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:

Hers was the deadliest of the seven sins.

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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

During Ruth's testimony at the trial, she changes how she holds Richard's book as the camera angle changes.

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Quotes

Ellen Berent Harland: The walls are as thin as paper and the acoustics disgustingly perfect.

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Connections

Referenced in Mommie Dearest (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Chickens in the Garden"
aka "Treat My Daughter Kindly"
Traditional
Sung by Chill Wills

User Reviews

Color Time Travel - A film that must be experienced on the Big Screen

No one can watch this without remembering Gene Tierney's searing blue eyes, Jeanne Crain's face of innocence, or Cornel Wilde (lightyears from The Naked Prey) here looking like a photo of Pierre & Gilles come to life. It's 110 minutes of color-time-travel basking in the surreally saturated Technicolor palette of the mid 40's.

For those who have been denied the experience of watching the recently restored version with a rapt audience on a big screen as happened April 26, 2008 at San Francisco's Castro Theatre, I can only hope you'll contact a film preservation-minded theater in your area.

Though I've watched this film on DVD, nothing prepared me for the impact of the big screen. The closeups alone will take your breath away.

Is it melodrama or is it noir?--leave that to Heaven!