Category Archives: Melodrama

1956 Films, Drama, Gothic, Melodrama

Written on the Wind-1956

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Written on the Wind-1956

Director Douglas Sirk

Starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack

Scott’s Review #1,529

Reviewed April 20, 2026

Grade: A-

The terms ‘melodrama’ and ‘soap opera’ unfortunately come with a negative connotation, conjuring up disparaging adjectives like sappy or overwrought. Mix in poor acting, and you’ve got yourself a bad film.

But director Douglas Sirk, well known in the 1950s for his Hollywood melodramas like All That Heaven Allows (1955), Imitation of Life (1959), and Written on the Wind (1956), crafts beautiful visual effects amid powerful performances and compelling storylines.

Casting A-list movie stars only adds to the credibility.

Written on the Wind stars Rock Hudson and Lauren Bacall as complicated characters on the cusp of a relationship, but hindered by other selfish characters who are determined to pursue their own romantic desires.

Hudson starred in an impressive six Douglas Sirk films while Bacall’s career was beginning to wane, leading her to accept the role.

The action makes stops in New York City and Miami before settling in oil-rich Texas, where a central dysfunctional family dynasty led by Jasper Hadley (Robert Keith) is the main focus.

Hadley’s alcoholic son, Kyle (Robert Stack), is in love with Lucy (Bacall), whom he woos and marries. At the same time, Kyle’s scheming, self-destructive sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), has her sights set on Kyle’s childhood best friend, the dashing Mitch (Hudson), who longs for romance with Lucy.

The foursome banter, lust after, and become involved in dramatic situations, which lead to secrets and eventually death. Subjects like alcoholism, unrequited love, miscarriage, murder, and a court trial are explored.

While the situations may sound like nothing more than a sudsy afternoon daytime drama, the acting and rich writing more than raise the film above mediocrity.

The juicy sequences alone will entice the rabid viewer.

The exceptional chemistry between Hudson and Bacall is a winning formula, and viewers easily root for them to be together, and they immediately seem destined to be. Their scenes smolder with passion and determination, but both characters are too righteous and benevolent to let anything happen.

After all, Lucy is married to Kyle, and learns she is pregnant, though she remains terribly unfulfilled.

It’s easy to like Mitch and Lucy, especially when they’re contrasted with unsympathetic characters like Kyle and Marylee. Rich and spoiled, Kyle is a lustful playboy, a womanizer, and terribly insecure and jealous.

Marylee is a boozy nymphomaniac, callous and never satisfied.

Kyle and Marylee are not explored as much as they might have been with a longer running time, so they have hints of being one-dimensional. But both actors’ powerful performances leave audiences mesmerized by their characters.

Marylee nearly steals the show with her fiery bedroom negligee dance to a hi-fi blaring “Temptation,” while another character dies tragically a floor below.

You might say we ‘love to hate’ both characters.

Since Sirk and Hudson were both gay, though not publicly so at the time (1956), keen viewers can notice hidden clues about the situations Hudson might have been facing in real life.

We can see how Hudson would have had attractive women like Marylee fawning over him and practically begging him to bed them. Unable to be receptive to their advances, instead, he would feel guilty and lonely.

Besides wonderful writing, Sirk’s direction is inspiring. The opening sequence features a clever ‘the beginning is the ending ‘ approach that many filmmakers borrowed over the years in their cinematic works.

The audience immediately sees Kyle stagger outside the palatial mansion, brandishing a gun and finally collapsing. While the wind whistles, a desk calendar is shown with the pages quickly turning to eighteen months prior when the story really begins.

This opening scene will be recreated at the end of the film, making for instant attention.

Other spicy add-ons, like fine furniture throughout the estate, a grand dinner beginning with a fruit-cocktail appetizer, more than a few sophisticated martinis served, and modern sports cars being driven, lend a robust flair of wealth and glamour to the production.

A sequence was even modeled after a flashy Manhattan nightclub, the 21 Club.

For a trip into a world of wealthy yet tortured characters, Written on the Wind (1956) is top-notch. Some cliches can be forgiven, as melodrama was hardly done any better than this film.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Supporting Actor-Robert Stack, Best Supporting Actress-Dorothy Malone (won), Best Song-‘Written on the Wind.’

