All That Heaven Allows

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pvitari
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All That Heaven Allows

Post by pvitari »

I love Sirkian melodrama. Emotion as religion.

Which is to say, I just screencapped All That Heaven Allows and boy, is that one gorgeous movie. Every single frame could be blown up, framed and hung in an art gallery.

Wyman is fantastic -- the crazier the colors get, the more believable she is.

Here are some pics to get you salivating for more. Then go to http://paulasmoviepage.shutterfly.com/ for all the rest! ;)

Awww! Smiles! :)
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If this had been shot at twilight, it could be a Kinkade painting. :)
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I'll take one to go, please!
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For Professional Tourist
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I just swallowed a fly!
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Captain, something's wrong with the Enterprise's engines!
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Quite possibly my most favorite shot in the movie. Exquisite.
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mrsl
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by mrsl »

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That barn scene is phenomenal, perfect for a wall hanging, and you're so right about the Kinkade aspect, don't you love his talent? The movie itself though is not for me, way too syrupy as is all of Sirks work. That is strange for me who loves melodrama and love stories, but Sirk just goes a little too overboard for me, although as usual, I'm one in a million with that opinion.
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Anne


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Re: All That Heaven Allows

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Can MrCutter and I have the house and adjoining property?
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

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Last edited by Professional Tourist on February 20th, 2011, 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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pvitari
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

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Actually, msrl, I'm not a Kinkade fan at all. I think his paintings are horribly treacly. What saves All That Heaven Allows (and I mean the entire movie, not just that one shot) from treacliness and turns it into an object of fascination is how very weird (in an extremely controlled way) Sirk's treatment is. He takes this soap opera situation and turns it totally lurid (see the bizarre lighting of the scene between Cary and daughter Kay in the bedroom) and injects an element of horror. I actually compared that scene to Mario Bava on my shutterfly page! Mostly because of the colors and lighting but still... there's a suspenseful tone of dread and incipient violence and it finally breaks out at horrible cocktail party where Cary is assaulted by a drunken and jealous Howard. Everyone thinks Cary is a slut for wanting a younger, handsome man (thus making her fair game for an attack) and that Ron (Rock Hudson) is a gigolo for dating an older, wealthier woman. I keep envisioning everyone pulling out their stones a la Shirley Jackson and lobbing them at Cary and Ron.

Even the scene with the kindly doctor is kind of ominous -- look at all the dark shadows as he leans over her.

The one part of the movie that doesn't work well for me is the party with Ron's friends. They're just all so sweet and warm and welcoming and their jollity seems rather forced to me. The contrast between them and the Cary's friends is just a little too extreme. But I do like the little dance that Wyman and Hudson do together! :)

Cary breaks all the taboos except for the most unmentionable one (race -- Sirk takes that one on in Imitation of Life) but Todd Haynes makes subtext text in his brilliant remake/homage Far From Heaven, where the gardener is an African American man (played by the lovely Dennis Haysbert -- who can blame Julianne Moore?) ;) And Moore's husband in Far From Heaven is a deep-in-the-closet gay man, which of course brings out into the open the subtext of Rock Hudson's character, i.e., Hudson's own hidden gayness and er, Ron's exquisite taste in renovating, restoring and decorating the mill house. :) Not that carpenter work isn't manly, but the design (the restoration and the decor) is so beautiful and everything, down to the colors -- the mustard colored couch, the slate blue and peach lamp -- is just so. ;)

This story keeps being remade. Not just Far From Heaven and Fassbinder's homage Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, but the recent I Am Love with Tilda Swinton also explores a wealthy woman breaking taboos (she's still married for one thing) with a younger, lower-class lover who (like Ron) is kind, gentle and an artist with his hands (Ron grows trees and flowers, and builds stuff; the lover in I Am Love is a chef), and like All That Heaven Allows with its deer, Mother Nature also seems to bless that union (plenty of shots of flowers and insects during the love-making).

