All That Heaven Allows (1955)

92% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
78% of users liked it
(4,775 ratings)

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 widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), is considerably older than the man, handsome gardener-landscaper Ron… More 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 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Douglas Sirk
Written By: Peg Fenwick, Edna L. Lee
Genres: Drama, Romance, Classics

On DVD: Jun 19, 2001

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Hudson is handsome and somewhat wooden. Laconic of speech, and imbued with an angel's patience and understanding, it's at times hard to understand his passion for the widow, what with pretty girls just spoilingfor his attention.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichés.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
A masterpiece (1955) by one of the most inventive and recondite directors ever to work in Hollywood, Douglas Sirk.
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Sirk benefited immeasurably from the fact that the chief subject of his crazy cinema was postwar America.
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
A classic and beautiful film for those who love romantic stories
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine
Romance novel in narrative this transcends its genre with visual depth and perceptive socio-cultural insights.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
One of Sirk's finest films.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
'Time, if anything, will vindicate Douglas Sirk,' wrote Andrew Sarris in 1968. He was right.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Beneath the stunningly lovely visuals -- all expressionist colours, reflections, and frames-within-frames, used to produce a precise symbolism -- lies a kernel of terrifying despair
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
When Carey (Jane Wyman) first visits the Andersons, friends of Ron (Rock Hudson), Thoreau's Walden is placed on the table. She then reads a passage in which he describes the "mass of men living lives of quiet desperation," a summation of her life.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Yet another mystifyingly lionized Sirkian soaper.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Quite involving, overblown emotion and all, particularly due to Wyman's gentle sincerity.
, Film4
The rich visual texture, using glorious Technicolor, and a soaring emotional score lend what is essentially a thin story a kind of epic tension.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
The enjoyability of All That Heaven Allows is hampered by the fact that there's no real plot here.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
A potent story for the ages.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Sophie B

I don't quite know how to describe this. I watched it expecting nothing great and I still feel quite confused as to my feelings on it but I really enjoyed it. It was interesting and understandable (not always common in 'old' movies) and it touches on themes I can… More
I don't quite know how to describe this. I watched it expecting nothing great and I still feel quite confused as to my feelings on it but I really enjoyed it. It was interesting and understandable (not always common in 'old' movies) and it touches on themes I can completely understand despite the age gap. I feel I may have liked it better at Christmas time, as the beautiful images of a snow covered cottage with a young deer outside was magical. I truly felt for Cary, as her whole world changed and ended up feeling satisfied at the end. A good romance.
Pierluigi P

Some people never realize how society, traditions and values imprisons and forces them to conform with banality. A candid and romantic look of a taboo relationship, done with such picturesque beauty that is hard not to be moved and enchanted by it.
KJ P

One of the cheesiest, yet one of the most beautiful romance films I have ever seen. This film tells the tale of an older woman, as her family is not as happy as they used to be before their father (her husband) passed away. As she begins to fall for their family gardener (Ron), he… More
One of the cheesiest, yet one of the most beautiful romance films I have ever seen. This film tells the tale of an older woman, as her family is not as happy as they used to be before their father (her husband) passed away. As she begins to fall for their family gardener (Ron), he does whatever he possibly can to get her to love him back. He is far to young of a man for her, but that is not a factor that will stop this beautifully told romance from ending. There are moments where the dialogue is too corny to not chuckle at it, but the heart behind it is magnificent, and even in the final moments of the film, you still share all the feelings that you shared since their first on-screen presence. "All That Heaven Allows" is one of the best romance films ever made. It has charm, happiness, force, love, and the will to not let anything get in the way of romance. As it seems the romance is tearing the family apart and Ron is not being accepted into the family, it just makes the audience have more faith in life that it will all get better. This film is blissful!
Spencer S

Far more progressive than many films of the decade, this film deals with the societal stance on May-December romances when an older, rich woman is involved with a former gardener years after she is widowed. It held all the culpabilities of reasoning for both sides of the debate, but… More
Far more progressive than many films of the decade, this film deals with the societal stance on May-December romances when an older, rich woman is involved with a former gardener years after she is widowed. It held all the culpabilities of reasoning for both sides of the debate, but was also a nice love story that held tragic circumstances. Though I didn't approve of the choice of putting together Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, they delivered with chemistry that wasn't at all lustful. The ending underwhelmed me, and made the entire storyline seem petty, but otherwise there is much praise for the cinematography and choice of long shots.
AJ V

Most people point to this film as the greatest fifties melodrama, but that doesn't mean people have to like it, right? I think it's okay, but I really don't want to see it in a film class again!
jay n

good but written on the wind is better.
Michael G

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… More
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...
Quinto W

I very rarely, if ever, get passionately romantic but this gorgeous film managed to bring that out in me. The main characters are so beautiful, human and sensible you feel their connection and can't help root for them all the way through and feel their pain and uncertainty.
Emily B

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.
Patrick D

Beautiful '50s melodrama. How one can not love every second of delicious torture that's all so engrossing and entertaining is beyond me.