The first time I watched Leave Her To Heaven, one of the most popular movies of 1946, lipstick wasn't on the tip of my tongue. Sure, the technicolor wowed me. I mean, really, it felt like I'd fallen into a Douglas Sirk dream, full of vivid greens and browns.
Lipstick was, however, on the minds of director Martin Scorsese and film critic Richard Schickel when they watched the film. In Schickel's 2011 book, Conversations With Scorsese, the two talk Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Gangs of New York and all of Scorese's other films, but they also wander onto other topics, including the director's movie poster collection. Yup, he's got an original Leave Her To Heaven poster.
The Leave Her To Heaven poster.
Here's what they said about Leave Her To Heaven:
MARTIN SCORESE: "The poster of Leave Her To Heaven evokes the entire movie for me. It's not the greatest film, but it's one of my favorites; I like watching it."
RICHARD SCHICKEL: "Gene Tierney's lipstick blows your mind."
MARTIN SCORESE: "It just knocks you down. We studied it for Aviator."
RICHARD SCHICKEL: "All the lipsticks in that film are terribly vivid."
See for yourself if this trailer leaves lipstick traces.
The scene that took my breathe away features Gene Tierney in a rowboat on a placid lake. In the water near her is her lover's brother, a disabled teen practicing his swimming strokes. I hesitate to say more, hoping not to ruin it for those who've never seen the movie.
— Todd Melby