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Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Agnes Moorehead ... see more see more... , Ray Collins , Erskine Sanford , Richard Bennett , Donald Dillaway , Edwin August , Georgia Backus , Olive Ball , Jack Baxley , William Blees , Billy Elmer , Nancy Gates , Louis Hayward , Maynard Holmes , Elmer Jerome , J. Louis Johnson , Lew Kelly , John McGuire , Philip Morris , Anne O'Neal , Charles Phipps , Hilda Plowright , Drew Roddy , Henry Roquemore , Gus Schilling , Kathrun Sheldon , Dorothy Vaughan , James Westerfield , Bob Cooper , Orson Welles , Nina Guilberg , Edward Howard , Jack Santoro , Lillian Nicholson , Bob Pittard , Sam Rice , John Elliott

Orson Welles' followup to Citizen Kane (1941) was utterly different from Kane in style and texture, but just as brilliant in its own way. Writer/director Welles does not appear on camera, but his voic... read more read more...eover narration superbly sets the stage for the movie's action, which fades in valentine fashion on Amberson Mansion, the most ostentatious dwelling in all of turn-of-century Indianapolis. Its mistress is the haughtily beautiful Isabel Amberson (Dolores Costello). When Isabel's beau, erstwhile inventor Eugene Morgan (Joseph Cotten), inadvertently humiliates her in public, she breaks off the relationship and marries colorless Wilbur Minafer (Donald Dillaway). The neighbors are certain that, since Isabel can't possibly love Wilbur, she will spoil her children rotten. As it turns out, she has one child, George Minafer (Tim Holt), and that one is enough as far as the rest of Indianapolis is concerned. There are those who live for the day that the arrogant, insufferable George will get his comeuppance. When George returns home from college, his mother and grandfather (Richard Bennett) hold a gala reception in his honor. Among the guests is the older-and-wiser Eugene, now a prosperous automobile manufacturer, and his pretty daughter Lucy (Anne Baxter). George takes to Lucy immediately, but can't warm up to Eugene, especially after learning from his uncle Jack Amberson (Ray Collins) and his maiden aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead) that Eugene and Isabel had once been sweethearts. After the death of Wilbur Minafer, the widowed Eugene feels emboldened enough to propose to Isabel again. This time she is willing, but the obstreperous George refuses to allow his mother to see Eugene. His imperious bullheadedness will lead to tragedy for all concerned--and, at long last, a chastened George Minafer will indeed receive his comeuppance. The film's real villain is not George but that old intangible bugaboo called "Progress." As the automobile age comes to fruition, the elegant, cloistered lifestyle of the Ambersons fades from view, finally disappearing altogether. This is superbly foreshadowed in the "winter outing" sequence (filmed in an L.A. icehouse) in which George's two-horse sleigh is abandoned in favor of Eugene's clunky horseless carriage. Welles evokes performances that his actors seldom (if ever) matched in later years; even the very limited Tim Holt is wholly believable-and even a bit pitiable-as the blinkered George Amberson Minafer. The current version, however, is but a pale shadow of Welles' original concept. Out of time and overbudget, the movie previewed badly and was eventually sliced down to an abrupt 88 minutes (by, among others, editor Robert Wise, who would go on to direct such films as West Side Story and The Sound of Music). Even though the film therefore must be regarded as a marred masterpiece, the remaining two-thirds of Welles' original concept is still a thrilling cinematic experience, especially whenever Agnes Moorehead is on the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Orson Welles

Release Date: July 10, 1942

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Flixster Reviews (392)

