All This, and Heaven Too (1940)

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Rachel Field (novel)
Casey Robinson (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 July 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | French | False Accusation | France | Melancholy

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
Charles Boyer	...	Duc de Praslin
Jeffrey Lynn	...	Henry Martyn Field
Barbara O'Neil	...	Duchesse de Praslin
Virginia Weidler	...	Louise
Helen Westley	...	Madame LeMaire
Walter Hampden	...	Pasquier
Henry Daniell	...	Broussais
Harry Davenport	...	Pierre
George Coulouris	...	Charpentier
Montagu Love	...	Marechal Sebastiani
Janet Beecher	...	Miss Haines
June Lockhart	...	Isabelle
Ann E. Todd	...	Berthe (as Ann Todd)
Richard Nichols	...	Reynald
Fritz Leiber	...	Abbe Gallard
Ian Keith	...	DeLangle
Sibyl Harris	...	Mlle. Maillard
Edward Fielding	...	Dr. Louis
Mary Anderson	...	Rebecca Jay
Ann Gillis	...	Emily Schuyler
Peggy Stewart	...	Helen Lexington
Victor Kilian	...	Gendarme
Mrs. Gardner Crane	...	Madame Gauthier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Egon Brecher	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Doris Bren	...	Agnes Brevoort (uncredited)
Carmen Bretta	...	Maxine, Frances' Maid (uncredited)
Virginia Brissac	...	Nun (uncredited)
Georgia Caine	...	Lady at the Theatre (uncredited)
Glen Cavender	...	Jean (uncredited)
Cora Sue Collins	...	Louise de Rham (uncredited)
Claire Du Brey	...	Nun (uncredited)
Gloria Fisher	...	Kate Delancey (uncredited)
Mary Forbes	...	Lady at the Theatre (uncredited)
Brenda Fowler	...	Nun (uncredited)
Betty Jane Graham	...	Clara Parker (uncredited)
Betty Jean Hainey	...	Elizabeth Ward (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Captain (uncredited)
Anne Howard	...	Isabelle Loullard (uncredited)
Marilyn Knowlden	...	Marianna Van Horn (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Queen Amélia of France (uncredited)
Natalie Moorhead	...	Lady at the Theatre (uncredited)
Susanne Ransom	...	Dora Vanderbilt (uncredited)
Frank Reicher	...	Police Official (uncredited)
Christian Rub	...	Loti (uncredited)
Jeanne Wells	...	Mary Simpson (uncredited)
Lottie Williams	...	Servant (uncredited)

Directed by
Anatole Litvak

Writing credits
Rachel Field		(novel "All This and Heaven Too")
Casey Robinson		(screenplay)

Produced by
David Lewis	....	associate producer
Anatole Litvak	....	producer
Hal B. Wallis	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(director of photography) (as Ernie Haller)

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack L. Warner	....	in charge of production
Al Alleborn	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Irving Rapper	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Sherry Shourds	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Special Effects by
Byron Haskin	....	special effects
Rex Wimpy	....	special effects

Editorial Department
Don Siegel	....	montage (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	music arranger: orchestral music

Other crew
Bernard DeRoux	....	technical advisor (as Bernard Deroux)
Irving Rapper	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures  copyright 1940 by (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• Warner Bros. Pictures  presents (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Runtime:

141 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6089)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Charles Boyer plays this role in which he commits suicide. In real life he did the same by taking barbiturates 2 days after his beloved wife, the actress Pat Paterson, died of cancer. Boyer died in Arizona on Aug. 26, 1978; she died Aug 24th of the same year.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the very last frame of the movie, the window shot, the snow stops falling completely.

Quotes:

Duc de Praslin: May I have Pierre come for your luggage?
Duchesse de Praslin: Theo, last night I poured my heart out to you in a letter. I crept to your doorway which I am foridden to enter and stooped in humility and pushed it under the seal!
Duc de Praslin: I received it, Frances.
Duchesse de Praslin: But look! You didn't even open it! Oh Theo, do you suppose this empty pretense is what I hoped for?Lastnight I begged for you to come to me! I hoped we might start this journey today united as we once were! Theo, Theo! Have you completely forgotten the life we once shared together?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Desperation (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Loti's Song

Beautiful period piece from Warners

Bette Davis is a schoolteacher whose past returns to haunt her in "All This and Heaven Too," a true story which took place in 1840s France and turned into a novel by Rachel Field. Bette Davis is the governess turned teacher, Henriette, Charles Boyer is the man of the house, the Duc de Praslin, Barbara O'Neill is his neurotic wife, and Jeffrey Lynn a minister friend who helps Henriette.

Henriette takes over as governess in the unhappy home of the Duc, caring for his four children - played by June Lockhart, Ann Todd, Virginia Wielder, and the adorable, pouty-lipped Richard Nichols. Though Nichols appeared in films taking place in France and Sweden, he sports a thick southern accent and calls Henriette "mamZEL." The Duc is miserable with his frustrated, bitter wife. The lack of sex in the marriage is demonstrated by his escorting her to her room and kissing her hand, then departing to his own room. She writes him lots of letters which she slips under his door. Feelings develop between the Duc and Henriette, but in the film at least, these are never acted upon. Unconvinced, the Duchesse does everything she can to get rid of the governess. In the beginning of the movie, Henriette tells her story as her students find out she has spent time in prison over a double tragedy which took place in the Praslin household.

Though a tragic story on many levels, it's a beautifully told one with every detail attended to. Bette Davis is warm and restrained as Henriette, soft-spoken and deferential. Boyer, with that vein in his forehead that sticks out when he's angry, is excellent as a man at the boiling point. O'Neill is positively hateful, a credit to her marvelous performance. From the strong, generous, loving mother in "Gone With the Wind," she turns herself into a self-involved, petty harridan.

"All This and Heaven Too" will sweep you into its rich atmosphere. In fact, I remember bringing this film to my office once when I worked a night shift, figuring that my colleagues and I would watch some of it over dinner each night. We ended up watching the entire thing in one sitting - which is what happened the last time I watched it. At 141 minutes, it's not short, but it holds the attention as a great film should.