Are you looking for laughs or are you soul-searching?" Rock Hudson asks Lauren Bacall. Douglas Sirk's classic 1956 melodrama will satisfy either critical bent. A dry run for Dallas's soap opera shenanigans, Written on the Wind stars Robert Stack as Kyle Hadley, the playboy scion of an oil tycoon who sweeps New York advertising woman Lucy Moore (Bacall) off her feet, despite 1) his admission that he drinks too much, and 2) that she finds a pistol under his pillow on their honeymoon. Further complicating matters is his best friend Mitch (Hudson), who also loves Lucy, and his rebellious nymphomaniac sister Marylee (Dorothy Malone in her Oscar-winning performance), who has the hots for Mitch and wants Lucy out of the way. It's all gloriously too much, from the hothouse emotions (check out Marylee's wild bedroom dance) to the saturated color scheme (hot red sport cars and flaming pink nightgowns) that has been faithfully preserved on this nicely mastered Criterion DVD. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)
[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 14, 2022—Criterion, 99 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray, Written on the Wind (1956) features a nice 2K digital restoration and extras including the 2008 documentary “Acting for Douglas Sirk” (featuring archival interviews with Sirk; actors Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, and Dorothy Malone; and producer Albert Zugsmith), a new interview with film scholar Patricia White about the film and melodrama, and a leaflet with an essay by filmmaker and critic Blair McClendon. Bottom line: Sirk’s classic soaper shines inglorious high-def Technicolor.]