rotten eggs

Leave Her To Heaven ( 1945 )


Made in 1945 by 20th Century Fox, this is most definitely one of Gene Tierney's most impressive womens pictures who incidentally has been described by some as the most beautifull of hollywood actresses. I certainly will not disagree on that score!.
Very lushly photographed in color by Leon Shamroy , some might say chocolate box , ' Leave Her To Heaven ' 'is one of the stand out womens pictures of the 40's.
Gene plays ' Ellen ' who possessed of her fanatical desire for her husband , played by Cornel Wilde , is driven to commit murder because of her jealousy.Becoming frustrated by wildes addiction to the typewriter and his unobtrusive family ,she drowns his younger brother in a lake which eventually leads to her having a miscarriage and finally in her madness resorts to killing herself with poison.
Standout scenes are Ellen riding along a mountain top and scattering her fathers ashes from an urn ; the scene on the lake wearing evil - looking dark glasses while her crippled brother-in-law tries to swim across the lake , his cries growing fainter and fainter as Ellen lets him drown ; When ellen's husband discovers the awfull truth leading to his brothers death while ellen shows little remorse.
Visually ' Leave Her to Heaven ' is a feast for the eyes and the smooth direction of John m Stahl is great. Although somewhat expressionless throughout ' Tierney ' conveys a wonderfull sense of underlying evil beauty with her icy stare and strangely flat persona. The settings are really splendid too ranging from the New Mexico deserts to the icy lakes and fir forests of the American North.
To sum up. a very glossy and entertaining melodrama which i guarantee will hold your attention throughout and Gene Tierny never looked so lovely!!
Although the disc contains minimal extras this is a staggeringly good transfer and the soundtrack has been remastered in mono which is quite excellent!There is also a nice stills gallery, two Movietone News segments – about the premiere and the Oscars presentation – and a delightfully fascinating restoration comparison. Also included are five theatrical trailers – one for Leave Her To Heaven and previews for In Old Chicago, The Snake Pit, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Three Faces of Eve.
A very highly recommended film then, especially on thisa DVD. A truly irresistably wicked film witjh a fine central performance!

NOTE ; In Martin Scorsese’s superb documentary A Personal Journey Through American Movies, he included Leave Her To Heaven, showing clips which demonstrated the beautiful cinematography.

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