I recently watched Madame Bovary on TV and I was struck with the comparison of that film and The Heiress. Both films have a scene with the love sick woman waiting in the road with her bags packed waiting for her lover to pick her up and carry her away. There are probably lots of films with this particular theme, but I'm going to focus on three.
First is Madame Bovary, based on the controversial novel by Gustave Flaubert. It's amazing when you see this film today how tame it is. Emma (Jennifer Jones) has a 4-year affair with Rodolphe even though she's married and has a small child. He promises to carry her away to Italy. She's to meet him with her bags packed at midnight and there she is, waiting, waiting. A carriage drives up only to keep on driving and not stopping for her. Rodolphe never shows. He just wasn't that into her.
The same exact scene appears in The Heiress. Catherine (Olivia de Havilland), a wealthy heiress who is very plain with not a whole lot of personality meets Morris (Montgomery Clift) and he seems to be smitten. But her father insists that he's only after her money. Catherine doesn't think so and decides to elope with him. She packs her bags and waits and waits only to be left, pretty much just like Emma. Morris just wasn't that into her. But she does get her revenge. You'll have to see the movie to see the
ending.
A Place in the Sun features Montgomery Clift again (the cad!). In this film he plays George who proposes to Alice (Shelly Winters). Then later meets and falls in love with Angela (Elizabeth Taylor). Alice is all packed and plans to meet him at the lake (where he's cavorting with Angela). George takes Alice out in a boat and she kind of actually falls out of the boat (?) and drowns. George just wasn't that into her.
The moral of the story is to never pack your bags unless you're absolutely positive he's that into you.
Do you have a favorite film where he dumps the girl?
Next month - films where she dumps him. Stay tuned.
