"Well, of all the seven deadly sins, jealousy is the most deadly," says one of the characters in "Leave Her to Heaven," summing up the theme of this 1945 film noir.
The female referred to in the movie's title is played by 24-year-old Gene Tierney, one of the most beautiful women in the world. I don't know whether or not Tierney does much acting in the film, but I think she is perfect for her role in terms of casting. Her mask-like face and arrogant demeanor make her seem like an exotic creature who exists on a different plane from her comparatively bland-seeming co-stars, Cornel Wilde and Jeanne Crain.
I've always thought of 1940s film noir as being in black-and-white, but "Leave Her to Heaven" is in gorgeous Technicolor. Also, unlike most noirs, the movie has no urban settings—everything takes place out in the country. There's location shooting at Bass Lake, which is near Yosemite, and the sound stage sets are extremely good-looking. This is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen.
"Leave Her to Heaven" was adapted from Ben Ames Williams' best-selling novel. To my way of thinking, it plays a lot like classical tragedy, and the title was taken from Act I, Scene 5 of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." The words are spoken by the ghost of Hamlet's father to his son, advising the young man not to seek revenge against his mother for her shameful behavior.
The story in "Leave Her to Heaven" is about what happens when novelist Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) meets the ravishing, wealthy Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney). Ellen promptly dumps her fiancé and easily maneuvers the stunned Richard into hastily marrying her. She loves Richard, but she is so insanely jealous and possessive that anyone he spends time with is in mortal danger.
The movie has two key supporting roles, one played by Jeanne Crain, the other by Vincent Price. Crain portrays Ruth, Ellen's pretty and pleasant adopted sister who becomes one of the objects of Ellen's wrath. Price plays Ellen's jilted fiancé, who is also the district attorney prosecuting the murder case arising from one of the deaths Ellen engineers.
I find some of the scenes in "Leave Her to Heaven" quite memorable. One is where Ellen rides her horse through a Western wilderness, ceremonially scattering the ashes of her beloved father and finally flinging the empty urn away. Another is where Richard is working on a novel outdoors when the sweet-natured Ruth materializes above him, tending roses on overhead latticework, then the sinister Ellen surfaces from beneath the water in the nearby pool.
The "Leave Her to Heaven" DVD provides feature-length audio commentary by Darryl Hickman, who played the crippled teenager Danny in the movie, and Richard Schickel, "Time" magazine film critic. Hickman talks about how badly he was treated by Gene Tierney and director John M. Stahl. He claims he's taught acting for the last 25 years, and he points out several places where he doesn't like the acting in the movie. Schickel mostly gives background information and his general reactions to parts of the film. He compares it to the work of Douglas Sirk, and he remarks he doesn't find it credible that Cornel Wilde's character would do jail time. (I agree with Schickel about the jail time. It seems to me the character would be protected by spousal privilege.) All in all, I would rate this commentary track as just so-so.
The DVD also contains two Movietone News segments. One of these simply shows Hollywood celebrities attending the premiere of "Leave Her to Heaven." The other is footage from the 1946 Academy Award ceremony, including Leon Shamroy receiving the Oscar for Best Color Cinematography for his work on the film. The movie was nominated for three additional Oscars, but did not win in the other categories.
Below I've listed all of the special features of the "Leave Her to Heaven" DVD.
DVD Details:
- Release Date: February 22, 2005
- Feature Run Time: 1 Hours 50 Minutes
- MPAA Rating: Not Rated
- Full-Screen (1.33:1), Color
- English Stereo
- English Mono
- Spanish Mono
- English Subtitles
- Spanish Subtitles
- Commentary by Actor Darryl Hickman and Critic Richard Schickel
- Movietone News: Film Premiere
- Movietone News: Oscar Presentations
- Restoration Comparison
- Still Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