Golden Globe Nominations: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture-Dorothy Malone

1955 Films, Coming-of-Age, Drama, Melodrama, Romantic Drama, Top 250 Films

Rebel Without a Cause-1955

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Rebel Without a Cause-1955

Director Nicholas Ray

Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood

Top 250 Films #112

Scott’s Review #885

Reviewed April 14, 2019

Grade: A

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is usually most associated with being the best-remembered film of star James Dean’s short-lived career. East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956) are his other notable films in a far too brief span of time.

With Rebel Without a Cause, Dean and underappreciated director Nicholas Ray crafted a story about teenage angst and rebellion that is brilliantly authentic and was the first of its kind to influence countless other films.

In Los Angeles, three teenagers meet and commiserate at the juvenile section of the police station, revealing their respective crimes.

Jim Stark (Dean) has been brought in for drunkenness and meets John “Plato” Crawford (Sal Mineo), who was brought in for killing a litter of puppies, and Judy (Natalie Wood), who was brought in for curfew violation.

All three suffer from problems at home and confide in one another. Their most profound revelations connect them and bond them for life.

To complicate matters, Jim is a new student and must endure the challenges that come with it, in addition to his troubled home life.

His main rival is Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen), who challenges Jim to a knife fight and, finally, a deadly “Chickie Run” game.

This leads to Buzz’s death, which infuriates his gang, who mistakenly assume that Jim ratted them off to the cops. This puts a target on Jim’s back as he slowly falls in love with Judy and develops a deep friendship with Sal, who idolizes him.

One key to the success of Rebel Without a Cause is in the casting. Dean, rebellious in real life and the roles he portrayed, chews up each scene he appears in.

The famous scene in which Jim quarrels with his father (Jim Backus) culminates in a dramatic emotional unraveling and an exclamation of “You’re tearing me apart!” as his blind-sided parents bicker over how best to handle the situation.

Dean is a pivotal reason for the film’s success and landmark status.

Wood infuses her character, Judy, with poignancy and a calm demeanor. Judy is a good kid who behaves wildly out of frustration over her inability to communicate with her deliberately distant father (William Hopper).

Finally, Plato (Mineo), who is so sensitive that he threatens to break apart at the seams, has taken to killing puppies as a desperate cry for attention from his wealthy, always absent parents.

Wood and Mineo support the film brilliantly.

Jim and Judy are likable as a pair from opposite sides of the tracks, another influential aspect of the film that became commonplace in oodles of entertainment genres over the years.

Good Girl meets Bad Boy is dangerous, tender, and filled with story possibilities.

It is implied that Plato is in love with Jim, but in 1955, films were meticulous about pushing the envelope much further than an implication when it came to homosexuality.

Rumors ran rampant that Dean and director Ray had a torrid love affair off-screen.

Another positive is that the film is told within twenty-four hours, providing excellent pacing and an action-packed emotional punch.

The best scenes occur at night, especially the deadly car race, and the fantastic conclusion takes place in the old, deserted mansion that the trio of friends claims as their sanctuary.

The tragic ending is sure to bring a tear or two to anyone who watches and is entranced by the event’s decisive finality.

Watching the film today, one must appreciate the enormous influence Rebel Without a Cause has had.

Some classics that succeeded Rebel and stand out on their own include American Graffiti (1973), The Breakfast Club (1985), and even West Side Story (1961), which also starred Natalie Wood.

Each is riddled with teenage angst, hormones, and elevated emotions, and all contain a seriousness and a depth all their own.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is a film that should be viewed and revisited for more than just the prominent and impressive story it tells.

The film is well directed and speaks to a generation of unruly, angry teenagers, giving them a much-needed voice. It is fraught with emotion and balance, offering current and future generations of teenagers lessons to learn from.

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture Story, Best Supporting Actor-Sal Mineo, Best Supporting Actress-Natalie Wood

Golden Globe Nominations: 1 win-New Star of the Year-Actress-Natalie Wood (won)

1959 Films, Drama, Melodrama, Social Issues

Imitation of Life-1959

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Imitation of Life-1959

Director Douglas Sirk

Starring Lana Turner

Scott’s Review #918

Reviewed July 9, 2019

Grade: A-

The original film production, made in 1934, is based on a 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst. Imitation of Life (1959) is a relevant dissection of race relations, class systems, and gender roles, all of which still feel timely decades later.