Another variation on this theme is the 2006 movie Something New, starring Sanaa Latham as a young African-American woman named Kenya who feels pressure on the job (she's a CPA and works for a prestigious accounting firm, i.e., she's black and female in a white man's world) and in her personal life (all her friends and family want her to get married). The only problem with the latter is that when she does find Mr. Right, he's also Mr. White, i.e., Simon Baker (very blond). :) Baker's character, Brian, like Hudson's, is a complete fantasy figure. He's a landscape architect who takes Latham's messy backyard (which he works on personally, digging and sweating with the help of some laborers) and turns it into a little paradise, while also remaking her soul and helping her blossom as a person. He has a golden retriever, he drives a charmingly funky jeep, he's hot, he makes great love, he treats her like a princess, he's an artist with landscape...you know the drill. The movie isn't anywhere near as good as All That Heaven Allows (it's much more conventional in its treatment) but it's a very pleasant break from reality. :) And it brings up issues that don't seem to go away, even today: Kenya's upper-class family and friends are taken aback by Brian, not only because he's white, but because he's "the help."
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by ChiO »

Excellent write-up!
What saves All That Heaven Allows (and I mean the entire movie, not just that one shot) from treacliness and turns it into an object of fascination is how very weird (in an extremely controlled way) Sirk's treatment is. He takes this soap opera situation and turns it totally lurid (see the bizarre lighting of the scene between Cary and daughter Kay in the bedroom) and injects an element of horror.
Amen! ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS is #2 on my Sirk list (or is it WRITTEN ON THE WIND or IMITATION OF LIFE or A TIME TO LOVE AND A TIME TO DIE or THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW? Just depends on which I've seen most recently, I guess.) TARNISHED ANGELS is #1.

I do read a couple of scenes differently than you.
The one part of the movie that doesn't work well for me is the party with Ron's friends. They're just all so sweet and warm and welcoming and their jollity seems rather forced to me. The contrast between them and the Cary's friends is just a little too extreme.
I do like the high contrast between Ron's friends and Cary's friends. Not only does "high contrast" work in Sirk's movies even when it's "extreme" -- one could even say it's an essential element -- it points out the high contrast between Ron and his friends. His friends are truly free-spirited and loving whereas Ron, beneath all of his romanticized "love is all that matters, not what people say" demeanor, is an emotional sadist. It's his way or the highway. Which leads to...
like All That Heaven Allows with its deer, Mother Nature also seems to bless that union
I see the deer at the end of ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS as rejecting the union. Ron has represented the male, the dominant, and the freedom of the exterior space. The deer is a symbol of that. And what happens when Cary has domesticated, emasculated, and brought him into the interior space? The deer sees what's happened, looks away and leaves, rejecting the turn of events.

Sirk and, I would contend, Max Ophuls, are the masters at taking a highly romantic premise on the surface -- one that at first blush is saccharine and the epitome of what were (and are) considered "women's pictures" or, the common pejorative term, "weepies" -- and show the horror-fest below the surface.
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pvitari
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

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Cary has domesticated and emasculated Ron? I don't see that at all. He fell in love with her and wanted to make a home for her, which I had always thought was supposed to be the (once upon a time traditional) masculine role when you get married. It's emasculation because as a bachelor he lives in a room off his nursery business? Ron for me more is a blend of masculine and feminine elements, perfectly encarnated in his very first scene, where we see him pruning trees -- and then sitting down to coffee and rolls with Cary, taking *Sara*'s place at the table. He does other "feminine" things like growing plants, flowers and trees, and when he renovates that mill house, he not only does the carpentry work (masculine) but designs and furnishes the interior (feminine), to include a silver tea service (and a Sirkian mirror). He wears a lot of flannel shirts and he hunts (masculine) and I'm willing to bet you he could cook that bird too. And I suspect even after marrying Cary he will continue to hunt. He's also perfectly happy in the interior space of his friends' rustic house at their nursery business. It's not interiors that bother Ron, it's what happens inside them, i.e., party at the Andersons versus party at Sara's.

