Forever Amber (1947)

Forever Amber is a 1947 American romantic historical drama film starring Linda Darnell and Cornel Wilde. It was based on the book of the same title by Kathleen Winsor. It also starred Richard Greene, George Sanders, Glenn Langan, Richard Haydn, and Jessica Tandy.

The film was adapted by Jerome Cady, Philip Dunne and Ring Lardner Jr., and directed by Otto Preminger, who replaced original director John M. Stahl after 39 days of filming and $300,000 of production. The movie was originally budgeted at $4.5 million.

The Hays Office had condemned the novel, but within a month of its publication the film rights had been purchased by 20th Century Fox. The film on its release was initially condemned by the National Legion of Decency.

In 1947, Darnell won the starring role in the highly anticipated film adaptation when the original star, newcomer Peggy Cummins, proved too inexperienced for the role. In the novel, the newborn Amber is so named by her dying mother after the color of her father's eyes. Publicity at the time compared the novel Forever Amber to Gone with the Wind. The search for the actress to portray Amber, a beauty who uses men to make her fortune in 17th-century England, was modeled on the extensive process that led to the casting of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

The film's score, by composer David Raksin, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Music Score.