Every so often with this blind spot series the backstory behind a film is more interesting than the actual film itself. Nowhere is that more true than for The Magnificent Ambersons from 1942. In a weird way the fact the film was basically stolen from Orson Welles and edited within an inch of its life by RKO makes it more memorable than it might have ever ever normally been. I suppose that is hard to say because we can’t view his original vision which was 40 minutes longer with a different ending but it certainly couldn’t have been as vanilla and bland as the finished product the studio came up with.
Manda and I have recorded our episode on this film and we had a great time together because we are good friends and always do but it really is not a film that stood out to either of us. You can see Welles’ craft with the camera and there are some good acting scenes but it lacks the melodrama you want from a dishy family soap opera like this should be. It’s more like Meet Me in St Louis than Giant but without the catchy tunes or romance.
The best parts of the movie come from Agnes Moorehead who plays Fanny the Aunt of selfish young man George who is trampled on and abused until she finally has it in the famous boiler room speech. It is definitely the most memorable moment of the film.
Another memorable scene comes when George realizes he can make more money at the chemical plant than as a lawyer and he walks around the factories bemoaning what has happened to his beloved class of people and family money. Most of the rest is pretty forgettable.
It’s very sad what RKO did to Welles especially when you understand that he was down in Brazil filming a movie as part of the Good Neighbor Program which was working to court goodwill with the South and Latin American neighbors and to keep them on our side. Here he was literally doing something patriotic for the world-at-large and was repaid by losing any say in the film he’d worked so hard on. It’s too bad they didn’t have a Save the Welles Cut situation back then because I know all of us classic film fans would love to see it.
If you haven’t seen The Magnificent Ambersons I think it is worth seeing as a piece of film history and for Moorehead’s performance but that’s about it. Like I said, it’s more interesting for the backstory than the film itself. It’s too bad but it sometimes happens even today.