{"id":2526,"date":"2011-03-15T02:02:27","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T06:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=2526"},"modified":"2013-06-01T11:45:56","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T15:45:56","slug":"dvd-leave-her-to-heaven-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=2526","title":{"rendered":"BR: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Return to: <\/strong>Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>J to L<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Film: Excellent\/ BR Transfer: Excellent\/ BR Extras: Excellent<\/p>\n

Label: Twilight Time\u00a0\/ Region: All \/\u00a0Released: May 14, 2013<\/p>\n

Genre: Film Noir \/ Suspense<\/p>\n

Synopsis: A trusting man falls for an obsessive woman who refuses to let him go – even from the grave!<\/p>\n

Special Features: Audio Commentary with Darryl Hickman and Film Critic Richard Schickel \/ Isolated mono music track \/ 2 Newsreels: “Hollywood Spotlight: Galaxy of Stars Attends World Movie Premiere (0:55) + “Motion Picture Academy Awards Oscars for Film Achievements” (1:25) \/ Theatrical trailer \/ 8-page colour booklet with liner notes by film historian Julie Kirgo \/ Limited to 3000 copies \/ Available exclusively from Screen Archives Entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Review:<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave Her To Heaven\u201d won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography (Color), and was nominated for Best Actress (Gene Tierney), Best Sound Recording, and Best Art Direction\/Interior Decoration.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
“There’s nothing the matter with Ellen. She just loves too much.”<\/em><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n

Made the year after Fox\u2019 primordial noir thriller Laura<\/strong>, the star quality of Gene Tierney was given the full 3-strip Technicolor treatment in this cold-hearted story of a spoiled princess who never learned the meaning of the word “no.” Unlike the openly evil Rhoda in the classic 1956 rotten child chiller The Bad Seed<\/a><\/strong>, the adult character of Ellen runs on pure instinct; murder and infanticide are merely desperate attempts to preserve the purity of her love, while child monster Rhoda gleefully thrives on tormenting an exceptionally daft adult population.<\/p>\n

As Richard Schickel points out in his adequate commentary, Leave Her to Heaven<\/strong> was based on a best-selling novel by then popular author Ben Ames Williams (The Strange Woman<\/a><\/strong> [M<\/a>]), and even with changes to appease the evil Production Code, the story is still a hugely entertaining slab of juicy melodrama and early noir.<\/p>\n

Gene Tierney plays Ellen as a haunted, flawed woman who finds her ideal father figure in popular novelist (Cornel Wilde), and the film adaptation regularly exploits the jealousies residing beneath already wounded characters. As monstrous as Ellen is, she maintains some sympathy with audiences because Tierney plays her as a creature with a strong self-preservation instinct who also weighs decisions: the two deaths that ensue occur only after Ellen has clearly recognized opportunity, (briefly) deliberated the consequences, and plotted a strategy where she becomes the central victim.<\/p>\n

Her family is completely resigned to her behaviour, and her mother\u2019s numbness \u2013 she\u2019s frequently sullen, and seated like a morose statue throughout her scenes \u2013 is rather true to life in showing a parent who long ago realized she was no match for a strong-willed child, and just gave up all power to a nascent monster.<\/p>\n

As a contrast, Ellen\u2019s adopted cousin Ruth (Jeanne Crain) starts off as perky and dressed in homey clothes, but as her relationship with Richard matures, Ruth\u2019s hair, clothes, and demeanor are toned down to more adult designs. When she begins stands up to Ellen\u2019s incessant fishing for private details, Ruth does it with calm and steely eyes. And as glamorous as Ellen remains to the end (even on her death bed, her make-up is pristine and radiant), she becomes a bit comical, wearing silky moo-moos and tied-up hair that almost makes her look homely and pouty.<\/p>\n

Ruth\u2019s eventual confession of grievous sins to Richard is also handled with an eye for sharp design: standing with her arms looped in the sleeves of her brown, monk-like robe, her effort to seek contrition from a seated Richard become even more heavy-handed when she kneels for forgiveness in a pose straight from a pious religious drama.<\/p>\n

Leave Her to Heaven<\/strong>\u2019s cast is comprised of superb players from Fox\u2019 in-house roster, especially Vincent Price, who tended to excel at cold, arrogant shits, or in this case, a scorned ex-fiance who uses his position as a district attorney to personally prosecute the man who stole his wife, and blemished his social standing at the time.<\/p>\n

Now, the actuality of an ex-lover allowed to be chief prosecutor in the death of his ex-fiancee is patently\u00a0ridiculous<\/em>, but Price sells it beautifully,\u00a0beating the truth\u00a0of illicit love from Ellen and Richard with exceptional ruthlessness, and making Jo Sweling\u2019s dialogue sound like lethal bullets.<\/p>\n

