This was an incredibly frustrating suspense film. While I usually love watching Robert Montgomery films, this one was a real chore thanks mostly to horrible plot holes--ones that any thinking writer should have spotted and corrected. Plus, and I hate to admit it, but Montgomery didn't do a particularly great job--he was way too broad and obvious--so obvious EVERYONE should have recognized his madness. It's a shame, as the general idea is wonderful and sure should have been better if only the film had some subtlety.
One of the biggest problems with the film is that there really isn't any suspense. So many plot elements would have been best to have been slowly revealed. However, you know from the onset that Montgomery is crazy and you wonder why those around him don't recognize this. After all, they are supposed to be intelligent--particularly George Sanders since he plays an engineer! Yet, when there are countless signs that Montgomery is unhinged AND he's dangerous and Sanders blindly blunders into Montgomery's evil web. As for Ingrid Bergman, she's an idiot not just because of this but because after just meeting Montgomery, they are married almost immediately--even though they know nothing about each other. All she knows is that he's insanely jealous and fundamentally lazy--both exceptional qualities in a husband!! While these and many other blunders are bad, the worst is the way the film ends. Montgomery kills himself and makes it look as if Sanders had murdered him. It's an interesting idea--one that made LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN a great film. However, having Montgomery write it all down and leave a record of this is just....stuuuupid!! The guy is supposed to be insane--not dumb! And, when out of the blue a psychiatrist appears just before Sanders is executed, he announces that he knew Montgomery was crazy and "all such paranoid personalities leave a record of what they did"!!! So, when they find the book detailing how he made his suicide look like murder, Sanders is freed just in the nick of time. Uggghh! Talk about contrived!
My advice is that you don't need to rush to see this one, though it is entertaining in a very non-demanding sort of way.
One of the biggest problems with the film is that there really isn't any suspense. So many plot elements would have been best to have been slowly revealed. However, you know from the onset that Montgomery is crazy and you wonder why those around him don't recognize this. After all, they are supposed to be intelligent--particularly George Sanders since he plays an engineer! Yet, when there are countless signs that Montgomery is unhinged AND he's dangerous and Sanders blindly blunders into Montgomery's evil web. As for Ingrid Bergman, she's an idiot not just because of this but because after just meeting Montgomery, they are married almost immediately--even though they know nothing about each other. All she knows is that he's insanely jealous and fundamentally lazy--both exceptional qualities in a husband!! While these and many other blunders are bad, the worst is the way the film ends. Montgomery kills himself and makes it look as if Sanders had murdered him. It's an interesting idea--one that made LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN a great film. However, having Montgomery write it all down and leave a record of this is just....stuuuupid!! The guy is supposed to be insane--not dumb! And, when out of the blue a psychiatrist appears just before Sanders is executed, he announces that he knew Montgomery was crazy and "all such paranoid personalities leave a record of what they did"!!! So, when they find the book detailing how he made his suicide look like murder, Sanders is freed just in the nick of time. Uggghh! Talk about contrived!
My advice is that you don't need to rush to see this one, though it is entertaining in a very non-demanding sort of way.