Tired Old Queen at the Movies: 'Leave Her to Heaven' (1945)

This week, Steve Hayes reviews "Leave Her to Heaven." Steve says: Gene Tierney rips the screen apart as the manipulative and murderous Ellen, who'll stop at nothing to take total possession of the man she loves in the film version of Ben Ames Williams' thriller, "Leave Her to Heaven" (1945). Filmed in Oscar-winning Technicolor, Ellen was the most coveted role of the year and every actress in Hollywood threw her hats in the ring. However, Darryl F. Zanuck decided to go with the actress whom he later described as "The most beautiful girl I ever knew," Gene Tierney. Tierney was going through a difficult time in her personal life during the shooting, her daughter had recently been born severely brain damaged. She dove into the part as a means of forgetting for a while and she earned her only Oscar nomination as best actress, losing to Joan Crawford for "Mildred Pierce."