I completely agree that there is a point to be made re contrast of the two parties, but even for a movie that does go to extremes, I still find the one at the Anderson's a little too studied, until the sweet dance at the end with Cary and Ron -- that worked very nicely for me.

I don't see the deer representing disapproval of this relationship. The deer's running off for me seems to be saying "The End," i.e., "no more to this particular story, time to move on." The deer doesn't move until Ron and Cary are no longer in the frame and we literally see "The End" on the screen.

Is Ron an "emotional" sadist? He willingly comes to Cary's home, dressed in a suit, is polite to her two frosty children, and then accompanies her to a cocktail party he really doesn't want to go to. And while he's there, making conversation and sharing a drink with Sara's husband, he witnesses the woman he loves attacked by a drunk who thinks she's free and easy because she has taken up with with someone else other than him (the drunk). (The movie makes it clear that everyone believes that Cary is sleeping with Ron... I think they're right, actually.) :) The malignant gossip Mona stands by and makes "innocently" rude remarks. The mood among the guests is uniformly hostile to Ron. Is it any wonder that his beliefs about Cary's friends are confirmed in his own mind and that he urges Cary to give up that life to be with him? Even if he were willing to move into Cary's house and join her life, there is no way the country club crowd would ever accept him, except through gritted teeth forced through by Sara's patronage. He knows this. Cary's daughter Kay probably would come around -- she seems to in that Christmas scene -- but Ned's approval is more dubious.

No, I think what we're seeing here are just two stubborn people and whatever Sirk's or the story's excesses may be, that rings REALLY true to me. :) Cary crumbles first because she realizes the reason she gave up Ron no longer exists (if it ever did), that is, her children have left town and started their own adult lives and now she needs to start a new phase in her life, too. For a while she desists, thinking Ron has a new girlfriend, but when she's disabused of that notion, and with the advice of the doctor, she goes to the mill house. And yet, once there, she doesn't even knock before getting back in the car and leaving. Giving up the home she's lived in for 20 years or so and the life she has always known must be a terrifying prospect, even to be with someone like Ron -- who from afar is thrilled to see her and I suspect if not for the accident he would have jumped into his old station wagon and followed her back to town and reunited with her. It takes that accident and Alida's intervention for our two lovebirds to finally pair up permanently.

Speaking of critical disdain of women's weepies, while screencapping this I looked up Bosley Crowther's review in The New York Times and I suspect it was rather typical.

MOVIE REVIEW
Make Me an Offer (1954)
Screen: Doleful Domestic Drama; Mayfair Offering 'All That Heaven Allows' Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson Teamed Again

By BOSLEY CROWTHER
Published: February 29, 1956
ONE of those doleful situations so dear to the radio daytime serials is tackled in Universal's "All That Heaven Allows." It is that of a well-to-do widow who falls in love with a noble nurseryman and then has to face the snide resentment of her collegiate children and her country-club friends.

Such a desperate domestic dilemma might conceivably be resolved by the lady's simply telling her offspring and her friends to go climb a tree—preferably a silver-tipped spruce, which is the sort her lover specializes in. But that would be too expeditious, too simple and logical. It would also be a violation of the professional heart-renders' rules.

And so, in this frankly feminine fiction, which came to the Mayfair yesterday all glittering in Technicolor and with Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson in the leading roles, Miss Wyman must reject Mr. Hudson with the wistful word that she can never be his, that she has an obligation greater than the tender call of love—which is the obligation of being a proper mother to her insufferable kids.

Whereupon the children have to show her that they only care about themselves, anyhow, and Mr. Hudson has to fall off a mountain and get a concussion of the brain before Miss Wyman sizes up the situation and does the inevitable thing.

Don't hold the actress responsible. The script was obviously written to bring her and Mr. Hudson, who made a popular twosome in the "Magnificent Obsession," together again. Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichés. What could a conscientious actress do when Director Douglas Sirk bathed her in lush autumnal colors and pulled all stops on the piano and violins?

Miss Wyman does her darndest. She smiles bravely, while her eyes show the hurt that only a woman who has loved (as they say) can understand. And when she surrenders to Mr. Hudson (as she does, we're bound to tell you, before the end), she does so with lady-like decorum and elegant restraint.

