Magnificent Obsession

1954

1h 48m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

126

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41 Images

Drama

Romance

Reckless playboy Bob Merrick crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town’s only resuscitator while a local hero, Dr. Phillips, dies waiting for the life-saving device. Merrick then tries to right his wrongs with the doctor’s widow, Helen, falling in love with her in the process.

Directors

Douglas Sirk

Writers

Robert Blees(screenplay by)

Wells Root(adaptation by)

Lloyd C. Douglas(novel by)

Stars

Jane Wyman

Rock Hudson

Barbara Rush

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Videos1

Trailer
Watch Magnificent Obsession (1954) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

Photos41

Top cast

Helen Phillips

Bob Merrick

Joyce Phillips

Nancy Ashford

Edward Randolph

Tom Masterson

Dr. Henry Giraud

Valerie Daniels

Dr. Derwin Dodge

Judy

Mrs. Eden

Dr. Albert Fuss

Dr. Laradetti

Dr. Hofer

Dr. Allan

Mrs. Miller

Chris

Dan

Directors

Douglas Sirk

Writers

Robert Blees(screenplay by)

Wells Root(adaptation by)

Lloyd C. Douglas(novel by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

7/10

Doc Rock and the playboy redemption. Magnificent Obsession is adapted from a novel by Lloyd C Douglas, and it had been previously filmed back in 1935 with Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor in the leads. Here the piece is directed by melodrama maestro Douglas Sirk and features Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson as the emotionally charged leads. The story revolves around Bob Merrick (Hudson), a playboy who is inadvertently responsible for the death of Helen Phillips' (Wyman) husband. As he starts to find a soul in amongst his playboy image, he desperately wants to make peace with Helen, but during his efforts to apologise she is tragically blinded in an accident. As Helen recuperates, Bob worms his way into Helen's life by posing as someone else, they amazingly start to fall in love, but the truth will out and tragedy seems to permanently hover over this newly formed alliance. As with the best of Douglas Sirk, Magnificent Obsession is loaded with drama and unashamed assaults on the viewers emotional fortitude. It is quite simply a weeper, a stress relief server for those so inclined. No bad thing that, though, just as long as the viewer is fully aware of the type of film they are getting. To only market it as a romance piece is something of a disservice because at the core it's one of redemption, where even religion is neatly threaded into the deftly assembled script. Technically it has a lot going for it, Frank Skinner's score is smoothly gorgeous, with Chopin's Études perfectly accompanying the blossoming romance, while the colour photography from Russell Metty is sensibly unobtrusive. Rock Hudson would jump on to the map with his performance here (proving he could act if given the meat to chew on), and Wyman would get Oscar nomination for her emotionally driven turn. All in all it's a film that's well worth watching, on proviso if you choose to be in that weeper frame of mind! 7.5/10

John Chard25 Nov, 2019