This is Orson Welles follow-up to the wonderful and amazing Citizen Kane, and yes, it pales in every way.
That being said, it isn't a bad film, it just isn't as good as Citizen Kane, basically no movie can be.
The Ambersons are true royalty in their small midwestern town just before the turn of the century, the twentieth century. Isabel (Dolores Costello) marries someone is not her true love and their child, George (Tim Holt) is indeed the most spoiled, self-absorbed child in the city. He is nasty to the children and even an older man, disrespectful to his core. He isn't nice to his girlfriend, Lucy (Anne Baxter) but worse, after his father dies, he learns the truth about his mother and can't stand her newfound happiness. As it turns out, Isabel loved Lucy's father, Gene Morgan (Joseph Cotton) before she married Wilbur (Don Dillaway). So when Gene turns up at the house, George turns him away, cruelly. Though Isabel picks her son over Gene, it ultimately kills her. She dies before she can reconcile with Gene. Then, the money goes away. Well, it sort of whittled away over time and then Aunt Fanny (Agnes Moorhead) admits that she made a bad investment which will force George to actually work for a living, something which he doesn't relish.
George's life continues to get worse, he is hit by a newfangled automobile and breaks both of his legs. But at least Gene is friendly with the family again. And George will be okay, once his broken bones heal.
Now, while this is an interesting film, I probably would have liked to have seen a film that detailed George's life after he fell from glory. Lucy was too good for him anyway. Still, it is filmed brilliantly and looks amazing, with brilliant costumes and good performances, though some scenes were cut too short. Moorhead was deservingly nominated for an Oscar and while Holt was good, I feel that a stronger actor could have done better. Welles himself would have done the role justice. Holt, by the way, is the other guy in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Baxter, on the other hand, was great. I wish the studio hadn't gotten their hands on it and we could have seen the film that Welles truly wanted us to see. Grade: B+
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