The film is a fresh, progressive effort that sometimes teeters too much into soap opera land but is an important story to be exposed to.

The dynamics between the central characters in deliciously raw scenes are the most significant part of the film.

Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) is a widowed, stylish New York woman with dreams of becoming a Broadway star.

One day, she meets a lovely black woman, Annie Johnson (Moore), on the beach, and the women become fast friends, each having a daughter around the same age.

The women decide to move in together for financial reasons and to further Lora’s chances for success in the entertainment industry. Lora begins a casual romance with handsome Steve Archer (John Gavin).

Eleven years pass, and Lora is now a big star, living in a luxurious New York house and flocking to film locales in Italy. Annie continues to live with her, serving as her housekeeper and confidante.

The girls are now teenagers with issues of their own. Susie (Sandra Dee) has developed feelings for her mother’s boyfriend, while Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner), of mixed-race ethnicity, is ashamed of her black heritage and frequently can pass for white.

The trials and tribulations of all are played out throughout the film.

Imitation of Life has two key distinctions and focuses on each separately. Since the story is set in 1947 and the film was released in 1959, before the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the racial story is poignant and truthful and the main draw.

Sarah Jane is embarrassed to be black, and her eventual abandonment of both her life in New York and her mother can be deemed reprehensible if not for the times. Her regrets come too little too late, but Kohner nonetheless infuses much sympathy into her complex role.

The second central aspect of Imitation of Life is more mainstream and dramatic, easily more accessible to the public than the former. This is why some misunderstood or even dismissed the film as melodramatic.

Lora is glamorous, well-dressed, always stylish, and poised, and soon, Susie grows jealous and resentful of Lora’s achievements and the attention she receives from men at every turn.

This invokes a female rivalry with pure 1950s Hollywood glitz. It seems manipulative and naughty, using bright colors, dazzling costumes, and flair to promote excess drama.

As tremendous as Kohner is, Juanita Moore knocks it out of the park and does the best acting job out of all the principal performers. Her frequent dramatic scenes are filled with emotional bombast without the actress ever going over the top.

Instead, she keeps her composure, earning her well-earned Best Actress Oscar nomination for no other scene than the heartbreaking mother/daughter showdown in a California hotel room.

When Moore’s Annie is mistaken for Sarah Jane’s maid instead of her mother, the pain and worry are clear as she realizes she has lost what she knew of her daughter for good. She returns to New York an older woman with a broken heart and spirit, both defeated and deflated.

The last sequence is challenging to watch as tragic results and a coldness encompass the film.

The prevalence of more than one suitor for Lora and the implication that she could have up to three, including her agent Allen and playwright David, while Annie has none, is absorbing.

This point is slightly bothersome, and a missed opportunity—or at least the potential for one—as a male companion for Annie might have changed her life forever.

The film is faithful to the novel, but how wonderful it is to imagine Annie being treated to a more admirable life while finding true love.

Imitation of Life (1959) is a film treasure with subtle and not-so-subtle nuances and bold, powerful storytelling enveloping the entire experience.

Although the film suffers from a sometimes too-suds-like mass-appeal approach and too much focus on melodrama, it nonetheless does not abandon its social-issues theme, especially given the harsh treatment of minorities during this period.

No other film deals with the psychological turmoil of mixed race like Imitation of Life does.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actress-Susan Kohner, Juanita Moore

Golden Globe Nominations: 1 win-Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture-Susan Kohner (won), Juanita Moore

1965 Films, Drama, Melodrama, Romantic Drama

The Sandpiper-1965

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The Sandpiper-1965

Director Vincente Minnelli

Starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor

Scott’s Review #897

Reviewed May 12, 2019

Grade: B+

The Sandpiper (1965) is a film that stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and was released at the height of their fame.

It capitalized on their notoriety as one of the world’s most famous couples and their well-known romantic tribulations. Although they portrayed adulterous lovers, they were married shortly before filming began.

The film’s theme of adultery closely mirrored their own lives at the time, as each very publicly conducted an affair with the other while married to spouses.