He, too, performs with perfect manners, barely speaking above a whisper most of the time and giving a sterling imitation of a rustic stalwart who is passionate for trees. It is true that he bears a slight resemblance to Li'l Abner of comic-strip fame, in his lumber-jackets and his pompadour hair-do, but that isn't inappropriate to this film.

In supporting roles, William Reynolds and Gloria Talbott are priggish as the kids, Agnes Moorhead is noisy as an old friend and Conrad Nagel is coy as an aging beau. Several others seem slightly uncomfortable in studiously country clothes and roles. A good bit of overdressing is evident throughout the show.
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mrsl
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by mrsl »

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Once again I feel I must mention the fact that you have to put yourself in the mindset of the time frame this movie was made. In 1955 it was an absolute tabooed no-no for a romance between a woman who was anywhere from 5 years to 20 years older than the man, yet a man, 20 years older than the woman was just fine. Furthermore to us, this woman who was in her mid to late 40's was certainly not old at all, yet her children were trying to park her in a rocking chair in front of a TV set for the next 30 or 40 years. And if I ever saw two grown 'children' who needed to have their bags packed and left on the front stoop so they could do some growing up, these two were it.

Pvitari, I don't see how you can find Kinkades still life sugary sweet. He captures the rays of sunlight as it streams through trees and lands on country cabins and lakes. He rarely has people or animals in his work, so how can an outdoor rustic cabin look sugary sweet? Ya' got me there :?

Actually, I recall seeing this with my best friend and her Mom. My Mom would have killed me if she knew. At 14 I was not allowed to see such adult stuff. (Can you imagine?) :roll: :roll: Anyway, I remember being embarrassed for the actors and dialog they had to say. We had watched other love stories before, but the dialog in this was just too. too.

As I said earlier, for someone like me who loves melodrama, Sirk just goes too much overboard for me. But again, that's just my lowly opinion, and all of you find things that I don't see. So you enjoy while I watch another Randolph Scott.
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Anne


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mrsl
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by mrsl »

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I really hate it when my opinion is so different from 90% of the rest of the membership, but I guess that's what makes the world go around, right? My problem is, when I like something, I like it 100%, but when I don't like it, no matter how hard I try, I can't always find something to redeem it in my eyes. I have changed my mind a couple of times. In the case of Burt Lancaster, who I never cared for, but from some of the posts about him here, I've reversed my thoughts. Also, thanks to people here, I revisited The Ox-Bow Incident, and found a treasure that I had been avoiding for years. But in the case of Douglas Sirk, he is a lost cause for me. I guess I'm better off getting my melodrama from books.
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by pvitari »

It's always great hearing opinions different from one's own -- then you have to reconsider one's own opinion and think about why you think that way.

However, I don't think I will ever be a Kinkade fan. I actually have a tiny art collection of my own (local artists). Here is a landscape I have by Chris Cook that's painted at Kinkade's favorite time of day, sunset. :) Very different style, however.

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feaito

Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by feaito »

I had recorded this film long ago and I got around to finally see it -having so many films waiting "in line" to be seen- because of Paula's thread with so much interesting insight from everyone; so many "readings" in relation to a scene, to the cinematography, to the use of color, shadows, etc; so many interesting points of view.

When I was a youngster some Sirk films were usually aired on Public TV, most notably "A Time To Love and Time to Die" (1958), "Imitation of Life" (1959) and "There's Always Tomorrow" (1956). I have revisited "Imitation of Life" (1959) many times and it is still one of my favorites -that certain artificial quality of Sirk's mise-en-scene suits Lana Turner better than no one other actor and it was interesting when the 1959 and the 1934 versions -filmed by Stahl- were released together. Interesting to compare the warmth and sentimentality of the 1930s version with the cool and detached approach of Sirk. Anyhow, I think that my favorite Sirk film for the time being is "There's Always Tomorrow" (1956). I forgot to mention "Written on the Wind" (1957) another great Sirkian melodrama - I haven't seen them all BTW.

