Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

Too many problems for me to call it great, 14 May 2005

After reading the plot description and a few reviews, I felt certain that Leave Her to Heaven would be one of those movies I would immediately fall in love with. Gene Tierney's presence alone should have been enough to make it a sure fire winner with me. While it's not bad, I can't give it a full endorsement. As much as I hate doing this, I'll focus on two of the problems that stand out.

1. The Plot - I realize that this is a movie and not necessarily a reflection of real life, but the plot was just too unrealistic. We are supposed to believe that this woman was so evil and self-obsessed that she killed herself just to make others miserable. How silly is that? A woman like that would want to be around to see what effect her actions were having.

2. Cornel Wilde - My biggest problem with the movie was the casting of Cornel Wilde. He is so utterly dry and vanilla that watching grass grow is more exciting. Rarely have I been treated to a more lackluster performance. Are we really supposed to believe that a character like the one played by Gene Tierney would fall for this guy? I didn't buy it for a second.

With little tinkering on the plot and casting, this could have been an outstanding movie.

6/10