  • shortcartoonist
    March 29, 2011
    shortcartoonist
    Familial and small-scale in immediate pictures; grand and adventurous in scope. 'The Magnificent Ambersons' is an amazing film - it is a narrative spanning decades, holds many characters, and covers timely insights into turn of the century industry, power, and the downwards tilt ... read moreof high-life. Yet the film drags. It is an amazing effort that something so crammed together can be a vapid and slow greeting to an uninviting family. Welles' film is well-known for it's extreme studio interference - and it shows heavily - but the result remains as a film with no real purpose, no interesting characters or ties, and no impact on the themes surrounding them. There was a lot happening in the world that these families lived in, it's just too bad we weren't shown very much of it.
  • bottcorecords1
    March 6, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    That staircase. After watching The Magnificent Ambersons, I'm still struck by the staircase of the Amberson mansion. Director Orson Welles somehow gives the impression the staircase winds up story after story, hundreds of feet into the rafters, and without a window to be found.... read more The Ambersons live in this mansion of nitemares, all shadows and endless, winding stairs. The Ambersons are a family of great Shakespearean tragedy. Eugene (Joseph Cotten) and Isabel (Dolores Costello) are sweethearts until Eugene embarrasses himself (when coming to serenade Isabel, he accidentally trips and smashes his bass fiddle) and becomes the laughing stock of the town. Isabel can't settle for any imperfection as she's the daughter of a very important family. She chooses security over love, and marries a plain but well off businessman. When their child comes, he's spoiled horribly, and grows into an even more obnoxious adult. Meanwhile, Eugene has returned to his hometown a successful car manufacturer, recently widowed and with a beautiful daughter. Isabel's son, George (Tim Holt) falls in love with Eugene's daughter, or at least what passes for love in someone so self-absorbed and egotistical. Eugene and Isabel strike up where they left off, much to the envy of the jealous Aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorehead). Fanny schemes to convince George to intervene in the newly re-burgeoning relationship between Eugene and his mother, and the results are tragic for all involved. Aunt Fanny and George are a pair of lost souls, George especially is filled with impudence yet doesn't really understand why things happen around him the way they do, only that they don't happen the way he wishes. Visually, there aren't alot of films as stunning and on as many different levels as this. It's a unique vision and just about as daring a film (visually) as has ever been made. Welles original edit of the film has been lost and bastardized through the years, and the film's final tone of forgiveness rings somewhat at odds with the rest of the film's general feel. However unfortunate this situation may be, it matters little when every frame of the Magnificent Ambersons is a work of art in it's own right.
  • FilmFanatik
    March 5, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    I'd love to Welles' actual version of this, becuase this pretty boring.
  • tsigur
    November 11, 2007
    tsigur
    I enjoyed it a little bit more than Kane.
  • jjnxn
    April 1, 2007
    jjnxn
    agnes moorehead is brilliant in this
  • mjgildea
    November 3, 2006
    mjgildea
    Stunning visuals and camera angles. Possibly the most boring and least driven story ever.
  • fb208103125
    November 30, 2011
    fb208103125
    Orson Welles proved to the world that he was a Director to be watched with his debut masterpiece Citizen Kane and even with the studio cutting nearly 1/3 of Welles' original vision still made a masterwork. The Magnificent Ambersons was his second feature film and having mastered ... read morefilming technique, Welles' focused on giving extraordinary depth to his characters. The film is just as wonderful as Citizen Kane in its own unique way and carries a serious and very meaningful message. Even with the studio's enforced ending that Welles' didn't endorse, and the film being drastically cut due to time and budget restraints, remains a butchered masterpiece. If you view it and understand the film for what it is, you can still enjoy and gain great insight into what Welles' original vision was. Citizen Kane may be The greatest film made (arguably but AFI confirmed twice) but Welles has many other masterworks in his repertoire!
  • michaelcorleone
    September 11, 2010
    michaelcorleone
    The sheer ambition of Orson Welles projects is always exciting to witness, and this film is a prime example of bold ideas. It's a picture full of intricate character relationships and conflicts imbedded into an engrossing story, but unfortunately the interference of studio execut... read moreives prevents it from being the masterpiece it deserves to be. RKO chopped off a substantial amount of the film's content, and it is very noticable. The film moves more briskly than it should, and doesn't provide enough emphasis at times. It does do some damage to the overall effect, but it doesn't prevent it from being a remarkable feat. Welles gives the story a glossy appearance with his trademark technical mastery, and almost any film buff will relish some of the things he achieves with a camera.
  • kingmob6
    September 11, 2011
    kingmob6
    Gave this a second watch awhile back, it holds up very well, really looking forward to owning it with the new Citizen Kane Blu-ray set.

    While this didn't grab me as completely as Kane, it's still an engrossing saga of a wealthy family brought low, interesting even if our window ... read moreinto said family is through the spoiled douche-baggery of the only son Georgie. He begins the film a petulant child, and grows into a selfish man who is hellbent on keeping his widowed mother single in spite of the love she truly feels for another man.

    Well worth a look, and one must lament that Welles' true vision for the film was never realized.
  • HuskersNC949597
    May 6, 2011
    HuskersNC949597
    It takes some effort, I think, to make me hate a character like that. George Amberson Minafer is annoying, but still interesting enough.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 6, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The emotional sense of America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is so palpable you can taste it. Full Review

Don Druker
April 6, 2007
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

A masterpiece in every way (but ignore the awkward ending the studio tacked on without Welles's approval). Full Review

Thomas M. Pryor
August 8, 2006
Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times

All in all, The Magnificent Ambersons is an exceptionally well-made film, dealing with a subject scarcely worth the attention which has been lavished upon it. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
February 26, 2004
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

I must say that I much prefer it to Citizen Kane (1941). So sue me. Full Review

J. Hoberman
February 18, 2004
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

A pretty sensational movie. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Even with so many cuts reducing the final third to a frustrating mish-mash of disjointed segments, it retains the occasional power to mesmerize and amaze. Full Review

Richard T. Jameson
May 1, 2011
Richard T. Jameson, Parallax View

The essence of the Ambersons and of Ambersons is mortality. Full Review

Shawn Badgley
April 6, 2007
Shawn Badgley, Austin Chronicle

This is Orson Welles' lost movie, one he might have been able to rescue, had he been less brash -- and a film he and others believed to be superior to Citizen Kane. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
August 23, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Having mastered film technique in Citizen Kane, Welles devotes more attention to the characters, all of which are all individual creations rather than types. It's a deeper, more personal work than Kan... Full Review

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Hacked about by a confused RKO, Welles' second film (from the novel by Booth Tarkington) still looks a masterpiece. Full Review

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The Magnificent Ambersons Trivia

  • Citizen Kane was the first film Orson Welles made, but what was his second?  Answer »
  • Who directed the movies Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil and The Magnificent Ambersons?  Answer »
  • ***Of Which Film Did Orson Welles Say, "The Studio Are Cutting My Movie With A Lawnmower***  Answer »
  • After "Citizen Kane", what was the only movie that Orsen Welles was nominated for an Oscar?  Answer »
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