Prior to a screening of Douglas Sirk\u2019s melodrama Magnificent Obsession<\/i> (1954), John spoke about the fact that the orthodox version of Hollywood history often depends on gossip and rumour.<\/p>\n
The 1929 source novel by Lloyd C Douglas (see\u00a0book cover, left)\u00a0was one of that biggest selling of the\u00a0\u00a0year.\u00a0In \u00a0addition, a previous 1935 film adaptation featured the established and incredibly popular star Irene Dunne and the up and coming Robert Taylor\u00a0and reaped enormous box office rewards. These three facts reveal that the narrative was in fact highly significant since it was very familiar to audiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was pointed out that Hollywood had not abandoned the Magnificent Obsession\u00a0 John also noted the different ways in which stars are treated in the Film Studies. There are those who have always been present both in popular memory and film scholarship; those largely forgotten by the masses but who are in some ways recovered by film scholarship; those who are simply ignored. While Hudson might be said to belong to the first category, Jane Wyman, sadly, belongs to the last.<\/p>\n John provided a useful summary of Wyman\u2019s career. Although beginning as a fairly light Hudson\u2019s career was also outlined by John. Interestingly, while today many assume that the contemporaneous opinion of Hudson\u2019s acting was less than complimentary, John\u2019s research in fact reveals that this is not the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Discussion of Sirk focused on the prevalent view of him in Film Studies as a cynical intellectual auteur and the ruthless efficiency with which he manages the audience\u2019s emotional responses. \u00a0The sheer lavishness of the costumes and the cinematography was also mentioned.<\/p>\n Foster Hirsch\u2019s description of the actors\u2019 performances in Magnificent Obsession<\/i> as \u2018hushed\u2019 was also referenced. This seems particularly at odds with the general view of \u2018melodramatic\u2019 acting and will be of special interest to the group for the\u00a0first 3 screening and discussion sessions of term\u00a0 which\u00a0focus on performance.<\/p>\n Many thanks to John for another insightful and enjoyable talk which has inspired us to consider screening not only Sirk\u2019s All That Heaven Allows<\/i> (1955) which also starred Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson but the 1935 version of Magnificent Obsession<\/i>\u2026.<\/p>\n Do, as always, log in to comment or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk<\/a> to add your thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah We were\u00a0fortunate on the 29th of September to host another fascinating talk by Dr John Mercer of Birmingham City University (http:\/\/www.bcu.ac.uk\/pme\/school-of-media\/applying-to-us\/our-staff\/john-mercer) Prior to a screening of Douglas Sirk\u2019s melodrama Magnificent Obsession (1954), John spoke about the fact … Continue reading ![\"8](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2012\/11\/8-Events-Magnificent-Obsession.jpg\")
<\/a>John subsequently challenged some misconceptions relating to Magnificent Obsession<\/i>. These range from matters of reception to production. It has been claimed that it was populist trash primarily targeted at female audiences. It has also been the view that the 1935 film\u00a0 the 1954 version was a remake of was obscure. Meanwhile it is often assumed that Producer Ross Hunter was more interested in the project than Sirk.<\/p>\n![\"mag](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/09\/mag-ob-novel.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"magnificent-obsession\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/09\/magnificent-obsession-196x300.jpg\")
<\/a>narrative in the almost twenty years between the first and second film versions. It was adapted for Lux radio in 1936 (with Dunne and Taylor), in 1940 (staring Claudette Colbert) and 1942 (starring Dunne). In addition, the sequel to the source novel was adapted for TV as a popular soap opera in the early 1950s.<\/p>\n![\"jane](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/09\/jane-wyman.png\")
<\/a>second lead she progressed to challenging roles. Significantly Wyman received a Best Actress Oscar in 1948 and was nominated a further 3 times (including for Magnificent Obsession<\/i>). Wyman was clearly well thought of at the time despite Film Studies\u2019 subsequent lack of interest in her. In relation to melodrama Wyman specialised in \u2018dignified suffering\u2019 and was a \u2018model of femininity\u2019.Wyman\u2019s status as a star, and her importance to Magnificent Obsession<\/i>, was highlighted by John\u2019s discussion of the film\u2019s\u00a0finances.\u00a0Wyman received a large proportion ($150,000) of the film\u2019s ($780, 000) budget.<\/p>\n![\"Rock](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/09\/Rock-Hudson-150x150.png\")
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