All That Heaven Allows

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All That Heaven Allows

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All That Heaven Allows

Agnes Moorehead, Charles Drake, Conrad Nagel, Gloria Talbott, Hayden Rorke

One of director Douglas Sirk's best and most successful romantic soapers of the 1950s, All That Heaven Allows is predicated on a May-December romance. The difference here is that the woman, attractive...( read more  read more... ) widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), is considerably older than the man, handsome gardener-landscaper Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). Sirk builds up sympathy for Cary by showing how empty her life has been since her husband's death, even suggesting that the marriage itself was no picnic. Throwing conventionial behavior to the winds and facing social ostracism, Cary pursues her romance with Ron, who is unjustly perceived as a fortune-hunter by Cary's friends and family--especially her priggish son Ned (William Reynolds). Amusingly, Conrad Nagel was to have had a much larger part as Harvey, an elderly widower who carries a torch for Cary, but his role was trimmed down during previews when audiences disapproved of an implicit romance between a sixtyish man and a fortysomething woman! All That Heaven Allows was remade by unabashed Douglas Sirk admirer Rainer Werner Fassbinder as Ali--Fear Eats the Soul (1974), in which the age gap between hero and heroine was even wider.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Id: 10982743

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All That Heaven Allows Recent Reviews
  • organgrinder136
    July 18, 2009
    organgrinder136
    very decent effort/statement about social status and the simple things that really are important. everyone involved did a good job. camera-work was sublime. only actor i knowingly have seen before is rock hudson. worth seeing once for sure!
  • her69eyes
    April 29, 2009
    her69eyes
    "All That Heaven Allows" is not unlike other films that criticize the shallow lifestyles of bourgeois elitists. The film suggests that the people who get by on status recognition or how quick they are in picking up new trends are lifeless shells walking amongst us. Where it's dif...( read more)ferent, however, is that the two protagonists defy most of these film conventions. Take Carey Scott (Jane Wyman), for instance. Her friends are the sort of people who rarely leave the country club, and their arrogance and gossiping leads them at each other's throats. She loves them, however, and she's not willing to lose them nor her own comfortable way of living. In a lesser film about "forbidden love", she would have already been engaged at the demand of her parents. She would be held into this lifestyle by force. Carey, on the other hand, could change anytime she wants to. The fact that the film centers around her avoidance of doing so suggests that she is not the romantic lover we would initially expect. It isn't a film where "love conquers all", but rather a film where love is a risk that could damage reputation, position in society, and friendships.

    Instead, however, the romantic dreamer of the film is a rugged gardener named Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). Here the gender roles are mostly reversed. Ron is gentle and kind, often seen peering out of a window longing romantically. On the other hand, Carey is shot in framing that seems to enclose her as if it were a prison cell. While Ron Kirby is very much your archetypal Prince Charming, he is also the blue collar variant that, instead of providing riches, may, in fact, take them away. Carey is making a decision to spend the rest of her life in a cabin in the forest rather than sipping fine wine in a country club.

    Carey is a middle-aged widow with two children, Ned (William Reynolds) and Kay (Gloria Talbott). She first discovers Ron, her gardener, on a particularly lonely afternoon. It's much to her surprise to find out that Ron has been working at the house for three years ever since his father had passed away. At this point in time, Carey is waiting to be swept off her feet after the failed attempts of other suitors. Due to these urges, she falls for a man that's not only 15 years younger then her, but farther down the totem pole of societal expectation. When Ron proposes, the children threaten to never speak to their mother again should she accept.

    "All That Heaven Allows" is very much a soap opera, but it's uncommonly intelligent and insightful. I appreciated the fact that it didn't rely too heavily on archetypal characters, and although it's overtly melodramatic it also provides enough subtleties that make the film-watching experience an active, rather than passive, one. While I didn't like this one as much as Sirk's "Written on the Wind", i'd certainly recommend checking it out.
  • mjgildea
    January 15, 2007
    mjgildea
    Yes it's basically a chick flick and yes all it really delivers is a message that you shouldn't give a baker's fuck what other people think, especially if you're in love. But it's very beautiful and it's got a happy ending. And you really need that sometimes...
  • littlecharmer1959
    July 20, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    Better than the previous years "Magnificent Obsession", also with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Again a typically melodramatic story but the Douglas Sirk touch makes it well worth watching. Gorgeous cinematography by Russell Metty.
  • patrickdol
    January 8, 2009
    patrickdol
    Beautiful '50s melodrama.
    How one can not love every second of delicious torture that's all so engrossing and entertaining is beyond me.
  • TheAfterHours
    November 22, 2009
    TheAfterHours
    It's so difficult to judge movies from past eras, especially ones from the 50's. You have to pretend you're back in that time (even if you never were) and act as if the social boundaries of latter years are things that haven't happened yet. That was really tough to do with this...( read more) film. But I tried. So with my 1955 glasses on I would say this was a good film overall. Pretty risque dialogue and subject matter. Really good acting. I thought the direction was especially good, with the angles and blocking techniques the director chose. If you're a fan of the classics, check this out.
  • HuskersNC949597
    August 19, 2009
    HuskersNC949597
    Old lady likes young dude. Obviously being a cougar in the 1950s is different from today. Still, not a very interesting movie.
  • kurosawian
    July 19, 2009
    kurosawian
    The film that inspired Todd Haynes to make Far from Heaven. This is Sirk's quintessential work. It's both a melodramatic soap opera and a highly intelligent drama loaded with subtext. It's heart-wrenching and dramatically suspenseful. Simply put: a masterpiece ahead of its time.
  • onomatopee
    April 4, 2009
    onomatopee
    It's a very touching story and I'm glad that it turns out well because it would have make me so mad to know that she ruined her life because of the others and that they finally let her down. Jane Wyman is making the movie as well as the director, who made awesome cinematography. ...( read more)Fassbinder's Ali : Fear Eats The Soul was inspired by this film and is also excellent!
  • starkafka
    November 27, 2008
    starkafka
    not just ordinary romantic story.. it's hard to find these days...
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