Gene Tierney plays Ellen Brent, the ultimate femme fatale in this tale of a ruthless and calculating young woman whose extreme beauty masks a deep paranoia and jealousy. Nice guy Richard Harland (Wilde) is no match, and no sooner have they met than Ellen has taken over his life. Leon Shamroy was Fox's leading cinematographer at the time, and his masterful use of color mirrors the brooding, tempestuous Ellen. Just as Ellen's beauty conceals her pathological jealousy, so is Shamroy's Technicolor photography edged with somber hues and threatening shadows. Leave Her to Heaven's intelligent cinematography matches its sinister noir story with a brightly lit companion piece that remains as distorted and disorienting as the black-and-white shadowy films that have defined Hollywood film noir.