
Written on the Wind
Peter William Evans(Author)
BFI Publishing
Published on 26. April 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
104 pages
978-1-84457-420-9 (ISBN)
Description
Written on the Wind (1956) is one of classical Hollywood's most striking films and
ranks among Douglas Sirk's finest achievements. An intense melodrama about
an alcoholic playboy who marries the woman his best friend secretly loves,
the film is highly stylised, psychologically complex, and marked by Sirk's
characteristic charting of the social realities of 1950s America.
This first single study of Written on the Wind reassesses the film's artistic
heritage and place within the wider framework of contemporary American
culture. Incorporating original archival research, Peter William Evans examines
the production, promotion and reception of Written on the Wind, exploring its
themes - of time, memory, space, family, class and sex - as well as its brilliance
of form. Its vivid aesthetics, powerful performances and profound treatment
of human emotions, make Written on the Wind a masterpiece of Hollywood
melodrama.
ranks among Douglas Sirk's finest achievements. An intense melodrama about
an alcoholic playboy who marries the woman his best friend secretly loves,
the film is highly stylised, psychologically complex, and marked by Sirk's
characteristic charting of the social realities of 1950s America.
This first single study of Written on the Wind reassesses the film's artistic
heritage and place within the wider framework of contemporary American
culture. Incorporating original archival research, Peter William Evans examines
the production, promotion and reception of Written on the Wind, exploring its
themes - of time, memory, space, family, class and sex - as well as its brilliance
of form. Its vivid aesthetics, powerful performances and profound treatment
of human emotions, make Written on the Wind a masterpiece of Hollywood
melodrama.
More details
Series
Edition
2013 edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Adult education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
51 colour photos
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
185 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84457-420-9 (9781844574209)
DOI
10.1057/9781844578665
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Peter William Evans
Written on the Wind
E-Book
07/2019
1st Edition
BFI Publishing
€13.99
Available for download
Person
PETER WILLIAM EVANS is Emeritus Professor of Film at Queen Mary, University of London. His publications include Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1996), Luis Bunuel: New Readings (co-edited, 2004), and Carol Reed (2005).
Content
Acknowledgments .- Overture: The Wind .- 1 Production and Promotion .- 2 Realism, Modernism and Melodrama .- 3 Mise en scene .- 4 Dorothy Malons/Marylee: 'Enough devil in her...' .- 5 Lauren Bacall: 'A lady, a beautiful lady' .- 6 Rock Hudson and Robert Stack: Cain and Abel .- Coda: The River .- Synopsis .- Notes .- Credits .- Bibliography.