Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

A writer meets a young socialite on board a train. The two fall in love and are married soon after, but her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of both them and everyone else around them.

Director:

John M. Stahl

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay), Ben Ames Williams (novel)

Stars:

Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Tierney	...	Ellen Berent Harland
Cornel Wilde	...	Richard Harland
Jeanne Crain	...	Ruth Berent
Vincent Price	...	Russell Quinton
Mary Philips	...	Mrs. Berent
Ray Collins	...	Glen Robie
Gene Lockhart	...	Dr. Saunders
Reed Hadley	...	Dr. Mason
Darryl Hickman	...	Danny Harland
Chill Wills	...	Leick Thome

Storyline

Novelist Richard Harland and socialite Ellen Berent meet on a train to New Mexico. They are immediately attracted to each other, soon fall in love and decide to get married, about which everyone they know is happy except Ellen's fiancé back home, politician Russell Quinton. However, Richard and Ellen's love for each other is different than that of the other as Ellen demonstrates in the manner which she tells everyone of their impending marriage. Ellen's love for Richard is an obsessive, possessive one, much like the love she had for her now deceased father, who Richard physically resembles. Ellen wants Richard all to herself and resents anyone who even remotely takes a place in his life and heart, even if his love for that person is not a romantic one. These people include most specifically Richard's physically disabled teen-aged brother Danny Harland, Ellen's own adopted sister Ruth Berent, and a young man neither has gotten a chance to really know yet. After time, Richard learns to ...

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Plot Keywords:

love | train | writer | lake | jealousy | 

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Taglines:

The sin she committed in the name of love could not be judged by man...or punished by law!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Que el cielo la juzgue

Filming Locations:

Bass Lake, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 17, 1947 with Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

Ellen's method of scattering her father's ashes (flinging the urn from side to side during a horseback ride through the desert) would leave both her and the horse covered in her father's remains.

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Quotes

Ellen Berent Harland: I'll never let you go. Never, never, never.

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Connections

Featured in Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Deedle Deedle Dum Dum"
Sung by Chill Wills and Darryl Hickman

User Reviews

One of her best roles

This was ONE of Gene Tierney's best roles, outside of Laura. She plays a woman lost in jealousy and unjustified vengeance. You understand her love for her husband and are not horrified by her murderous acts because she is so lovely and really not a bad person. You also sympathize with her, because you sense her loneliness. She has to be lonely because she's so caught up this web of jealousy. Who can she confide in with it? No one. Cornel Wilde is sort of a dolt to not see how "mad" is wife is. There are questions you can see he wants to ask of his mother-in-law, but doesn't to his detriment. I love, love this movie. Buy it - you'll watch it over and over again.