Well, I liked this film a lot and the only regret is that the version I recorded is presented in full screen and in its original widescreen ratio. Notwithstanding this, the print is rather gorgeous, crisp and the colors vibrant. I liked the restrained performances of Jane Wyman and the rest of the cast and the sensitive performance that Sirk managed to obtain from Rock Hudson. The chemistry and attraction between both characters is totally believable. The most horrifying aspect of the film is the dull, synthetic, artificial, zombie-like existence, led by that people who live in the well-to-do suburb in which Wyman lives -Wyman's friends and neighbors, who behave like fiends; full of prejudice, doing things for the sake of "appearances", emptiness, shallowness...that's a horror show. In contrast Hudson's friends live an enviable existence, devoid of falseness and true-to-life. It makes me think a lot of the decisions one makes in one's life. An absolutely timeless issue. The character of Mona is the epitome of the worst aspects of a human being. On the other hand getting to witness Agnes Moorehead's charming performance as the apparently shallow, but good intentioned friend of Jane was also a treat. There's never one-dimention in an Agnes Moorehead performance.

An immaculately filmed, delightful dark melodrama.
feaito

Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by feaito »

I forgot to mention the lovely Virgina Grey, one of Hollywood's loveliest actresses, who plays Alida in the film, the genteel and nice wife of Hudson's pal. A supporting actress, Mrs. Grey graced many a Hollywood film with her beauty, talent and grace. She was quite terrific in "The Rose Tattoo" (1955) opposite Anna Magnani and of course as Joan Crawford's fellow co-worker in "The Women" (1939). She had the looks, charm and talent to have become a big star...I wonder why she did not...

I just realized that Gloria Talbott, who plays Wyman's daughter in ATHA also appeared in Jane's 1954 film "Lucy Gallant" (1954) a more conventional soap opera which I saw last year, but nevertheless very entertaining, in which she co-starred with Charlton Heston.
feaito

Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by feaito »

Hey Paula, since you started this thread on Sirk and this Wyman-Hudson drama, now I was picqued to watch "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), also -like ATHA- recorded off TV and not in widescreen format, but still a nice, crisp print. My wife and I had a wonderful time watching it, but I liked "All That Heaven Allows" better. The religious theme of the story -based upon a novel written by Lloyd C. Dougas, the same author of "The Robe", filmed in 1953- is very interesting and the performances are good. This is the film that made Rock Hudson a star and he plays a very different role here: a spoiled, worthless playboy, redeemed by the love of a woman. I love the supporting casts assembled by Sirk & Ross Hunter. Again we get lovable Agnes Moorehead as a devoted nurse -she has more screen time here than in ATHA, but her role is less complex IMO- and Otto Kruger is perfect as the artist who befriends Hudson and "shows him the way". Barbara Rush plays Wyman's step-daughter and Paul Cavahaugh has a small role as Hudson's teacher. A well-crafted, smart melodrama which manages not to be sentimental and that achieves one of the most important goals of any film -entertainment. Now I have to see the 1935 version!
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pvitari
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by pvitari »

Hi feaito, another great movie! :) Wyman and Hudson really had terrific chemistry (who would have ever put them together as a movie couple?) and it's easy to see why Magnificent Obsession was a hit and why they were soon paired together again in All That Heaven Allows.

Have you seen the 1935 version of Magnificent Obsession, starring Robert Taylor and Irene Dunne? It's an "extra" (!!) on the Criterion DVD of Magnificent Obsession.

I hope Sirk's Technicolor melodramas are released on Blu-ray someday.
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Re: All That Heaven Allows

Post by Professional Tourist »

feaito wrote:Again we get lovable Agnes Moorehead as a devoted nurse -she has more screen time here than in ATHA, but her role is less complex IMO
Not that anyone asked me :wink: but in my opinion Nancy Ashford is a much more complex character than Sara Warren. In fact, I think Nancy is one of AM's most brilliant film characterizations.
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