Forever Amber (1947) on Netflix
NR19472h 18mDramaHistoryRomance
Orphaned in the English Civil War, Amber St. Clair is raised by farmers but wants an elegant life. Cavaliers ride in, and she begs Bruce Carlton to take her to London.
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- Netflix2.1/5
- IMDb6.5/101,973 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes18%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1644, Roundhead troops chase down a Cavalier carriage, and everyone inside is killed after a baby has been left on a farmhouse doorstep. The couple who find her raise the girl; her blanket is embroidered with the word Amber. By 1660 the monarchy has been restored, and Amber St. Clair is sixteen, strong-willed, and promised by her puritanical father to a farmer, though she wants a grander life. A group of Cavaliers arrives, among them Bruce Carlton, and she is smitten. She begs him to carry her to London, but he refuses, and coaxing from his friend Almsbury does not change his mind. Before the men ride off, she and Bruce kiss.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Forever Amber (1947)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- After 39 days of shooting and $1 million spent, 20th Century Fox halted Forever Amber for three months and reassigned director John M. Stahl and star Peggy Cummins; studio head Zanuck said it had failed to measure up and Fox felt Cummins looked too young to play the grown-up Amber.
- Cardinal Francis Spellman and the Legion of Decency condemned Forever Amber and threatened a boycott of Catholic theatregoers; after first vowing to fight the ruling as harsh and unfair, Fox added a prologue criticizing Amber, saying "the wages of sin is death", and an epilogue where Cornel Wilde asks God's mercy for their sins.
- Fox's hunt for the actress to play Amber was modeled on the search for Scarlett O'Hara: Gene Tierney was the early front runner, Maureen O'Hara lobbied hard in a period dress in the studio commissary, and Paulette Goddard also wanted the part.
- James Mason, then starring in The Seventh Veil, turned down the role of Bruce Carlton in Forever Amber because he thought the novel was "a silly book" and the script didn't improve it; Fox contract player Richard Greene was an early favorite for the part.
- Cornel Wilde refused to return as Bruce Carlton when filming resumed unless Fox raised his salary: he was being paid $3,000 a week but wanted a deal like Betty Grable's, who made two films a year at $150,000 each.
- Forever Amber began shooting in March 1946 with a $3 million budget, the most expensive in the history of 20th Century Fox, topping the studio's previous record-holder Wilson.
