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All This, and Heaven Too More at IMDbPro »

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48 reviews in total

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36 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
The Murder that Helped Topple a Monarchy, 8 April 2004
Author: theowinthrop from United States

This excellent period drama is based on a popular novel of 1939 by Rachel Field. It told a version of the story of the murder, in Paris in 1847, of Fanny Sebastiani Choiseul-Praslin, Duchesse and wife of Theobald, Duc de Choiseul-Praslin. Fanny was the daughter of Marachal Horace Sebastiani, one of the leading political and social figures in the July Monarchy or Orleans Monarchy of France, under King Louis Phillippe (1830 - 1848). This was a middle-class supported monarchy, and was far more liberal than it's predecessor monarchy under King Louis's cousins the Bourbons. But by 1847 it had grown corrupt, and it was suffering a series a serious scandals. The murder of Duchesse Fanny by her husband was the last real blow. Supposedly the marriage had collapsed due to the growing relationship between Theobald and the children's governess, Mlle. Helene Deluzy-Desportes. The actual relationship between the governess and the Duc remains questioned, although most believe she was his lover. Rachel Field, a descendant of Fanny and her later husband, Rev. Martyn Field, presented the governess as the victim of circumstances (working in a household that was falling apart). Finally, whatever the cause, Theobald beat Fanny to death, and tried to make it look like a burglar did it. Instead the Surete was not fooled, and Theobald was arrested. But while under arrest he took poison, and he died denying his guilt and denying the involvement of the governess. Fanny came to America, where she taught school and married into the Field family (her brother-in-law Cyrus was a financier who laid the Atlantic Cable, and her brother-in-law Stephen was an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court). As for the French, they blamed the government for allowing the Duc to escape justice, and within a year the July Monarchy was overthrown. Marachel Sebastiani (Montague Love in the film) died prematurely in 1851 - the last victim of the crime.

The film, except for the pro-Deluzy-Desportes slant, is excellent with a fine, restrained performance by Davis, an intense one by Boyer (who finally explodes in one scene where he shows his thorough hatred for his wife), and a marvelous performance by Barbara O'Neill as Fanny. I would thoroughly recommend this one for movie fans - a fine example of the best of Warner's historical films.

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31 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Bette Becomes Jane Eyre., 14 December 2005

Author: nycritic

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Bette Davis, late in life, told Boze Hadleigh in one of her numerous interviews with him that she could not be accused of repeating herself. She could not have been closer to the truth, because she went from role to role giving powerhouse performances, and even if the movie in itself was less than stellar, she would make sure the viewer remembered her. See-sawing from playing a doomed heroine dying from a brain tumor in DARK VICTORY to playing Elizabeth the Queen in THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX to playing Queen Carlotta in JUAREZ and then doing a complete about-face to stun audiences with her nasty portrayal of Leslie Crosbie in THE LETTER, she could do it all.

And in ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO she does it again. Playing a much more maternal woman that she is noted for, she plays Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, a governess employed by the Duke Theo de Praslin to care for his children (among them a young June Lockhart and restrained Virginia Weidler). She is not welcomed by his wife, the Duchese de Praslin, who would rather have her out on the streets than anyplace in the house. It's never truly explained why her initial disdain for Henriette rapidly escalates into a grotesque display of hatred gone mad. Certainly the Duke doesn't show signs of being a womanizer, but something in the way he and Henriette treat each other may suggest otherwise.

Unrequited love and triumph of the spirit is at the center of this story focused not only on Henriette's experience while working at the Praslin house, but her brave attempts to forge a life where society would have her be the tainted woman for being in the middle of a marital scandal. I was surprised that Davis would have chosen this role -- this would be a showcase for someone like Joan Fontaine, who had a winning streak playing these kind of mousy, noble women, so simperingly noble you want to slap them into reality -- but she makes the role her own. Davis this time, instead of wildly emoting, goes the other way around and conveys so much more in key scenes with her sad eyes and shy body language.

She is well-matched by veteran actor Charles Boyer, and if in later accounts she expressed a vague disdain for him it doesn't show in any of their scenes together. Boyer, most remembered from GASLIGHT, plays a broken man as if her were living the part at that moment. This of course, leads to Barbara O'Neill, a largely forgotten actress most known for playing Vivien Leigh's mother in GONE WITH THE WIND in 1939. Looking strikingly familiar to Ava Gardner, serpentine, her character is the one who walks away with the film and I can certainly see Davis telling O'Neill off-screen to hit her with as much venom as she could, and boy, does she! She not only walks off with the movie, she walks off with the director in tow, the 67 sets, the entire production and the celluloid packed neatly under her arm.

One of the best examples of a "woman's picture" that most actresses at the time were producing with varying degrees of success, ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO manages to rise well-above its material, based on a notorious case in the mid-1800's, and of course is one of Davis' prime outings. It only received one Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Barbara O'Neill, well-deserved. Anatole Litvak would go to greater films like ANASTASIA, SORRY WRONG NUMBER, and THE SNAKE PIT.

