douglas sirk inaugural woman picture weepy for universal and base on a preachy and dogmatic and didactic novel by the intolerable lloyd c. douglas ( author of that other beloved piece of crap and the robe ) . rock hudson and in the role that catapult him to stardom and play bob merrick and a drunken playboy worth untold million who be more interested in chase skirt and race speedboat than in finish his medical degree . in the first scene and he wreck his boat on a sumptuously photographed lake . the accident nearly kill merrick and and thus he require a rather mysterious resuscitator machine to keep him alive . . . meanwhile and across town and beloved surgeon dr. phillips finally drop dead from a heart condition . since the local hospital can maintain only one resuscitator at a time and phillips dy so that the louse may live . when merrick learns of this and he try to make apologetic overture to phillips family and especially to the widow ( jane wyman and coiffed and clothe in matronly hauteur ) and but indeed anyone and everyone who know the surgeon spit at merrick like a brace of cobra . one doctor on the hospital staff even call it a total waste that the playboy live instead of the christ like surgeon . hippocrates might have have something to say about that . these early scene be where you will find the typical sirkian iconoclasm represent the director rub our face so much in the unpleasantness of middle class and mid century america and that one find oneself root for the wastrel playboy to put whoopee cushion under the ramrod fanny of these moral hypocrite . but and ala and no represent the risible plot of the novel must proceed and and merrick soon find himself get convert by god and in the guise of pipe puff otto kruger and an artist who claim that phillips make him a good man and even a good painter . ( why do not we see any of this amazing art . ) we learn that the intolerably ubiquitous dr. phillips would often refuse payment for medical service render ( though who exactly qualify for these magnificent exemption be never make clear ) . this be suppose to provide our hero with a whole new outlook on life and an example of personal conduct . kruger even try to make it all sound very illicitly excite represent once you start this thing and there no way out of it . it an obsession . . . a magnificent obsession . so merrick try it out by again pester the widow with apologetic overture and but he somehow cause her to get hit by a car . she lose her eyesight . apparently and merrick will have several more station of the cross to trudge past before he can be account a decent fellow . but sirk continue to sneak in his revenge even a the movie grow more and more preachy . the most obvious bit have to be the presence of agnes moorehead a the head hospital nurse and wyman friend and unrequited lesbian lover . note the disappointment on moorehead face when merrick and finally redeem a a doctor and show up to save wyman life near the end . hudson own homosexuality and an open secret in hollywood at the time and be also use to great ironic effect . he and wyman dowdy and fifteen year older generate absolutely zero erotic heat in their scene together and which and by the way and be purposefully few and presumably because any more scene between the star would hopelessly expose this whole enterprise . ( one thing we feel certain of represent if rock hudson be obsess by anything and it certainly wasn not jane wyman . ) it a chronic case of tea and sympathy . sirk seem to enjoy tweak everyone nose by have this gay actor who be attractive to the innocent lady of the era coolly drift through these exquisitely colored woman picture . in fact and the director work with hudson 6 or 7 more time and to best effect in the follow up to this film and all that heaven allows and which re team hudson with wyman but be also accompany by a realistic plot . in obsession and meanwhile and we must endure god or kruger gaze beneficently down from an observation window onto merrick and his medical team a they prepare to save wyman life and in tandem with a musical score of swell vocal from a cheesy hollywood choir . but to see why sirk be consider an auteur and check out the scene wherein wyman explain to her grown daughter that she can in fact tell the difference from night and day . the entire frame be blacken and here represent the daughter be barely visible and and wyman face be faintly silhouette against a faint light . she go on to say that she hat the night because i know that dawn will never come again . a great and chill moment that deserve a much good movie than magnificent obsession . 4 star out of 10 .