Portions of The Magnificent Ambersons, especially the first chapter, were frequently anthologized. Tarkington's mildly satirical style makes both interesting and amusing reading. The best known adaptation is Orson Welles's film version.

Welles both wrote the screenplay and directed the film on location in Indianapolis. The movie, made in 1942, features Tim Holt as George, Anne Baxter as Lucy, Dolores Costello as Isabel, Richard Bennet as Major Amberson, and Joseph Cotton as Eugene Morgan. An earlier movie entitled Pampered Youth was produced in 1925.