Forever Amber (1947)

Forever Amber is a glossy Technicolor 20th Century-Fox swashbuckling historical adventure romance directed by Otto Preminger (who was brought in to replace the original director John M. Stahl).

It was based on Kathleen Winsor’s steamy and scandalous 1944 novel of the same name which had attracted a firestorm of controversy and was banned for obscenity in many U.S. states. The Production Code Authority initially made it clear that they would not in any circumstances countenance a film adaptation. But they later relented. This was a fascinating period in Hollywood history, with growing pressure from the studios for a relaxation of the Production Code and a willingness by the Production Code Authority to compromise just a little.

Obviously the story had to be sanitised considerably but it does get away with quite a bit. It is made absolutely crystal clear that the heroine’s relationships with a series of men are sexual relationships.

The Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the movie on its release which helped to make Forever Amber a gigantic hit which broke box-office records.

The setting is England just after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. Bruce Carlton (Cornel Wilde) is seeking financial support from King Charles II for a privateering expedition. The King has reasons of his own for wanting Bruce to be far far away. The king fears that his latest mistress may be a bit too fond of the handsome Bruce.

On his way to London, at a little village named Marygreen, Bruce had met Amber St. Clair (Linda Darnell). Amber lives in humble circumstances and is about to be married off to a farmer, much to her horror. She does not see herself as a farmer’s wife. Amber has much higher ambitions. Bruce is good-looking and he has a title. He would make a splendid husband. But Bruce does not want an entanglement and sets off for sea without Amber.

Amber might be a gold digger but it is possible that she really does love Bruce. It becomes increasingly obvious that this really is the case.

Everything then goes wrong for Amber and she ends up in debtor’s prison. She becomes the mistress of a highwayman. She embarks on a career on the stage. In Restoration England it was assumed that all actresses were whores. She becomes the mistress of Captain Rex Morgan. And the things really start go wrong.

And there’s the baby to think of.

Amber will bounce back, and she will get kicked around again by fate and she’ll bounce back again.

Amber is the kind of heroine that Hollywood filmmakers liked at this time. She’s a very bad girl. She breaks all the moral rules. But she’s lively, likeable, feisty, exciting and very sexy. Rather than disapprove of her audiences were naturally going to adore her. Linda Darnell, a very underrated star, gives one of her best performance. She has no trouble making Amber a sympathetic complex bad girl. And for all her wickedness we know that she still loves Bruce. And while she breaks society’s moral rules she is never actually malicious.

Amber St Clair is not quite Scarlett O’Hara but the two women do have several things in common. They both have guts and they both have physical courage, but it’s a woman’s courage rather than a man’s courage. And they’re very hard to break - they both have a great deal of inner strength. A big difference compared to Hollywood today is that Hollywood in the 40s made movies featuring strong interesting female characters but they were very much women.

Linda Darnell really did deserve a better leading man. Cornel Wilde just doesn’t have the charisma needed. He’s the biggest weakness in the film.

George Sanders is of course terrific as King Charles II. He doesn’t play him as a mere wicked debauchee but as a man weighed down by duty who has to keep himself amused in order to keep going. And he plays him as a man who does actually have a sense of honour. He wants to get Amber into bed and he could abuse his power as king to force her to comply but he never does. That would be vulgar and dishonourable. Sanders also adds a slight sense of melancholy. Sanders and Darnell are by far the most impressive cast members.

It might seem like an odd movie for Otto Preminger to direct but considering his passionate loathing for the Production Code he might have enjoyed seeing how far he could push things.

Forever Amber doesn’t have a huge reputation, perhaps because it slots into every film genre that serious-minded critics automatically despise - it’s a costume drama, it’s a women’s melodrama, it’s a romance. It’s actually very enjoyable and Linda Darnell makes it very much worth seeing. Highly recommended.