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30 out of 37 people found the following review useful:
Haunting, romantic period piece., 20 August 1999

Author: Michael Bragg (afsfboy22@aol.com) from San Francisco, California

Director Anatole Litvak does an exceedingly good job with this romantic period piece, as do each of the actors involved. Bette Davis plays Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, a governess in 19th Century France, who lands a position working for Theo, Duc De Praslin (Charles Boyer) and his family. The childern adore the new, spirited governess, but Boyer's psycho bitch wife, the Duchesse (Barbara O'Neil), is resentful of Henriette's intrusion into the family. The new addition to the family works her magic on everyone but the Duchesse. Theo and Henriette, predictably, begin to fall in love, which further complicates things, sending the crazy wife into even more rages of insanity. All of this builds momentum until a climactic crime of passion takes a life.

Davis is a kick to watch as she struts her stuff with an excellent French accent. Boyer is awesome in this dark, brooding, but romantic role. And O'Neil deservedly got an Oscar-nomination for her role, full of anger and energy. But the real stand-out, interestingly enough, is Richard Nicols as Boyer's so-adorable-you-just-wanna-squeeze-him son Reynald.

Overall, this dark, dreary film is a highly-satisfying experience, slightly off-put by the preachy, silly final scene in the classroom.

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17 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Beautiful period piece from Warners, 6 September 2006

Author: blanche-2 from United States

Bette Davis is a schoolteacher whose past returns to haunt her in "All This and Heaven Too," a true story which took place in 1840s France and turned into a novel by Rachel Field. Bette Davis is the governess turned teacher, Henriette, Charles Boyer is the man of the house, the Duc de Praslin, Barbara O'Neill is his neurotic wife, and Jeffrey Lynn a minister friend who helps Henriette.

Henriette takes over as governess in the unhappy home of the Duc, caring for his four children - played by June Lockhart, Ann Todd, Virginia Wielder, and the adorable, pouty-lipped Richard Nichols. Though Nichols appeared in films taking place in France and Sweden, he sports a thick southern accent and calls Henriette "mamZEL." The Duc is miserable with his frustrated, bitter wife. The lack of sex in the marriage is demonstrated by his escorting her to her room and kissing her hand, then departing to his own room. She writes him lots of letters which she slips under his door. Feelings develop between the Duc and Henriette, but in the film at least, these are never acted upon. Unconvinced, the Duchesse does everything she can to get rid of the governess. In the beginning of the movie, Henriette tells her story as her students find out she has spent time in prison over a double tragedy which took place in the Praslin household.

Though a tragic story on many levels, it's a beautifully told one with every detail attended to. Bette Davis is warm and restrained as Henriette, soft-spoken and deferential. Boyer, with that vein in his forehead that sticks out when he's angry, is excellent as a man at the boiling point. O'Neill is positively hateful, a credit to her marvelous performance. From the strong, generous, loving mother in "Gone With the Wind," she turns herself into a self-involved, petty harridan.

"All This and Heaven Too" will sweep you into its rich atmosphere. In fact, I remember bringing this film to my office once when I worked a night shift, figuring that my colleagues and I would watch some of it over dinner each night. We ended up watching the entire thing in one sitting - which is what happened the last time I watched it. At 141 minutes, it's not short, but it holds the attention as a great film should.

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17 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
A long but moving Warner Bros. prestige picture, 17 February 2003

Author: Heath McEwan from Stonehaven, Scotland

Based upon the popular 1937 novel written by Henriette Duluzy Desporte's grandneice, one Rachel Field, this movie was a prime vehicle for Bette Davis. This was considered Warners big "prestige" picture for 194O, and it shows: no expense in the production costs were spared, it's an exceptionally finely crafted motion picture. Based upon factual incidents, the story tells of how the notorious 1847 murder of the Dutchess (played with venomous relish by the tall & stately Barbara O'Neil) made Henriette the most notoriously suspicious and despised woman in Europe for a time. Originally, O'Neil's interpretation of the horrendously neurotic Dutchess was played looking a disheveled, unkempt mess physically. The producers thought her appearance would be a bit too uncooth for viewers to endure, but that decision robbed O'Neil of a far more effective characterization. As Henriette, Davis is much more subdued than normal, and her performance is genuinely affecting: another victorious portrait added to her quickly growing gallery of unforgettable heroines and vixens. Charles Boyer is fine as the Duc; he and Davis have a most interesting, classy chemistry between them. The children include Richard Nichols (as the adorable Raynald), Virginia Weidler and June Lockhart. Anatole Litvak's direction keeps this 14O minute saga flowing: the result is a handsome period piece which is done in old Hollywood's best style.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Sincere performances by Davis and Boyer in overlong soap opera..., 22 April 2001
Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Bette Davis drops her scenery-chewing manner and is absolutely docile and restrained throughout as a woman falsely accused of having a love affair with Charles Boyer. The real scene-stealer in this one is Barbara O'Neil (she was Scarlett O'Hara's demure mother). So much venom in her performance, she is a striking actress and was rightfully nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar. All the period sets and costumes are magnificent, the supporting players are expert and, of course, Max Steiner contributes one of his most impressive background scores. Bette is the surprise here. It's nice to see her playing such a docile role with such skill and earnestness, getting full sympathy for her character. An absorbing, if overlong, period soap opera from the Rachel Field novel. Definitely worth seeing.

