Directed by Douglas Sirk • 1956 • United States
Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack
The Technicolor expressionism of Douglas Sirk reached a fever pitch with this operatic tragedy, which finds the director pushing his florid visuals and his critiques of American culture to their subversive extremes. Alcoholism, nymphomania, impotence, and deadly jealousy—these are just some of the toxins coursing through a massively wealthy, degenerate Texan oil family. When a sensible secretary (Lauren Bacall) has the misfortune of marrying the clan’s neurotic scion (Robert Stack), it drives a wedge between him and his lifelong best friend (Rock Hudson) that unleashes a maelstrom of psychosexual angst and fury. Featuring an unforgettably debauched, Oscar-winning supporting performance by Dorothy Malone and some of Sirk’s most eye-popping mise-en-scène, WRITTEN ON THE WIND is as perverse a family portrait as has ever been splashed across the screen.
Up Next in Classic Hollywood
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We’re No Angels
Directed by Michael Curtiz • 1955 • United States
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, Peter UstinovThis wickedly offbeat Christmas comedy gives Humphrey Bogart a rare chance to display his lighter side. He stars alongside Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray as one of three escaped convicts from Devil’s ...
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His Girl Friday
Directed by Howard Hawks • 1940 • United States
Starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph BellamyOne of the fastest, funniest, and most quotable films ever made, HIS GIRL FRIDAY stars Rosalind Russell as reporter Hildy Johnson, a standout among cinema’s powerful women. Hildy is matched in fo...
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Sullivan’s Travels
Directed by Preston Sturges • 1941 • United States
Starring Joel McCrea, Veronica LakeTired of churning out lightweight comedies, Hollywood director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) decides to make O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?—a serious, socially responsible film about human suffering. After his pr...
