possible Oscar nod?
I assume Flynn would have been the Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift) romantic interest role as opposed to the Dr Austin Sloper (and father to Catherine: Olivia) as played by Ralph Richardson.
Clift didn’t get an Oscar “nom” but Richardson DID…
(You may recall that the other lost opportunity being A Tree Grows in Brookyln and a DEFINITE Oscar there!)
Here’s a blurb from a recent DVD release:
“THE HEIRESS CRITERION COLLECTION REVIEW
June 27, 2019
DVD/Blu-Ray
THE HEIRESS is surrounded by so much film history that it is hard to fix a point to start. What you will know is that it was directed by 3 time oscar winner, William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives). It was a winner of 4 oscars including one for Olivia De Havilland (her second) for best actress. You might not know it was based on a play by husband and wife team Ruth and Augustus Goetz, who in turn took the inspiration from the novel ‘Washington Square’ by America’s great chronicler of the affluent, Henry James. You will not know that Errol Flynn was to be the original lead but decided against it. Which meant no reteaming of Basil Rathbone (also up for a role) and De Havilland.”
— Karl
rswilltell
July 1, 2019 at 1:14 pm
Basil Rathbone fled Hollywood and his Sherlock Holmes fame (refusing to renew his contracts to stat in more SH movies for Universal and the radio series as well against all advice from close friends including Nigel Bruce) to star to great acclaim on Broadway in The Heiress. What a tragedy for him that Paramount instead gave the film role to Ralph Richardson. Rathbone did not make a film for 7 years and his career never fully recovered. In desperation he brought Sherlock Holmes to Broadway in 1953 without Bruce who was dying from heart disease. Basil’s wife Ouida wrote the play based on several of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories but the moment passed. No one cared any longer about Sherlock Holmes. Ralph Schiller
shangheinz
July 2, 2019 at 7:32 am
Another entry in the “O what could´ve been”- column. Tx Karl. www.bing.com…