Classic Movie Review: “All That Heaven Allows” (1955) Directed by Douglas Sirk

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DAN WALKER ON FILM

Director:

Douglas Sirk (“Imitation of Life”)

Cast:

Jane Wyman (“The Lost Weekend”)

Rock Hudson (“Giant”, “Ice Station Zebra”)

Agnes Moorehead (“Citizen Kane”, “The Magnificent Ambersons”, “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte”)

One of my favorite autumn movies is Todd Haynes’ 2002 “Far From Heaven”, which I watch every fall.   When it first came out, I remember it being described as a “nod” and “homage” to Douglas Sirk, whose only film I’d seen was his 1959 “Imitation of Life.”  Twelve years after seeing it in the theatre, I realize “Far From Heaven” is much more than an homage to Sirk; it borrows all of its essential elements from “All That Heaven Allows”:   the gossip/scandal storyline, the northeast setting, the autumn scenes at the beginning of the movie, the opening credits, the beautiful shots, the color schemes (like how blue light is used for night time exteriors and interiors), and the wardrobe, down to the way Dennis Haysbert’s gardener Raymond from FFH (below, with Julianne Moore) is dressed like Rock Hudson’s gardener Ron in ATHA (below, with Wyman).  The town gossip’s name is Mona in both movies.  A difference between the two films is that the scandal in ATHA is a country club/high society widow wants to marry her gardener and in FFH the dual scandals are about homosexuality and racism.  I’m not clear why “Far From Heaven” was never referred to as a remake of “All That Heaven Allows”.  In the FFH trivia section on imdb, there’s no mention of ATHA and Haynes has its sole writing credit.

It was fascinating and enjoyable to watch the movie that inspired “Far From Heaven”, although the acting style (especially with Wyman, whose portrayal of Cary Scott is stiff and mechanical*) and knowing that Rock Hudson was gay give it a camp feel and more than a few scenes are unintentionally comical.  One strange moment comes after Ron addresses Wyman’s character as “Mrs. Scott” in offering his help in carrying a bag to the house and after conversing during the lunch she invites him to share and Cary says, after a several second pause, “I’m Mrs. Scott.”    In that scene, t’s not clear who wasn’t paying attention, Wyman or her character.  Hudson’s performance is similar, and he was better in either George Stevens’ 1956 “Giant” (where he earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination) or John Sturges’ 1968 “Ice Station Zebra”, but the portrayal of the leads is enough to move the story along.  The supporting cast is sufficient and the portrayal of gossipy, catty, and trouble-making Mona (Jacqueline deWit, left ) would seem overdone if I didn’t know people who were actually like that, especially after living and working in Manhattan.  Agnes Moorehead, (below with Wyman) great in the films I list in her credits and commanding and hilarious as Endora in the 60’s TV series Bewitched, contributes her presence in in-and-out scenes as Cary’s best friend but doesn’t get as much to do as Patricia Clarkson (below, with Moore) does in the equivalent role in “Far From Heaven.”

I like how philosophical ATHA is and its overall positive message. Ron has grounded and uncomplicated values.  Cary’s college student daughter Kay (Glofia Talbottt) academically regurgitates things she learns from psychology and sociology classes as they apply to occurrences in the film.  Since I live in a cabin in the middle of the woods, I connect with and appreciate Ron’s friends, Mike and Alida (Virginia Grey, who has one of the best lines in George Cukor’s 1939 comedy “The Women”, a movie full of them).  Inspired by Ron’s free spirit lifestyle and Thoreau’s Walden, the couple give up their Manhattan ad executive lives to live a more simple and rustic existence close to nature.  Alida tells Cary, “Our whole lives were devoted to keeping in touch with the Joneses” and “Ron absolutely refuses to let unimportant things become important.  I’ve touched on both topics in articles I’ve written for the site.  I also like when Cary quotes the Thoreau line, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”  “Quiet desperation” is a term I’ve used to describe people I met in both New York and the Midwest, although with New Yorkers the desperation isn’t so quiet.

In recommending either “All That Heaven Allows” or “Far From Heaven”, I have to also recommend watching the other.  Both are enjoyable on their own and even more so for their similarities and differences.  Watching each adds value to the other.

DPW

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