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Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, Virginia Grey ... see more see more... , Gloria Talbott , William Reynolds , Jacqueline de Wit , Charles Drake , Leigh Snowden , Merry Anders , Donald Curtis , Alex Gerry , Tol Avery , Lillian Culver , Jim Hayward , David Janssen , Paul Keast , Forrest Lewis , Joseph Mell , Nestor Paiva , Vernon Rich , Hayden Rorke , Gia Scala

One of director Douglas Sirk's best and most successful romantic soapers of the 1950s, All That Heaven Allows is predicated on a May-December romance. The difference here is that the woman, attractive... read more read more... widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), is considerably older than the man, handsome gardener-landscaper Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson). Sirk builds up sympathy for Cary by showing how empty her life has been since her husband's death, even suggesting that the marriage itself was no picnic. Throwing conventionial behavior to the winds and facing social ostracism, Cary pursues her romance with Ron, who is unjustly perceived as a fortune-hunter by Cary's friends and family--especially her priggish son Ned (William Reynolds). Amusingly, Conrad Nagel was to have had a much larger part as Harvey, an elderly widower who carries a torch for Cary, but his role was trimmed down during previews when audiences disapproved of an implicit romance between a sixtyish man and a fortysomething woman! All That Heaven Allows was remade by unabashed Douglas Sirk admirer Rainer Werner Fassbinder as Ali--Fear Eats the Soul (1974), in which the age gap between hero and heroine was even wider. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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44% want to see it

4,775 ratings

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92% liked it

26 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 29 min.

Directed by: Douglas Sirk

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DVD Release Date: June 19, 2001

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Gloria Tallbott and Jane Wyman Gloria Tallbott and Jane Wyman All That Heaven Allows
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Flixster Reviews (308)

  • StarCrossedVoyager
    May 23, 2012
    StarCrossedVoyager
    I don't quite know how to describe this. I watched it expecting nothing great and I still feel quite confused as to my feelings on it but I really enjoyed it. It was interesting and understandable (not always common in 'old' movies) and it touches on themes I can completely under... read morestand despite the age gap. I feel I may have liked it better at Christmas time, as the beautiful images of a snow covered cottage with a young deer outside was magical. I truly felt for Cary, as her whole world changed and ended up feeling satisfied at the end. A good romance.
  • pier007
    May 15, 2012
    pier007
    Some people never realize how society, traditions and values imprisons and forces them to conform with banality. A candid and romantic look of a taboo relationship, done with such picturesque beauty that is hard not to be moved and enchanted by it.
  • fb733768972
    October 14, 2011
    fb733768972
    One of the cheesiest, yet one of the most beautiful romance films I have ever seen. This film tells the tale of an older woman, as her family is not as happy as they used to be before their father (her husband) passed away. As she begins to fall for their family gardener (Ron), h... read moree does whatever he possibly can to get her to love him back. He is far to young of a man for her, but that is not a factor that will stop this beautifully told romance from ending. There are moments where the dialogue is too corny to not chuckle at it, but the heart behind it is magnificent, and even in the final moments of the film, you still share all the feelings that you shared since their first on-screen presence. "All That Heaven Allows" is one of the best romance films ever made. It has charm, happiness, force, love, and the will to not let anything get in the way of romance. As it seems the romance is tearing the family apart and Ron is not being accepted into the family, it just makes the audience have more faith in life that it will all get better. This film is blissful!
  • FrizzDrop
    April 6, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Far more progressive than many films of the decade, this film deals with the societal stance on May-December romances when an older, rich woman is involved with a former gardener years after she is widowed. It held all the culpabilities of reasoning for both sides of the debate, ... read morebut was also a nice love story that held tragic circumstances. Though I didn't approve of the choice of putting together Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, they delivered with chemistry that wasn't at all lustful. The ending underwhelmed me, and made the entire storyline seem petty, but otherwise there is much praise for the cinematography and choice of long shots.
  • ajv2688
    November 10, 2010
    ajv2688
    Most people point to this film as the greatest fifties melodrama, but that doesn't mean people have to like it, right? I think it's okay, but I really don't want to see it in a film class again!
  • jjnxn
    May 25, 2007
    jjnxn
    good but written on the wind is better.
  • mjgildea
    January 15, 2007
    mjgildea
    Yes it's basically a chick flick and yes all it really delivers is a message that you shouldn't give a baker's fuck what other people think, especially if you're in love. But it's very beautiful and it's got a happy ending. And you really need that sometimes...
  • divinetrash
    May 30, 2010
    divinetrash
    I very rarely, if ever, get passionately romantic but this gorgeous film managed to bring that out in me. The main characters are so beautiful, human and sensible you feel their connection and can't help root for them all the way through and feel their pain and uncertainty.
  • littlecharmer1959
    July 20, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    Better than the previous years "Magnificent Obsession", also with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Again a typically melodramatic story but the Douglas Sirk touch makes it well worth watching. Gorgeous cinematography by Russell Metty.
  • patrickdol
    January 8, 2009
    patrickdol
    Beautiful '50s melodrama.
    How one can not love every second of delicious torture that's all so engrossing and entertaining is beyond me.

View All All That Heaven Allows Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
October 16, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

Hudson is handsome and somewhat wooden. Laconic of speech, and imbued with an angel's patience and understanding, it's at times hard to understand his passion for the widow, what with pretty girls jus... Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichés. Full Review

Dave Kehr
September 4, 2004
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

A masterpiece (1955) by one of the most inventive and recondite directors ever to work in Hollywood, Douglas Sirk. Full Review

Rob Nelson
August 21, 2009
Rob Nelson, City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Sirk benefited immeasurably from the fact that the chief subject of his crazy cinema was postwar America. Full Review

Louise Keller
October 18, 2008
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile

A classic and beautiful film for those who love romantic stories Full Review

David Parkinson
October 16, 2007
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

Romance novel in narrative this transcends its genre with visual depth and perceptive socio-cultural insights. Full Review

October 16, 2007
TV Guide's Movie Guide

One of Sirk's finest films. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 26, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

'Time, if anything, will vindicate Douglas Sirk,' wrote Andrew Sarris in 1968. He was right. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Beneath the stunningly lovely visuals -- all expressionist colours, reflections, and frames-within-frames, used to produce a precise symbolism -- lies a kernel of terrifying despair Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 7, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

When Carey (Jane Wyman) first visits the Andersons, friends of Ron (Rock Hudson), Thoreau's Walden is placed on the table. She then reads a passage in which he describes the "mass of men living lives ... Full Review

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All That Heaven Allows Trivia

  • Todd Haynes' 2002 film Far from Heaven is an omage to what 1955 melodrama?  Answer »
  • The house that Wyman's character lives in in the film All That Heaven Allows was altered for use as the house of the Cleaver family in TV's "Leave it to Beaver," beginning with the show's move from CBS to ABC for the 1959 season  Answer »
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