The film is a lavish and sweeping production. It is one of the few major studio pictures ever filmed in Big Sur, and the story is expressly set there.

Big Sur is a rugged, mountainous section of California’s Central Coast where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean.

It is often praised for its dramatic scenery and is the perfect location for a romantic film.

The Sandpiper (1965) is a romantic drama featuring the two stars’ chemistry. It is a pure case of art mimicking real life, at least in some way.

Watching the actors work off one another is fascinating and wonderful. It makes me wonder what life would have been like on set, amid the dreamlike, steamy locale and the fresh romance.

The story isn’t dynamic but quite theatrical, with the actors as the main reason to watch.

Taylor plays Laura Reynolds, a bohemian, free-spirited single mother who lives in Big Sur, California, with her young son, Danny. Laura makes a living as an artist while homeschooling her son, who has gotten into trouble with the law.

When Danny is sent to an Episcopal boarding school, Laura meets the headmaster, Dr. Edward Hewitt (Burton). The duo falls madly in love, even as Edward marries teacher Claire (Eva Marie Saint).

The melodrama only escalates as those close to the pair catch on to their infidelity.

The gorgeous locale of Big Sur is second to none and exudes romance and sexual tension, with crashing waves against the mountainous terrain symbolizing a passionate love affair.

As the characters give in to each other, the lavish weather only heightens the titillating experience.

Taylor is lovely to look at throughout the film, and the erotic nude chest of the character plays a significant role. I wondered if the inclusion had the desired effect or resulted in unintended humor, as the endowed sculpture is quite busty.

The film belongs to Taylor and Burton, but the supporting cast deserves mention for creating robust characters that add flavor.

Eva Marie Saint plays the amiable wife, distraught by her husband’s infidelity but later coming to an understanding. Charles Bronson plays Cos Erickson, Laura’s protective friend, who despises Edward’s hypocrisy.

Finally, Robert Webber is effective as Ward Hendricks, a former beau of Laura’s, eager for another chance with the violet-eyed bombshell.

The film’s title represents a sandpiper with a broken wing that Laura nurses as Edward looks on. The bird lives in her home until it heals and flies free, though it returns occasionally.

This sandpiper is a central symbol in the movie, illustrating the themes of growth and freedom. Its sweetness suits the love story between Laura and Edward.

The Sandpiper is an entertaining film but not a great one. It suffers from mediocre writing and clichéd storytelling, but it serves as a vehicle for Taylor and Burton.

The fascination is watching the actors, not for a great cinematic experience; the film is not very well remembered except by fans of the supercouple.

The film was made one year before the dreary yet brilliant Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) starring the same husband-and-wife duo as does The Sandpiper (1965).

Laura and Edward are worlds apart from George and Martha, and when watched in close sequence, one can marvel at the acting chops of each star.

The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the sentimental “The Shadow of Your Smile.”

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Song-“The Shadow of Your Smile” (won)

Golden Globe Nominations: Best Original Score-Motion Picture, Best Original Song-Motion Picture-“The Shadow of Your Smile”

1957 Films, Drama, Melodrama

Peyton Place-1957

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Peyton Place-1957

Director Mark Robson

Starring Lana Turner, Lee Phillips

Scott’s Review #6

Reviewed June 17, 2014

Grade: B+

Peyton Place (1957) is a scandalous soap opera, but it was made well.

The sleepy, seemingly wholesome, quiet New England town is captured well, but secrets lie within its white picket fences (don’t they always).

Topics such as adultery, rape, murder, and suicide are tackled.

I’m not entirely sure I agree with the slew of Oscar nominations it received that year (1957), but Hope Lange was the standout actor for me.

It reminded me of the syrupy prime-time soaps of the 1980s, but better written and acted than they were.

This is not intended to demean the film, as it is interesting, engaging, and dramatic, with good characterization. However, when analyzed, it is fluff—just good fluff.

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Director-Mark Robson, Best Actress-Lana Turner, Best Supporting Actor-Arthur Kennedy, Russ Tamblyn, Best Supporting Actress-Hope Lange, Diane Varsi, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Cinematography

Golden Globe Nominations: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture-Hope Lange, Mildred Dunnock, New Star of the Year-Diane Varsi