The Heiress

The Heiress, by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, is based on the Henry James novel "Washington Square." This classic tale of love and betrayal centers around the socially awkward and painfully shy spinster Catherine, who in 1850 stands to inherit a tidy sum. When the handsome but penniless Morris Townsend begins to woo her, Catherine's suspicious father, bitter over his wife's death and at Catherine's inability to live up to her mother's reputation, cruelly insists that she is not worthy of true love and threatens to disinherit her. Will Catherine choose love? Will love choose her? All is in doubt until the emotionally shattering conclusion. The film version starred Olivia de Havilland (who won an Oscar), Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson.