Review of All This, and Heaven Too (1940) by Bob V — 19 Jan 2011

An unusually expensive production for Warner's, famed for bringing in low cost products. This film however, was meant to be as lavish as "Gone With the Wind" and no expense was spared: over 60 sets were constructed, Davis' wears more than 20 expensive authentic period costumes, and then there's still the rest of the cast's costumes & varying star treatments.

Despite all that, "All this..." doesn't come anywhere near the lasting fame of "Gone with the Wind", but that doesn't make it a bad film. The story of a governess, who goes to work for a Duke & Duchess in post-Napoleon France and inadvertently causes the 1948 Revolution sounds preposterous, but it did actually happen (Revolutions never happen for just one thing of course, but to simplify let us say that the governess was the proverbial last straw) and the film does a good job at capturing atmosphere and climate.

Davis plays against type, not the shrew, slut, bitch or antagonist of any kind this time, nor the wounded bird characters she also did on a regular basis. Her portrayal of the almost saint-like, modest, intelligent, yet independent of spirit Henriette is wide-eyed & restrained and one of those rare films in which she manages to rein in her own volatile self almost completely. The almost perfect governess could very easily have become an unbelievable caricature in the hands of a less able actress, but Davis gets away with it and more than just that.

Charles Boyer & Barbara O'Neill are each cast to pitch excellence in their parts as estranged spouses who cannot let each other go, nor give each other peace.