Dull and plain Catherine (Olivia de Havilland) lives with her emotionally distant father, Dr. Sloper (Ralph Richardson), in 1840s New York. Her days are empty -- filled with little more than needlepoint. Enter handsome Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), a dashing social climber with his eye on the spinster's heart and substantial inheritance. William Wyler's Oscar-winning film is an adaptation of the Henry James novel Washington Square.