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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His Wedding Night
Directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle • 1917 • United States
Starring Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Al St. John, Buster KeatonBuster Keaton dons a wedding dress and a case of mistaken identity ensues.
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The Playhouse
Directed by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline • 1921 • United States
Starring Buster KeatonTwenty-plus Buster Keatons play every role in a surreal variety show—and that’s just the beginning!
Please be advised: this film contains blackface.
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The Electric House
Directed by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline • 1922 • United States
Starring Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox, Joe KeatonAn unqualified electrician’s home “improvements” go haywire.
