Romance novel in narrative this transcends its genre with visual depth and perceptive socio-cultural insights.

Hudson is handsome and somewhat wooden. Laconic of speech, and imbued with an angel's patience and understanding, it's at times hard to understand his passion for the widow, what with pretty girls just spoilingfor his attention.

Solid and sensible drama plainly had to give way to outright emotional bulldozing and a paving of easy clichs.

All That Heaven Allows is a relatively simple story, characterization-wise, as most melodramas are, but it has a hook that most, if not all, viewers can latch on to.