Leave Her to Heaven

Based on a novel by Ben Ames Williams, LEAVER HER TO HEAVEN is a stunning 40s film, filled with spectacular set decorations and Oscar-winning color cinematography. The story is a solid melodrama about beautiful Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney in her Oscar-nominated... Full review

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... Full review

This is the kind of film you have to watch understanding the time in which it was made. Talking pictures were only just under twenty years old and people did not realize that film required techniques different from the stage.... Full review

This is one of my favorite movies! The mystery was the lead character, Ellen; the cool, lovely and smoldering and so much more. Ellen Berent Hartman is the adult version of Rhoda Penmark in The Bad Seed (1956). Totally ruthless,... Full review

Gene Tierney, as a fiery woman, driven absolutely mad by jealousy. The latter leads her to tragedy beyond the human realm of comprehension.Cornel Wilde plays the man who loved her dearly and suffered for her actions.Vincent Price is in top... Full review

I am giving this movie a ten for several reasons. Is it a great movie? Well, actually no. But here is an example where the parts are greater than the whole. It's time for a re-evaluation of Gene Tierney. Yes,... Full review

How one views this movie probably depends on how they feel about genres. Billed as a "film noir," fans of that genre, expecting the typical hard-edged crime film with tough characters, most likely will be disappointed. Fans of melodramas, however,... Full review

Lushly photographed in Oscar-winning Techincolor, this film version of Ben Ames William's novel is an engrossingly watchable portrait of a possessive, jealous woman, a role that earned Gene Tierney an Oscar nomination.There is an obvious tension between Ellen Berent (Tierney)... Full review

This was ONE of Gene Tierney's best roles, outside of Laura. She plays a woman lost in jealousy and unjustified vengeance. You understand her love for her husband and are not horrified by her murderous acts because she is so... Full review

The melodrama of which Stahl was one of the masters throughout the thirties had muted,probably because the importance of the film noir in the following decade."Leave her to heaven' is as much a film noir as a melodrama.What's particularly puzzling... Full review

In film school Leave Her to Heaven seemed both daring and subversive.....Its claim to fame is an audacious storyline, a grim tale presented with picture-postcard visuals and a high technical polish.....He's as likeable on screen as Tierney is mesmerizing....Although Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde are a supremely attractive couple, neither really does much with their role.....the image is great but I remember Tierney and Wilde's faces glowing.... ... Full Review

Filmed in lush Technicolor, Leave Her to Heaven is based on the best-selling novel by Ben Ames Williams. Gene Tierney portrays a beautiful but unstable woman who marries successful novelist Cornel Wilde. ... Full Review

But their pathways came together in this one extraordinary film, and their intersection makes Leave Her To Heaven not only unique but very special. But allowing that film as narrative deals in hyper-reality (especially in a lush, soap-drenched drama like this), Leave Her To Heaven makes the most sense when seen allegorically, as the 'acting out' of Ellen's reasonable frustrations. ... Full Review

Tierney was so cool, collected and capable of such awful things. There are some interesting moments though ... Full Review

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN is a genuine film classic that has been given a terrific presentation on DVD by the folks at Fox. If you are a fan of the lovely Gene Tierney, you will definitely to add LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN to your DVD collection. ... Full Review