Runtime: 108 minutes
Directed by: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Krueger, Barbara Rush
From: Universal
A few times you'll point at the screen like Rick Dalton.
This is my first Douglas Sirk, and won't be my last. Some of his movies were added last month to the Criterion Channel; as they'll be leaving at the end of this month, I wanted to try at least one out. I went with what sounded the most schmaltzy, and schmaltzy it was. It's based on a novel first adapted to the screen in '35, and both were rather faithful to the page. This includes a rather questionable philosophy that forms the backbone of the movie. You see, if you do good deeds and help others without credit or wanting to be repaid in money, then great things will happen to you. Sounds nice... except that when a rich doctor does this, he hardly leaves any cash for his surviving wife and daughter. Not to mention it sounds like a bastardized form of Christianity. Notwithstanding, it IS still nice to be altruistic when you can & help out those in need. I wish that more than a billionaire or two would follow such a philosophy but let me not be controversial here.
This has text instead of subtext. After all, Hudson plays a wealthy douche who crashes when racing a boat and because a resuscitator is used on him instead of that rich doctor when he suffers cardiac arrest, the doctor dies. His wife and daughter don't take that news well, and when Hudson attempts to make right, things become much worse. Finally, he hears that crucial bit of advice and he properly turns his life around so he's not an ignorant oaf any longer.
It's melodramatic silliness yet I was thoroughly charmed. After all, it's filmed in Technicolor so every image is resplendent, especially during outdoor scenes. I've heard the term “baroque” used to describe Magnificent Obsession, and I agree. It has a lush musical score that at times features an angelic choir (which only adds to the outre feel of this picture) and key is that Hudson and Jane Wyman both delivered as the leads. The movie is quite sincere and manages to work even if an air of naivete is ever-present. Later this month I'll see at least one more Sirk picture, and it will probably be more tawdry than this.
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