Douglas Sirk: All That Heaven Allows

The 1955 classic, “All That Heaven Allows” was one of my recent dinner-time watches. While written off by many as a white-bread melodrama, in the hands of the talented German director Douglas Sirk, there is so much more going on here than what you notice on the surface. WARNING: THIS POST IS FULL OF PLOT SPOILERS!

Jane Wyman plays a wealthy widow who falls for her gardener, Rock Hudson. While the two appear to be complete opposites, they have much more in common than Wyman’s bratty children or her snobby country club friends. Wyman’s character has a desire for more in life than the trappings of her wealth and the gossip of town nasty Mona (played expertly by Jacqueline de Wit).

Jane and Rock get to know each other over a cup of coffee, and she eventually he invites her to his home and tree farm. Wyman sees the mill on his property and lets Rock know it would be a perfect home…if fixed up.

Meanwhile, back to Jane’s regular world, she is fixed up with the wealthy town geezer, who also happens to be a very asexual and boring hypochondriac. However, this is the man her circle (and her kids) expect her to end up with. Can you see the boredom on Jane’s face?

Jane tries to show she isn’t dead yet by wearing a very va-va-voom red dress; town gossip Mona calls her out on it.

Married lothario Howard (Donald Curtis) can’t control himself at the party and attempts to make an unwanted move on Jane. Sorry, Howard; this gal wants nothing to do with a creep like you.

In contrast, Rock invites Jane to a party with HIS friends. Before the guests arrive, Jane does some light reading (Walden by Thoreau) and is given the lowdown on Rock: he’s an earthy guy who doesn’t give a crap about society’s conventions. “To thine own self be true,” Jane is told.

Naturally, Rock’s party is much more fun and a lot less snobby. Good food, good friends, dancing, and a lot of laughter. Jane is hooked. Sure beats that damn country club crap!

The two spend a night together in the mill that Rock has begun fixing up for them.

Things start to go awry though; Mona notices that Wyman is gone over the weekend and begins to spread the gossip that she’s having an affair with the low-down gardener.

Attempting damage control, she has Rock meet the kids. They completely reject the gardener, who doesn’t fit into their idea of who Mom should be dating.

Next, Jane takes Rock to a cocktail party so that her society friends can meet him and see what a swell guy he is. That bombs, too. Howard makes another play for Jane and Rock intercepts with his fists. A disaster!

That night, Jane’s whiny little daughter is harassed by the town kids with more foul gossip about Rock and Jane.

Afraid of upsetting the apple cart, Jane chooses her little brats and life at the country club over a life of fulfillment with Rock.

Sadly, by this point the kids have moved on with their own lives and aren’t even around any more. Instead, they give her a TV to keep her company. Those little s#$%s!!

Plagued by headaches, Jane goes to see none other than: DR. BELLOWS!! That’s right, it’s Hayden Rorke (of “I Dream of Jeannie” fame) to the rescue, as he tells her nothing is physically wrong with her. “Let’s face it,” he chastises. “You were ready for a love affair, but not for love!” Telling her to go after Rock and forget Mona, she obediently does so.

When she arrives at the mill, her ego kicks in and she changes her mind. High on a hillside, Rock views her and calls to her, to no avail. Running to catch her before she drives away, Rock falls down the ravine and passes out in a snow bank. What will happen? Does true love prevail? You’ll have to see the movie to find out.

 

While this may appear to be your typical 1950s white-bread weepy, you could substitute so many of the social issues of the time AND of today and see that this movie speaks to a much larger audience. Sirk knew exactly what he was doing with this movie; although it addresses class differences, it could just as easily be about race, sexuality, or any other class that narrow-minded people feel the need to persecute. By giving in to that type of mentality, who really wins?

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Jane vs. Lana: Where's the beef?

Lana Turner (shown with Gene Kelly): with her platinum blonde hair, curvaceous body, and gorgeous face, she was a star in every sense of the word, trained by the best at MGM.

Jane Wyman (with Rock Hudson): an attractive brunette who managed to be nominated four times for an Oscar (winning once for "Johnny Belinda") during her lengthy and prestigious career.



When it was announced that Lana Turner had signed on for a guest starring role in Wyman's prime-time sudser, "Falcon Crest," the tabloids pronounced that fireworks would erupt as the two "divas" did not get along. Instead, the two stars put on smiles for the cameras and said the feud was nothing but horse-poo. Here they are as they take a break on the set in January 1982 at Malibu Beach.



Here is their dramatic first scene, where their characters, Angela Channing (Wyman) and Jacqueline Perrault, meet again for the first time in several years.



Turner enjoyed a mini-resurgence in her career, thanks to her guest starring role. On the Phil Donahue Show, Lana held court, breathlessly telling the audience while fanning herself: "Oh, the plans they have for Jacqueline!"



As you can see, Turner publicly denied any feud. According to the rags, the two women hated each other so much they never spoke off set, and scenes between their characters were filmed separately and spliced together in editing. After Turner's character was killed off in the second season, she told the press that Wyman's bad behavior was because she was bitter that her ex-husband, Ronald Reagan, was then President of the United States.

Huh?!? I think I smell manure.



What was more likely the truth was that no-nonsense Wyman was not interested in the long hours it took for Lana to become her most glamorous-self. It also annoyed Wyman to no end to hear Lana taking credit for the high ratings of the show. Still, Wyman kept her mouth shut in public and refused to answer questions about the alleged feud.

I remember watching the shows with Turner when they aired. I also remember having a feeling of, "Is that all there is?" There was very little dramatic tension or excitement over Turner's story line, which seemed more manufactured than real. Frankly, the Lana Turner episodes were boring. The story in the tabloids was more exciting than what was being shown on the boob-tube.

For a fascinating 5-part 1996 interview on Jane Wyman, you won't want to miss this:



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