Mental illness never looked so seductive or bit with such a ferocious over-bite as from Gene Tierney's demented character.
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
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Reviews Counted:16
Fresh:16
Rotten:0
Average Rating:8.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This genuinely perverse and fascinating film noir, filmed in incredibly rich Technicolor, is the tale of a woman's obsessive desire to possess her husband, exclusive of anyone else in the world. ... This genuinely perverse and fascinating film noir, filmed in incredibly rich Technicolor, is the tale of a woman's obsessive desire to possess her husband, exclusive of anyone else in the world. Ellen Berent and her husband, writer Richard Harland, move to his lodge in Maine. In order to be completely alone with him, Ellen makes the handyman go away and stands by as Richard's attention-grabbing, crippled brother drowns in the lake. Pregnant Ellen also purposely miscarries their child. When Ellen's sister Ruth visits, Ellen's paranoia and jealousy catapult her to confess to Richard that she was responsible for the "accidents." Sickened by Ellen's confession, Richard decides to leave her for good. Ellen's next plan of action is quite possibly the ultimate revenge ever carried out by a jilted, crazed lover. [More]
Starring: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price
Starring: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, Mary Philips, Ray Colling, Darryl Hickman, Gene Lockhart
Director: John M. Stahl
Director: John M. Stahl
Producer: William A. Bacher
Screenwriter: Jo Swerling
Composer: Alfred Newman
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Reviews for Leave Her to Heaven
Stahl's use of space and the performances in Leave Her to Heaven...suggest he was at least the equal of the much-exalted Sirk as an artist of melodrama.
A 'film noir in color' and a masterpiece of post-WWII American cinema.
Tierney's Ellen Berent [is] one of cinema's most chilling psychopaths.
As for the brother’s death, with Ellen looking on coolly in white robe and shades, it remains one of the most perturbing in the history of Hollywood.
Has emotional power in the jealousy theme but it hasn't been as forcefully interpreted by the leads as it could have been in more histrionically capable hands.
Everything is beautiful in Leave Her to Heaven. In fact, too beautiful.
A fevered yet clinical study of jealousy, Leave Her to Heaven is probably John M. Stahl's best-known film.
Notable for its exquisite Technicolor cinematography, used in direct contrast to the story's dark, noirish qualities.
Though the story is involving enough to make this film a classic, it is perhaps more rightly renowned for its Technicolor cinematography and original set and costume design.
It may be absurd, and even risible, but its single-minded concentration has its own kind of fascination and power.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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