All That Heaven Allows
Encyclopedia
All That Heaven Allows is a romance
feature film
starring Jane Wyman
and Rock Hudson
in a tale about a well-to-do widow and a younger landscape designer falling in love. The screenplay was written by Peg Fenwick based upon a story by Edna L. Lee and Harry Lee
. The film was directed by Douglas Sirk
and produced by Ross Hunter
.
In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
. All That Heaven Allows has been broadcast on American television and is available in VHS
and DVD
format.
) is an affluent widow
in suburban New England, whose social life involves her country club
peers, college-age children, and a couple of men vying for her affection.
She becomes interested in Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson
), her family's gardener and a down-to-earth, younger man. Ron is content with his simple life outside of judgmental society, and the two fall in love. Ron introduces her to other people who have no need for wealth and status, and she responds positively. Cary accepts his proposal for marriage, but becomes distressed when her friends and children look down upon and reject her for this socially unacceptable marriage. Cary breaks off the marriage when her children threaten to abandon her. Both she and Ron continue their separate lives in sorrow.
As Cary's social life returns to its original state, she notices other women becoming engaged and living lives of happiness. Even her own children are soon to leave the family home. Cary realizes that she is ready to defy social norms and commit to loving Ron. She rushes to his side when he has a life-threatening accident, telling him that she has come home.
wanted to follow up on the pairing of Wyman and Hudson from Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession
(1954). Sirk found the screenplay for All That Heaven Allows "rather impossible" but was able to restructure it and use the big budget to film and edit the work exactly the way he wanted.
(1647–1680), the last stanza of which reads:
generally panned the film and commented in the New York Times of February 29, 1956: "The script was obviously written to bring [Wyman] 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."
Many critics view the film as a social critique of the conformity
obsessed 1950s.
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
starring Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
and Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
in a tale about a well-to-do widow and a younger landscape designer falling in love. The screenplay was written by Peg Fenwick based upon a story by Edna L. Lee and Harry Lee
Harry Lee
Harry Lee was the long-time sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He was first elected in 1979, as the 30th Sheriff, and was re-elected six times, serving twenty eight years and six months...
. The film was directed by Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...
and produced by Ross Hunter
Ross Hunter
Ross Hunter was a Hollywood film producer.-Biography:Hunter was born in Cleveland, Ohio as Martin Fuss. After serving in Army intelligence during World War II, he signed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures and acted in a number of B-movie musicals...
.
In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
. All That Heaven Allows has been broadcast on American television and is available in VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format.
Plot
Cary Scott (Jane WymanJane Wyman
Jane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
) is an affluent widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
in suburban New England, whose social life involves her country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
peers, college-age children, and a couple of men vying for her affection.
She becomes interested in Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
), her family's gardener and a down-to-earth, younger man. Ron is content with his simple life outside of judgmental society, and the two fall in love. Ron introduces her to other people who have no need for wealth and status, and she responds positively. Cary accepts his proposal for marriage, but becomes distressed when her friends and children look down upon and reject her for this socially unacceptable marriage. Cary breaks off the marriage when her children threaten to abandon her. Both she and Ron continue their separate lives in sorrow.
As Cary's social life returns to its original state, she notices other women becoming engaged and living lives of happiness. Even her own children are soon to leave the family home. Cary realizes that she is ready to defy social norms and commit to loving Ron. She rushes to his side when he has a life-threatening accident, telling him that she has come home.
Cast
- Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
- Cary Scott - Rock HudsonRock HudsonRoy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
- Ron Kirby - Agnes MooreheadAgnes MooreheadAgnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
- Sara Warren - Conrad NagelConrad NagelConrad Nagel was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well-known television actor and radio performer.-Biography:...
- Harvey - Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
- Alida Anderson - Gloria TalbottGloria TalbottGloria Talbott was an American film and television actress.-Early life and career:She grew up in Glendale, California...
- Kay Scott - William ReynoldsWilliam Reynolds (actor)William Reynolds is a retired American television and film actor. He is best known for television roles in the 1960s and 1970s....
- Ned Scott - Jacqueline De Wit - Mona Plash
- Charles DrakeCharles DrakeCharles Drake was an American actor.-Biography:Drake was born as Charles Ruppert in New York City. He graduated from Nichols College and became a salesman. In 1939, he turned to acting and signed a contract with Warner Brothers. He wasn't immediately successful...
- Mick Anderson - Leigh SnowdenLeigh SnowdenLeigh Snowden was an American actress in motion pictures and television.-Studios bid for a young actress:...
- Jo-Ann - Merry AndersMerry AndersMerry Anders is an American actress who has appeared in a number of television programs and films since the 1950s. In 1954, she succeeded Ann Todd as Stuart Erwin's daughter in the final season of his TV series, The Stu Erwin Show.In the 1955-1956 season, she joined Janis Paige in the 26-week CBS...
- Mary Ann - Donald Curtis - Howard Hoffer
- Nestor PaivaNestor PaivaNestor Paiva was an American actor of Portuguese descent who portrayed the innkeeper on Walt Disney's live-action television series Zorro by ABC and its feature film The Sign of Zorro which was shot in Burbank's Walt Disney Studios.-Career:Nestor appeared in motion pictures and television shows...
- Manuel
Production
Universal-International PicturesUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
wanted to follow up on the pairing of Wyman and Hudson from Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession
Magnificent Obsession
Magnificent Obsession is a 1929 novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being The Robe, White Banners and The Big Fisherman.-Plot summary:...
(1954). Sirk found the screenplay for All That Heaven Allows "rather impossible" but was able to restructure it and use the big budget to film and edit the work exactly the way he wanted.
Title
The title may have been taken from the poem "Love and Life" by the Earl of RochesterJohn Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...
(1647–1680), the last stanza of which reads:
- Then talk not of inconstancy,
- False hearts, and broken vows:
- If I by miracle can be
- This live-long minute true to thee,
- 'Tis all that heaven allows.
Reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
generally panned the film and commented in the New York Times of February 29, 1956: "The script was obviously written to bring [Wyman] and Mr. Hudson, who made a popular twosome in the Magnificent Obsession
Magnificent Obsession
Magnificent Obsession is a 1929 novel by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being The Robe, White Banners and The Big Fisherman.-Plot summary:...
, together again. Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichés."
Many critics view the film as a social critique of the conformity
Conformity
Conformity is the process by which an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are influenced by other people.Conformity may also refer to:*Conformity: A Tale, a novel by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna...
obsessed 1950s.
Awards and honors
In 1995, All That Heaven Allows was selected for preservation in the United States National Film RegistryNational Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".