Though often counted as a Film Noir, "Leave Her to Heaven" is more of a Soap Noir. But that doesn't disqualify it as a good view. Far from it, "Leave Her" is a first-rate psychological thriller.
Ellen (Gene Tierney) meets a writer, Richard (Cornell Wilde) on a train to New Mexico. They're staying at the same place, and within a day, she's taken off her engagement ring and tossed it around Richard's neck, much to the annoyance of her former fiancee, Russell (Vincent Price) who, improvidentially, is a DA. We find soon enough that Ellen is a borderline psycho who, in her mother's words, "loves too much." In fact, she loves Richard so much that she kills off his beloved but crippled kid brother (Darryl Hickman), terminates her pregnancy in a deliberate fall down a flight of stairs, and mounts a suicide attempt to destroy her sister Ruth (Jeanne Crain) and Richard. This brings Ruth and Richard to trial on criminal charges prosecuted by (you guessed it) vengeful Russell.
The script has more than a few sappy and awkward passages--the antithesis of real film noir. But what distinguishes this movie is its beauty--it's just gorgeous in every way. The opening scene, in an Art Deco train smoking car, will take your breath away. The exteriors, shot in New Mexico, Maine, and right here in Prescott AZ, are sensational. Every interior set, every piece of upholstery, every bolster, window curtain, every dress and pair of shoes, is perfect. And all filmed in that soft, pastel Technicolor of the period. "Lush" is the best descriptor. It took an Oscar for cinematography.
Of course, the most beautiful element in the film is Tierney, the most gorgeous creature ever to grace a screen (though Crain is no slouch in the looks department, either). But Tierney is more than just a pretty face. Plenty of women have played nut cases, but Tierney is far more subtley wacko than a Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwick would have been in the same role. She never goes over the edge, but her soft, deadly determination is all the more menacing. She won an Oscar nomination. Just beatiful!
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
