The Magnificent Ambersons
1942, NR, 88 min.
Directed by Orson Welles, Starring Tim Holt, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead.
Welles’ Amberson family saga about class differences in America is based on Booth Tarkington’s novel. Though this was Welles’ follow-up to Citizen Kane, the final cut of the film was taken out of his hands by the studio, and recriminations have waged ever since. Some argue that Ambersons nevertheless surpasses Kane in quality, though, at the very least the films should be seen as two of a kind.
This article appears in June 3 • 2005.