, but reliable, "Wilbur". "George" is determined to ensure that any rekindling of their erstwhile romance is well and truly throttled and so, broadly speaking, misery ensues for all concerned. That "George" is heading for a fall is writ large, and there is soon quite a queue of folks happy to oblige as his arrogance and thoughtlessness causes havoc to all - including himself. It is a gentle melodrama and it is largely devoid of any action, in the typical sense, but the characters do epitomise the wastrel, take-it-for-granted attitudes of the bored, wealthy, aspiring and just plain ignorant very well. Agnes Moorhead stands out as "Fanny", the spinster who tries to keep "George" from his own worst excesses, and Orson Welles resists the temptation to be too judgmental (or overbearing) with his narrative that gently guides us along, now and again.

English