It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This movie was charming. The acting was stellar and the script even better. I wish these people were my friends, especially the father. It is a very progressive film as far as traditions vs. progress goes, and that theme is an important one that is maintained throughout the movie. I have little complaints about this little gem except that the ending seemed a little rushed and it was not believable to me that the main actress would choose to not acknowledge the fact that she had just inherited a fortune. It was also not believable to me that the thief who was en route to escaping justice when he has a last minute change of heart and decides to go back and turn himself in. I suppose I am just nitpicking, and I assume that the author of the book of which this movie is based had her reasons for having things played out like that. If you're a lover of the period piece, appreciate good acting and writing, then this film is for you.

Who says that there has never been a class system in America? Miss Edith Adelon is a poor orphan who was adopted by Henry Otis Hamilton, a wealthy American landowner in New England. Hamilton took pity on the foundling child at the time of the death of his brother in Italy. Years later, a personal drama plays out on the Evenswood estate at a time when Edith is forced to make life-changing decisions as a young adult. In the process, she faces hostility because of the low standing of her birth that makes her an outsider in the class-conscious world of nineteenth-century New England.Based on the Louisa May Alcott novel, this made-for-television film beautifully captures the period of post-Civil War New England. The costumes and the photography of Evenswood are superb, and the performances (especially Cari Shayne as Edith) are uniformly excellent.Above all, it is the overall feeling that is captured by the performers that makes "The Inheritance" an engrossing experience of charm and sentiment. Tom Conti is excellent as Henry Otis Hamilton, who recognizes the potential of the young orphan, entrusting Edith to ride in the Green Cup and to humiliate his stuffy neighbor, Arlliss Johnson, when she wins the race. Somehow, Edith's ability with horses appears to be in her blood. There is also a villain in the piece. But it is not a stereotypical melodramatic mustache-twirling blackmailer, but the catty Miss Ida Glenshaw, who will stop at nothing in order to ruin the life of Edith. The most outrageous moment is the theft of the family jewelry that is planted in the bedchamber of Edith by Miss Glenshaw.The love interest in the story is Jane Austen-like in the evolving relationship of Edith and the dashing Mr. Percy, whose bleeding heart from an earlier romance is mended by the kindness of the orphan. It would not be an overstatement to suggest that upon their first meeting, when she pulls out her handkerchief to wipe blood from his cheek, love will conquer all. But that will depend on unlocking the mysterious past of the orphan in which a long lost letter is discovered to reveal the truth about her lineage.One of the nice touches of the film was the use of captions alongside the characters prior to the closing credits. Miss Amy Hamilton, the bookish daughter, goes to college and becomes a suffragette. Miss Glenshaw makes a smooth transition into becoming a spinster and spending time in a correction facility. And, of course, all obstacles are removed for the "perfect" relationship of Mr. Percy and Miss Adelon.

I enjoyed this presentation of Louisa May Alcott's "The Inheritance". The story is broad and interesting, with great propulsion and a particularly satisfying ending. The characters initially appear to be broad as well, but the additions of class and gender consciousness flesh things out in such a way as one might expect from authors such as Jane Austin or Charlotte Bronte.The story is beautifully photographed with excellent ensemble acting performed by numerous old pros, such as Tom Conti, Meredith Baxter, Max Gail, and others. Look fast for an amusing cameo by Paul Bartel as a doctor - it made me wish that Mary Woronov would have been cast as Ida.I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone. 7 out of 10.

I saw this first in 1997 on the Kraft something-something (CBS). The very first part looked so refreshing that I threw in a tape and have absolutely been gone on it ever since. I had read about the newly discovered manuscript and book publication at an earlier time. I bought several copies of the book and gave them out as gifts to friends and relatives. Everyone who has watched it with me has loved it. My brother, in from Knoxville once, and after watching the usual popular movies at that time, was, up to that point fairly unimpressed. I decided to put it in. He watched and even though he had not even commented on any of the others, he looked at me after the end credits then lights on, and said, "That was a good one." You have to know my understated Economics Professor-of-a brother to know how funny that comment was and how it pleased me. The filmed presentation and its screenplay are more flowing, integrated and related to a self-contained start-to-finish story than is the actual book. The scene where Edith is with her ailing uncle, her innocence, her lack of guile or ability to deceive, contrive or lie, is unbelievably attractive in character and essence. Edith is so transparently good and kind and always helping others without taking credit this story is about the rewards of that goodness and that sweetness. There are hints from the beginning that are noticed after the fact, about where the relationships lie and why certain people do what they do and act the way they do. How could the entire story be so simple and yet enchanting enough to cause me to think of it all the time. When Edith first meets Percy by the horse, spilling her apples and yet touching his scratched face with her handkerchief I loved the way the directors let us know the magic was on. When Percy comes in the house for the first time and meets her Edith cannot hide her bright-eyed, innocent crush and that she has met him already. Her facial expressions are uniquely well done as she hides behind the curtain. You can see that she is jealous already, even though she knows he is not there for her nor could there be a crossing of social barriers, yet he was hers, she thought. How many movies are there where one kiss, just one kiss is so dramatic? With all the thrills, spills and chills in modern movies, needed to even keep an audience awake, is this not a gem for those of us who are just plain in love with love?