Leave Her to Heaven

In Act 1, Scene 5 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Ghost urges Hamlet not to seek vegeance against his mother, Queen Gertrude (for marrying the man who killed his father), but to “leave her to heaven.”  In 1944, writer Ben Ames Williams used this phrase as the title of his novel.  The following year, director John M. Stahl made the film adaptation of Williams’s work of fiction.  It starred Gene Tierney (who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, but lost to Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce), Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, and Darryl Hickman.  The film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color.  It was Twentieth Century Fox’s highest grossing film during the decade of the 1940s.  Acclaimed Academy Award-winning film director Martin Scorsese (The Departed) said it is one of his favorite movies. 

It is a story of an obsession which has deadly consequences.  In my opinion, such consequences could have been avoided.  Ellen, a beautiful, rich young woman, meets Richard, a handsome young novelist, who bears an uncanny resemblence to Ellen’s late father.  Since Ellen was obsessed with her father (when he was alive, she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, plus at her death she wanted her ashes spread in the same location as his), she seems to transfer her obsession to her new friend, boyfriend, fiance, husband.  Ellen proposes to Richard who is very much attracted to her.  He accepts, but is not quite sure what to make of her.  They marry within days of their meeting.  Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. 

Ellen wants Richard and only Richard, all the time.  However, she quickly discovers that her new husband’s life is complicated.  And she also learns he is not willing to meet her half way.  Richard is a writer who likes to write.  He refuses her offer to allow her to support him.  Plus, Richard has a younger brother, Danny, a teenager and an invalid, who cannot walk without the aid of crutches.  As Richard and Danny’s parents are deceased (and also because of Danny’s handicap), the two brothers have developed an unusually close relationship.  Ellen learns that her new husband wants Danny to live with them instead of attending a boarding school where he would be with those of his own age.  In addition, living with the newlyweds is a sort of handyman/friend of the family.  To make matters even worse (for Ellen), Richard secretly invites Ellen’s mother and adopted sister (to whom Richard pays a lot of attention) to come for an extended visit.  Isn’t this what every a new bride wants, an extra four people around the house?            

There is an especially significant scene early one morning when Ellen crawls into the bed of her sleeping husband (1945 meant separate beds even for married couples), gently blows air in his face, kisses his lips, perhaps to arouse him for...  Then we hear from the other side of the paper-thin bedroom wall a knock and a good morning greeting from his brother, Danny.  Apparently, in preference to making love to his beautiful wife, Richard goes swimming in the nearby lake with his brother. 

When Ellen tries to encourage Danny to go off to boarding school in another city, Danny says he wants to wait until Richard is able to come live nearby the school.  He cannot bear to be separated from his brother, not even for a short time.  When Ellen tries to complain about what she thinks is wrong with their marriage, Richard points the finger at her with, “What’s wrong with you?”  I don’t think this was a match made in heaven (where according to the title, someone is going to be left for their comeuppance). 

Then, perhaps on the spur of the moment, Ellen committs an unpardonable act, a crime.  Out on the lake, Ellen and Danny are in a row boat.  Danny wants to swim to the other end of the lake, quite a feat.  Ellen encourages him to test his upper body strength (he cannot use his paralysed legs).  At first, all goes well.  Suddenly, Danny starts having trouble and calls out to Ellen (an excellent swimmer) to save him from drowning.  Ellen thinks this is her chance to have Richard all to herself.  Wearing her sunglasses and with absolutely no expression on her stone cold face, she does nothing until Danny disappears forever under the water.  She claimed she could not reach Danny until it was too late.  There were no witnesses, so she is deemed to be not guilty of any crime.  The above scene is one of the most ghastly I have ever witnessed on the silver screen. 

Later under duress, Ellen confesses her guilt to Richard who claims to be not totally surprised.  To me, Danny was not only a victim of Ellen’s cruelty, but also of Richard’s stupidity in marrying a woman, though beautiful, who was not in the least bit compatible with his life style or he with hers.  Let that be a lesson to us all.  However, if you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock suspense films, I am sure you will enjoy Leave Her to Heaven.