Ellen Berent Harland

Ellen "Berent" Harland is the main antagonist of the novel Leave Her to Heaven and its 1945 film adaptation. Portrayed by the late Gene Tierney, Ellen becomes enraptured by author Richard Harland, and does everything in her power to keep him to herself.

Leave Her to Heaven
Richard "Dick" Harland is convinced by his representative to take a vacation to New Mexico; while he's on the train, Richard meets a young woman, named Ellen Berent, who becomes infatuated with him due to him having a striking resemblance to her late father. Realizing that they were heading to the same ranch, Ellen introduces Richard to her family, aiming to marry him. She was to marry an ambitious attorney, Russell Quinton, but she disposes of her engagement ring in favor of marrying Harland. The two are married, and they seem to have a functional relationship, at least until Richard receives a call from his younger brother, Danny, informing him that he was hoping to move to the Back of the Moon to live with the couple. Ellen attempts to convince the doctor to reconsider transferring Danny, but she fails.

Ellen grew insanely envious of Richard's affection for his younger brother, and secretly plotted on how to eliminate him. Danny decides to set out for the lake, seeing how far he could swim. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ellen accompanies him in a rowboat, and she tricks him into swimming too far from the dock, thus exhausting him. As he was a paralytic, his lower body began to weigh him down, and he began to sink. He calls out to Ellen for help, only to be met by her cold glare. Desperately trying to keep afloat, Danny ultimately succumbs, and drowns underneath the waves. Realizing that Richard was nearing the lake, Ellen puts on an act of hysteria as to take any suspicion off herself.