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13 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
A Sweet and Kind Bette Davis!, 6 November 1998

Author: Patrick Sullivan from Los Angeles, California

If you're looking for a chain-smoking, scenery-chewing Bette Davis, this is not the movie for you. First of all, she's sweet and kind, soft-spoken and rather docile. A great change-of-pace for the legendary actress. She has excellent chemistry with her leading man, Charles Boyer, (in their only film together). Barbara O'Neil, (who the year before had played Scarlett O'Hara's mother in "Gone With The Wind") is the nasty character in this one. (Her performance is good, but those false eyelashes that she wears are distracting! Max Steiner's musical score was never better.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
All This, and Barbara O'Neil Too!, 14 January 2003
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Every aspect of this film is sumptuously appointed and oozing with class. It winds up just a touch on the long side, but first time viewers probably won't mind as the story is involving and dramatic. Davis (in a gentle, timid, but thoughtful performance) plays a French teacher whose students discover some unseemly gossip about her. To diffuse their wrath, she tells them her story. She was previously a governess who found herself hired into a home laced with turmoil and despair. Boyer and O'Neil play the bitterly estranged couple who place Davis in charge of their four children. (These sweet, well-mannered and delightful kids make the Von Trapps look liked spoiled brats!) Soon, the children start to revere Davis, Boyer begins to turn to her for friendship and his mega-neurotic wife gets more and more jealous and unhinged until things start to get ugly. Davis is grand in what could have been a pretty colorless role. She commits herself to the type of behavior that would have been appropriate for a woman of this standing and does very well. Boyer's thick accent betrays how out of place most everyone else's is, but it hardly matters in a production this grand. He is his usual suave and smooth self. The aforementioned kids are all excellent, but special mention must go to the spectacularly adorable Nichols. This was a very special child actor and, thankfully, he was able to shine in a few other films as well. There are other sturdy character actors throughout to aid the film. However, the one who really spices things up is O'Neil. Nothing in her calm, level portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara's mother in "Gone With the Wind" the year before could prepare one for her gnashing, venomous, hysterical work here. She is completely over the top and utterly outrageous at times in her expression and delivery, but it's such a joy to watch and she injects such a fierce dose of vinegar into the story that it doesn't matter. With an elaborate array of gowns and hairstyles (and with eyelashes that seem to jut out from the screen in 3-D), she savors every moment of her screen time and turns every scene into a combination Kabuki act/German opera. Fans who come to the film hoping to see a fire-breathing Davis will surely discover a new icon to adore in O'Neil. Academy voters that year probably couldn't have lived with themselves if they had chosen her vitriolic work over noble Jane Darwell in "The Grapes of Wrath" (not to mention heavy hitter Judith Anderson, nominated for "Rebecca") so she had to settle for a nomination. Nothing in the austere cover art could prepare a person for this splendiferous chunk of camp artistry that lies within the film. The adaptation only portrays about half of the story found in the source novel, which continues Davis's character's life after her new start in America. O'Neil played another albatross of a wife opposite Boyer the year prior to this in "When Tomorrow Comes".

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
surprisingly moving soap opera of sorts, 1 August 2005

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

This is among my favorite Bette Davis movies. While not perfect, the story and romance suck you right in and make it hard to stop watching.

Ms. Davis plays against type, as she is the almost sickeningly wonderful nanny who ultimately beguiles married Charles Boyer. You see, Bette is hired to care for his children because his wife is a self-centered hypochondriac and has less maternal instincts than the average hamster. However, despite Boyer falling for the nanny, the nanny is chaste and won't consider breaking up the marriage--even if it is such an unhappy one. Eventually, the wife realizes that her husband has fallen head over heels and what she does in response is too good to divulge--it would help to ruin the movie for you.

If you want great acting, a tight script and a bit of a soapy romance (and who doesn't now and again?), give this movie a try.

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9 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Nuance..., 11 April 2005

Author: piltdownfarm from United States

Bette Davis had so many memorial film performances that it's hard to rank them - but her role here is just superb, particularly because it shows how subtle and nuanced she could be. While "Now Voyager" and "All About Eve" may be more impressive (because she plays stronger characters) this is really a stunning, quiet, yet wonderful job.

You genuinely feel like these screen children love her. And, given the time period, you feel like Boyer does to.

This is a rather long film, but the direction is solid and it just keeps moving along.

The script is really solid as well. There is little wasted time. Everything clips along rather nicely and I was surprised at how I fell under the spell of this film...

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