“Yes, I can be very cruel. I have been taught by masters.”-Oscar winning here screen icon Oliva de Havilland as Catherine Sloper in the William Wyler masterpiece The Heiress (1949) on TCM 10/9/16 where these tutors of cruelty were played to perfection by Sir Ralph Richardson as her insensitive father Dr. Austin Sloper who was indifferent to his daughter’s self-esteem and Montgomery Clift as her fortune hunting suitor Morris Townsend. Catch Wyler’s dynamic technique of utilizing group shots (as he also does in The Best Years of our Lives) of Catherine, Dr. Sloper, and Morris all in clear focus within the frame-you will catch more details about these characters on repeated viewings.
Lawrence of Cinema 
Lawrence, what a great movie! I still have it on my TiVo and have watched it many times. Thanks for letting us know when it’s on!
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I believe Catherine is including her Aunt Lavinia in her collection of “masters” of cruelty. Aunt Penniman’s continual filling of her niece with excessively romantic notions and her manipulation of the circumstances certainly contributed to Catherine’s loneliness and misery.
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