Kathleen Winsor’s best-selling novel Forever Amber was made into a lush big screen entertainment by Otto Preminger in 1947.
It was necessary to tone down the more erotic passages of Winsor’s novel, but the film was popular with the public.
Linda Darnell plays the role of the 17th century femme fatale. Suppressed by her Puritan upbringing, Amber St. Clair moves to London, finding success as a courtesan. Her first love is dashing soldier Bruce Carlton, who leaves her pregnant and penniless when he goes to war.
Surviving the Plague and the Great London Fire, Amber ends up with King Charles II (George Sanders), but true love for Bruce Carlton eludes her.
Fox forced Preminger to begin the film with a voice-over telling the audience that the film does not endorse its heroine’s behavior, and that she would be punished for her sins. This prologue has been removed from the video and DVD versions.
Forever Amber generated huge profits for the studio, which invested a large budget of $4 million.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Scoring: David Raksin
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner of the Best Scoring Oscar was Miklos Rozsa for “A Double Life.”
Credits:
Running time: 140 minutes.
DVD: October 5, 1994
Twentieth Century Fox