Douglas Sirk’s drama takes a contemporaneous look at the social mores of success, materialism, and non-conformity in 1950s America. Wealthy widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) has no interest in any of the shallow, lecherous, or elderly men in her social circle. Instead, she announces plans to marry her gardener, Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), a rustic young man who lives outside of town on land that he is turning into a tree-farm. Cary’s friends are shocked, but hardest hit are her college-age children (William Reynolds and Gloria Talbott), who find the match an affront to their socio-economic status and try to convince their mother that getting a television set would be far better. (TV as a substitute for life becomes an important symbol in the film). Ron, who couldn’t care less what other people think, tells Cary ‘nothing matters but us”, but the selfish desires of others intrudes on their romance. The lush Technicolor cinematography of Russell Metty lends color to the story as the auburn hue of Autumn gives way to the harsh landscape of winter. All That Heaven Allows was one of several Sirk films that inspired Todd Haynes’ Far From Heaven (2002).