Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, Robert Keith
From: Universal
Hours before it left the Criterion Channel, I was able to see one last Douglas Sirk that they were offering for a limited time. There was a few I could have checked out but I went w/ the one that had the most lurid-sounding melodrama plot and trashy it was. In addition, as if now it isn't offered on any other streaming service. It proved the adage that the children of people who suddenly struck it wealthy are rather screwed-up and/or just cause chaos to everyone around them. Believe it or not, it is rather loosely based on an incident that happened to the Reynolds family in North Carolina-yes, that is Reynolds as in RJ Reynolds of tobacco fame.
It revolves around best friends Rock Hudson and Robert Stack (of course, you can decide for yourself whether they were ever “more than just friends”...); the latter is part of a filthy rich oil family but his dad wishes that his son could be like Hudson instead of an alcoholic-screw up like Stack or daughter Dorthy Malone, a wild girl who lusts after Hudson... but he only sees the implied nymphomaniac as “like a sister”. Meanwhile, both men love Lauren Bacall but she marries Stack; as you can see, what a powder keg that of course was going to eventually explode. Like we see often in modern movies, this starts in media res w/ a big scene then we backtrack for the purpose of discovering what led to those fireworks.
It's all OOT yet with the quality actors, a constant gorgeous Technicolor view that shines bright in every scene, Malone standing out in a picture full of bold performances by being able to excel w/ the most outrageous role of them all, and solid direction from Sirk. What tawdry fun this is: it has everything from a bar brawl to someone falling to their death while Malone is shown dancing to an upbeat jazz tune.
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