Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

John M. Stahl

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay)
Ben Ames Williams (novel)

Release Date:

20 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

Hers was the deadliest of the seven sins.

Plot:

Richard Harland, a young writer, meets a beautiful woman, Ellen, on a train. They fall in love and are married...

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Jealousy | Train | Beautiful Woman | Love

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guy Beach	...	Sheriff (unconfirmed)
Audrey Betz	...	Cook at Robie's Ranch (uncredited)
Olive Blakeney	...	Mrs. Louise Robie (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Harry Depp	...	The chemist (uncredited)
Paul Everton	...	The judge (uncredited)
Jim Farley	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Betty Hannon	...	Tess Robie (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Lounge Car Train Passenger (uncredited)
Hugh Maguire	...	Lin Robie (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Fisherwoman (uncredited)
Grant Mitchell	...	Carlson (uncredited)
Milton Parsons	...	Medcraft (mortician) (uncredited)
Addison Richards	...	Bedford (uncredited)
Kay Riley	...	Danny's nurse (uncredited)
Earl Schenck	...	Norton (uncredited)
Charles Tannen	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
John M. Stahl

Writing credits
Jo Swerling		(screenplay)
Ben Ames Williams		(novel)

Produced by
William A. Bacher	....	producer
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Alfred Newman

Cinematography by
Leon Shamroy		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
James B. Clark

Art Direction by
Maurice Ransford
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little
Ernest Lansing		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Kay Nelson

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph C. Behm	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)
E. Clayton Ward	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
E. Truman Joiner	....	key grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestral arrangements

Other crew
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor director
Richard Mueller	....	associate: Technicolor
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | UK:U | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #11042)

Filming Locations:

Bass Lake, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The title is taken from a line from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Child Stars" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Nocturne, Op. 27, No. 2

Rainbow noir...

Can a film noir be effective in glorious colour or is that a contradiction in terms? Anyway I found this lesser-known thriller to be as exciting and involving as any other black-and-white-mean-streets scenario that the 40's threw up. Tightly plotted, well acted and above all, beautifully photographed, I was gripped from first to last. My only caveats might have been the "framing" device of Cornel Wilde's lawyer's top-and-tail introduction and epilogue, which just takes away a little of the dramatic tension, an over-intrusive musical score, particularly at Wilde and Tierney's first "strangers on a train" meeting and also the fact that more wasn't made of the conclusion of the otherwise tautly drawn crucial trial scene. The acting is top-rate, with no discernible weak links. Wilde, as the duped author, shows hidden depths to his handsome exterior, Crain, in a sub De-Havilland part modulates her performance winningly as her character's importance to the plot develops and Vincent Price is absolutely excellent as Tierney's abandoned fiancé, a lawyer on the make who convincingly destroys Wilde and Crain in his vengeful piece-de-resistance as the prosecuting counsel. What a shame he was later reduced to his stereotype cackling mad-man persona of seemingly dozens of horror films. He's a revelation here, almost stealing the movie in said trial scene where he's made to recite long pieces of staccato dialogue which he delivers pitch-perfect. Gene Tierney, of course, is enthralling in the pivotal role of the possessed / possessive Ellen, who uses her obvious beauty and sophistication to ensnare Wilde, before taking off into psychopath territory, which sees her effectively kill Wilde's disabled but adored younger brother and devise an almost perfect beyond-the-grave trap for Wilde and Crain to fall into. Great as all these pluses are, I keep coming back to the cinematography which captures like no other film I've ever seen tones of radiant beauty in almost every shot, both interior and exterior. In fact all I can say to finish is that I could find very little to fault this glorious but unheralded example of the golden age of Hollywood.