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The presumed difficulty of adapting Henry James for the screen has preoccupied many recent critics. Susie Gibson suggests that the directors of many recent adaptations, including Washington Square (1997), have concentrated on "the irrelevant yet somehow compulsory history scene" at the expense of "narrative concentration" (Gibson 47). Philip Home rejects the idea that a Henry James film should be faithful to the book, arguing that "extreme closeness to portions of the original [text] may be dangerous unless really thought through" (16). In a brochure introducing a season of Henry James films and television productions at the National Film Theatre in London, it was suggested that "[rather than] a feature film ... perhaps it is often the more leisurely pace of the classic television serial which is better able to give a more faithful approximation to the dense and finely judged prose of the master" (1).
The notions of being "faithful" to the original text, or approximating James's prose seem somewhat tenuous: if a long novel is being adapted, ruthless cuts and selections are almost inevitable. Filmmakers need a radical interpretation and a structure of their own to retain direction, shape, or dynamics. The result must stand as a work in its own right as a reconstruction of James's work for a different medium.
This paper will seek to illustrate this process through an analysis of William Wyler's The Heiress (Paramount, 1949). The main focus will not be on fidelity to the original text (Washington Square), or communicating the author's intention (whatever that might be) to the audience, but rather on issues that influenced the film's screenplay, casting, and visual style. 1 I shall not discuss the screenplay in detail, but rather focus on how its construction was influenced by two factors: the critical reputation of Henry James and Washington Square at the time when the film was made; and the fact that the film was based on a successful Broadway (and subsequently West End) adaptation. I also want to show how the screenplay restored elements of Henry James's novel. which were omitted from the adaptation. In looking at the casting of the film, Wyler was as much concerned with repeating the commercial and artistic success of The Little Foxes (1941) as he was with remaining...