Leave Her to Heaven
Leave Her to Heaven

Movie spotlight

Leave Her to Heaven

1945
Movie
110 min
English

A socialite marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her.

Insights

IMDb7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes93%
Google Users94%
Director: John M. StahlGenres: Film-Noir, Melodrama, Thriller

Plot Summary

A stunningly beautiful woman marries her admirer, but her obsessive possessiveness and manipulative nature lead to devastating consequences for everyone around her. As her dark desires escalate, she orchestrates a series of tragic events, including sabotaging her sister's happiness and ultimately causing her own demise. The film explores the destructive power of jealousy and a pathological need for control.

Critical Reception

Leave Her to Heaven was a major critical and commercial success upon its release, lauded for its lush Technicolor cinematography, Gene Tierney's captivating performance, and its darkly compelling melodrama. It was praised for its suspenseful plotting and its willingness to delve into morally ambiguous territory, making it a standout in the noir genre.

What Reviewers Say

  • Visually stunning with striking Technicolor photography.

  • Gene Tierney delivers a memorable and chilling performance as the villainous protagonist.

  • A captivating and suspenseful melodrama with a dark, twisty plot.

Google audience: Audiences praise the film for its gripping story, its beautiful visuals, and Gene Tierney's standout performance. Many are captivated by the film's intense melodrama and its exploration of a truly dark character.

Awards & Accolades

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color. Gene Tierney was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role.

Fun Fact

The film's stunning Technicolor cinematography was groundbreaking for its time, and it was one of the first films to fully exploit the dramatic potential of the color process, even using vibrant colors to reflect the characters' emotional states.

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My Review

TMDB Reviews

3 reviews
griggs79

griggs79

_Leave Her to Heaven_ is, without a doubt, the least exciting and fun noir I've watched this Noirvember so far. In a genre that typically brims with tension and intrigue, this film feels practically void of pulse – almost like it's trying t...

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

Yikes, talk about an internecine plot! This is certainly a story that requires concentration as the machinations of "Ellen" (Gene Tierney) take their toll on just about everyone around her. She meets the young writer "Richard" (Cornel Wilde...

John Chard

John Chard

She was a monster! Beautiful Ellen Berent unashamedly jilts her fiancé, Russell Quinton, for writer Richard Harland. Her attraction to Harland being that he reminds her of her deceased father. But soon it becomes evident that Ellen is ve...