All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Director:

Douglas Sirk

Writers:

Peg Fenwick (writer)
Edna L. Lee (story)

Release Date:

December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

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.

Plot Keywords:

Country Club | May December Romance | Older Woman Younger Man | Mill | Fall From Height

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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. 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

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

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. "

Goofs:

Plot holes: Carrie's son, Ned, who has not met his mother's new fiancé and has no idea of his living conditions, complains to his mother about possibly having to live in a greenhouse, which is where the fiancé lives. He'd have no way to know that about the fiancé he's just learned about.

Quotes:

Ron Kirby: I can't shoot straight anymore.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Rock Hudson's Home Movies (1992)

Soundtrack:

Consolation No.3 D flat major

Wyman and Hudson re-team for this classy melodrama

Due to the success of 1954's "Magnificent Obsession", Universal once again called on Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, and director Douglas Sirk for this passionate, heart-gripping look at the hypocrisy of small-town America. Wyman, a rich widow in this well-to-do New England town, falls in love with her gardener (Hudson) and all hell breaks loose. Her community ridicules her and her grown children are horrified by her. She finds herself having to choose love or the respect of those around her.

The cinematography is beyond extraordinary, the score by Frank Skinner is unbelievably moving, Wyman is exquisite, and Sirk gives some of the best direction of his career. A really classy melodrama and completely worthwhile.