The lack of a flashy editing style may be reflective of the period, but director Stahl trusted the audience to use their brains and tie together the burgeoning lover affair.
\nCase in point: Ellen, irate that Richard\u2019s book is dedicated to Ruth (\u2018the gal with the hoe\u2019), skims through the pages of the advance copy and starts to put two and two together, realizing the vacation Ruth is describing in idle chatter is a secret rendezvous.<\/p>\n

Ruth, in fact, couldn\u2019t care less what Ellen suspects, because she knows Richard will leave the satin bitch. Ellen\u2019s realization, Ruth\u2019s sly pride, and the book\u2019s cover art alluding to the Mexican hot spot are covered in one long medium shot,\u00a0and it works<\/em>. Audiences are forced to listen to the dialogue, watch the actors\u2019 reactions, and scan the shot themselves, picking up the humour on their own. Stahl\u2019s direction may have been a bit sedate here; or maybe he knew that audiences would have a bit of fun discovering Ruth\u2019s plans\u00a0before<\/em> Ellen \u2013 putting them on Ruth\u2019s side without breaking the film\u2019s \u2018third wall.\u2019<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Video Editions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previously released on DVD as part of Fox\u2019 Studio Classics series, Twilight Time\u2019s Blu-ray sports a new HD transfer that\u2019s almost perfect; there are some hot spots and Fox\u2019 digital noise reduction is discretely active, but this is a gorgeous, sharp print with strong details and radiant colours.<\/p>\n

Leon Shamroy (The Robe<\/a> <\/strong>[M<\/a>], The Egyptian<\/a> <\/strong>[M<\/a>], The Cardinal<\/a><\/strong>) was one of Hollywood\u2019s great colour cinematographers, and his lighting and compositions are exceptional in this production, especially since the film\u2019s set design remains highly contemporary. The furniture, colours, nick-knacks, and open concept houses are very modern, and the HD transfer really brings out the beauty of the costumes, especially the unique patterns in shirts, and small details in the men\u2019s ties.<\/p>\n

Only qualms: with so much time spent on the visuals, the sharp edges in the audio are more noticeable. TT\u2019s disc includes a mono track featuring Alfred Newman\u2019s brooding (and oddly sparse) score, and it\u2019s too bad an alternate mix wasn\u2019t created, substituting the far cleaner master music stems in place of the affected tracks.<\/p>\n

Newman\u2019s music still packs a punch in its strategic locations, though, especially the tracking and long shots in Ellen’s famous ash scattering in the mountains. The scene\u2019s power, however, comes from the contextual elements that precede it<\/em>: as the audience falls in love with Tierney\u2019s beauty alongside Richard \/ Cornel Wilde, and become fully aware of her \u2018electric\u2019 love for her dead dad, the scattering montage is the finale to an operatic sequence begun in silence, moving to sparse, breathy dialogue, and sustained and silent reaction shots.<\/p>\n

Unique to the 2005 Fox DVD is a stills gallery featuring 22 images, a restoration featurette, English Bullshit Stereo and Spanish Mono sound mixes, and English and Spanish subtitles.<\/p>\n

In addition TT\u2019s bonus inclusion of Newman\u2019s score (which includes some bookend studio chatter), Julie Kirgo\u2019s liner notes \u2013 one of her best \u2013 explains in elegant prose why both the film and its architects deserve admiration. Stahl\u2019s direction is really superb for \u2018stoking the fire and observing the lurid flames\u2019 in this gorgeous production, and the cast is uniformly strong.<\/p>\n

As beautiful as TT\u2019s Blu-ray is, an opportunity to catch the film on the big screen shouldn\u2019t be missed (see the Editor\u2019s Blog link below for a recap of a 2011 screening). To the other end, Too Good to be True<\/a> <\/strong>[M<\/a>], a 1988 TV remake starring Patrick Duffy, Loni Anderson, and Big Hair should be missed.<\/em><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a9 2005 \/ 2011 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related links:<\/em><\/p>\n

DVD \/ Film: \u00a0Too Good to be True<\/a> <\/strong>(1988)<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB<\/a> — Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a> — Editor’s Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Buy from:<\/em><\/p>\n

Amazon.com<\/strong> \u2013 Leave Her to Heaven<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazon.ca<\/strong> – Leave Her to Heaven<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazon.co.uk <\/strong> – Leave Her To Heaven [DVD] [1946]<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> <\/em><\/em><\/em>\/\u00a0J to L<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to: Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/ J to L . Film: Excellent\/ BR Transfer: Excellent\/ BR Extras: Excellent Label: Twilight Time\u00a0\/ Region: All \/\u00a0Released: May 14, 2013 Genre: Film Noir \/ Suspense Synopsis: A trusting man falls for an obsessive woman who refuses to let him go – even from the grave! Special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[355,354,352,353,329],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-EK","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2526"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2532,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526\/revisions\/2532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}