the year: 1954
the genre: drama
the cast: Jane Wyman (Helen Phillips); Rock Hudson (Bob Merrick); Agnes Moorhead (Nancy Ashford); Barbara Rush (Joyce Phillips); Otto Kruger (Edward Randolph)
the plot: When wealthy and spoiled Bob Merrick foolishly wrecks his speedboat and almost dies, the rescue team saves him at the last minute with a resuscitator borrowed from the home of a famous surgeon, Dr. Phillips, who lives nearby. Dr. Phillips himself has suffered an attack, and, with his equipment out on loan, dies before he can be revived. Phillips had helped many people, and when Merrick learns Phillips' secret, to give selflessly and in secret, he tries it in a ham-handed way. The guilt-ridden Bob clumsily tries to make amends by romancing the surgeon’s young widow, Helen, but only causes further tragedy: escaping his embrace, she is struck by a car and blinded. Having belatedly learned his lesson, Bob returns to the medical studies he dropped years before, and becomes a Nobel Prize-winning brain surgeon. When Helen falls into a coma, only one doctor has the expertise to operate and bring her out of it — and, as a side benefit, restore her sight.
don’t miss: the beach scene. It’s a 3 second “awwwwwwww.”
check out: the rich 50s cinematography.
listen for: “Once you find the way, you'll be bound. It will obsess you. but believe me, it will be a magnificent obsession.”
did you know: Jane Wyman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for MO.
the trailer can be found here.
extra bonus points: if you can name another movie in which Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman co-starred.
