Movie Monday: Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
On this Movie Monday, we a discussion one of the last great noir films: Leave Her to Heaven. The color pallet used in this film is not one you would expect of a drama/mystery. Technicolor was used to its utmost in this movie and it added to the intense plot that thickened as it went along.
These photos are not mine.
Although today we consider Leave Her to Heaven a classic, this movie did not go over as well with critics in 1945. Despite this, the story arch in this spoke to audiences at the time and was one of the highest grossing movies for 20th Century Fox in the 1940s.
The core of this film’s plot is about how beauty can be deceiving. Gene Tierney and the clothes she wears for the duration of the movie are all very glamorous. Not only that, but the sets and locations used are not typical places you would think a series of dark events would take place. Without giving the plot away, this movie urges its viewers to look a little deeper into a person beyond just what you see on the outside. In other words, don’t judge a book by its cover.
These photos are not mine.
One of the most striking aspects of Leave Her to Heaven is the color pallet used throughout the film. Unlike other classics like the Wizard of Oz, Leave Her to Heaven ignores some of the brighter colors in the rainbow. Instead, they use shades of white and turquoise along with reds that are sometimes shaped with pink.
Overall, the color pallet in this film is deceiving. Viewers see Gene Tierney’s character wear an angelic white throughout the movie, even in scenes when she was intentionally hurting others. This is yet another clever way that Leave Her to Heaven is trying to tell the audience that what you see on the outside is not all there is to the story.
Of all the noir films I have seen, Leave Her to Heaven is one of my favorites! Not only because it has so many stunning ensembles throughout the film, but also because of the underlying message sent in some of the most creative and classically cinematic ways.
Much Love,
Sarah
