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All That Heaven Allows
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All That Heaven Allows (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   2,937 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Douglas Sirk
Writers:
Peg Fenwick (writer)
Edna L. Lee (story)
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Contact:
View company contact information for All That Heaven Allows on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
December 1955 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
How much does Heaven Allow a Woman in Love?
Plot:
An upper-class widow falls in love with a much younger, down-to-earth nurseryman, much to the disapproval of her children and criticism of her country club peers. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
Actress Jane Wyman Dies at 93
 (From IMDb News. 10 September 2007)

User Comments:
Scathing social commentary masking as soap opera. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jane Wyman ... Cary Scott

Rock Hudson ... Ron Kirby

Agnes Moorehead ... Sara Warren
Conrad Nagel ... Harvey
Virginia Grey ... Alida Anderson
Gloria Talbott ... Kay Scott
William Reynolds ... Ned Scott
Charles Drake ... Mick Anderson
Hayden Rorke ... Dr. Dan Hennessy
Jacqueline deWit ... Mona Plash (as Jacqueline de Wit)
Leigh Snowden ... Jo-Ann
Donald Curtis ... Howard Hoffer
Alex Gerry ... George Warren
Nestor Paiva ... Manuel
Forrest Lewis ... Mr. Weeks
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Additional Details

Runtime:
89 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.00 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This film seems to borrow its title from the last line of the poem 'love and life' by Jhn Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester: " All my past Life is mine no more, The flying Hours are gone: Like Transitory Dreams giv'n o'er, Whose Images are kept in store By Memory alone. The Time that is to come is not; How can it then be mine The present Moment's all my Lot; And that, as fast as it is got, Phillis, is only thine. 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 Heav'n allows. " more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When the door to the butcher's shop is opened, the camera and some crew members are clearly visible in a reflection. more
Quotes:
[Howard passionately but forcefully kisses Cary, she pushes him away]
Howard Hoffer: I'm sorry Cary. I don't know what got into me. I know you're not like that. I apologize for what I said.
Cary Scott: That's all right, Howard.
Howard Hoffer: But I don't apologize for wanting you.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Contract Kid - William Reynolds sur Douglas Sirk (2007) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Joy to the World more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
36 out of 52 people found the following comment useful:-
Scathing social commentary masking as soap opera., 28 June 2004
9/10
Author: William J. Fickling (wjfickling@earthlink.net) from Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Douglas Sirk is a truly underrated director, and this film shows why. Although this film becomes more highly regarded as the years go by, especially by non-Americans, it is usually regarded as just a well made soaper. Big mistake. This is a very angry film, a scathing commentary on the conformity and mindlessness that characterized much of the 1950s. Remember, this film was made in 1955, before there were any beatniks or hippies, before the civil rights movement, before there was any pot smoking, before anyone beyond the fringes questioned any of the basic values underlying capitalist America. America was at the peak of its power and prestige, and this was perhaps the first mainstream film that questioned the values that presumably were responsible for that ascendancy. Because this film is essentially about class and the primacy that human relationships must have over material gain, social acceptance, and social conformity.

Think of the forbidden (at the time) themes that this film deals with. Older woman, younger man. The shallowness, insipidity, and snobbery of the upper middle class arrivistes who have "made it," all of which masks their basic insecurity, unhappiness, and self-loathing. A male lead who doesn't care about acceptance by anyone, who doesn't care about money or success, who just wants to be happy and "do his own thing," well over a decade before that phrase was coined. The Wyman character foolishly (at first) decides that acceptance by her peers and children is more important than finding happiness with a man she truly loves, and what does she end up with for companionship? A television set! This was the decade in which "The Lonely Crowd" was published, and this film exemplifies that concept, as well as striking examples of other- vs. inner-directed, far better than any other film of its time.

Sirk was truly a visionary, well ahead of his time. This was why this film inspired Fassbinder's "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" and Todd Haynes' "Far from Heaven." It is all the more powerful for having been made then and in not being a retrospective look, as is "Far from Heaven," from a more "enlightened" future time. For its social import, I rate this 9/10.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Agnes Moorhead deadpan_diva
Unconvincing romance archer1267
Ages of Cary and Ron? malin1248
Great moments of unintentional comedy drn5
Age difference Yann Villain
discussion - Cary's relationship with sarah bebebisous
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