Rent Leave Her to Heaven (1946)

Technicolor Noir (major spoilers). - Leave Her to Heaven review by Steve

It's not obvious which is more gorgeous, the sumptuous Technicolor location photography or Gene Tierney in her only Oscar nominated performance. No need for a line of dialogue explaining that Ellen is hot trouble. Her beauty has bite too, feeding the narcissism which makes her a danger to anyone who threatens to come between her and her husband (Cornel Wilde).

Tierney creates a brilliant and chilling portrait of a psychopath. The scene when she watches Wilde's disabled brother drown as she looks on from behind her shades is haunting, and it's astonishing that the Production Code allowed it to stand. Similarly when she ends her pregnancy by throwing herself down the stairs. She kills herself while framing her step sister (Jeanne Crain) who she suspects loves her man!

It has the dark pessimism of film noir, but in colour; the interiors are full of shadows and Ellen is a very malevolent femme fatale. However, much of the atmosphere of the film comes from its sunny rural exteriors, which ultimately rules it out of the noir genre. This is psychological melodrama.

A major weakness is Vincent Price's clodhopping performance as the idiotic lawyer who seeks to prove Ellen was killed by her sister. Wilde and Crain are fine, but the film is dominated by Gene Tierney's stunning performance. Leave Her to Heaven was Fox's biggest box office hit of the whole decade. While it's a little slow in places, it's a compelling, unsettling film.