"Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney) meets and falls desperately in love with Richard Harland (Cornell Wilde), an author who resembles her late father. Ellen is pathologically possessive of Richard, jealous of anyone who he pays the slightest attention to. In order to be completely alone with him, she convinces him to live in a isolated, but beautiful lakeside home in a spot called ""Back of the Moon. "" She dismisses the local handyman and then drowns his crippled half-brother Danny (Darryl Hickman). To Richard's delight, Ellen becomes pregnant. Ellen, resentful of the restriction caused by the pregnancy and afraid that she will lose some of Richard's love and attention, causes a miscarriage by throwing herself down the stairs. Ellen also becomes insanely jealous of her foster sister Ruth (Jeanne Crain), who is open and uncomplicated and soon becomes Richard's friend. Finally, Ellen confesses to Richard what she has done. Seeing his horror and revulsion and fearful of losing his love to Ruth, Ellen poisons herself and makes it look as though Ellen and Richard have murdered her. Both are tried, and Ruth is acquitted, but Richard is found guilty of being an accessory to Ellen's murder. Ruth, having come to love him, waits while he serves his prison sentence. Gene Tierney, in an Oscar nominated performance, is fascinating as the ravishing killer making Wilde and Crain seem dull by comparison. Leave Her to Heaven with its beautiful photography remains an exciting and engrossing story of obsessive love and jealousy."