Faith in Film: Magnificent Obsession
Not Rated
Run Time: 108 min.
March 5, 2023 at 6pm
Clive
Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Kruger
Director: Douglas Sirk
Screenplay: Robert Blees
Join the Rev. John Zahl (St. Matthew’s, Bedford), for a “Lenten Film Series: Faith in Film” on Sunday nights, Feb 26 – March 26th, featuring an edifying and thought-provoking selection of special movies, exploring themes of conversion, humility, forgiveness, faith in the midst of suffering, and grace. Includes a brief introduction by Rev. Zahl followed by a short discussion afterwards for those who care to stick around. All are welcome!
Reckless playboy Bob Merrick (Rock Hudson, in his breakthrough role) crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town’s only resuscitator—at the very moment that a beloved local doctor has a heart attack and dies waiting for the lifesaving device. Thus begins one of Douglas Sirk’s most flamboyant master classes in melodrama, a delirious Technicolor mix of the sudsy and the spiritual in which Bob and the doctor’s widow, Helen (Jane Wyman), find themselves inextricably linked amid a series of increasingly wild twists, turns, trials, and tribulations.
“Jane Wyman, in the exacting role of Helen Phillips, plays the part heroically with sincerity and restraint, getting sympathy without asking for it. Rock Hudson gives his character life and strength.”
– Wanda Hale, New York Daily News
“An extraordinary film about vision.”
– Derek Adams, Time Out
