Directed by Douglas Sirk • 1957 • United States
Starring Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone

Though Douglas Sirk is widely celebrated for his mastery of Technicolor, THE TARNISHED ANGELS—expressionistically rendered in widescreen black and white—stands as one of the director’s most sophisticated visual achievements. William Faulkner’s novel “Pylon” provides the source for this sordid tale of a pair of death-cheating stunt fliers (Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone) and the alcoholic journalist (Rock Hudson, in one of his finest performances) who becomes embroiled in their turbulent, shiftless lives against the backdrop of Depression-era New Orleans.