MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954) on 35mm

September 17, 18 & October 1
MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954) on 35mm
Introduced by Olympia Film Society’s director of programming, Rob Patrick on 9/18
Reckless playboy Bob Merrick (Rock Hudson, in his breakthrough role) crashes his speedboat, requiring emergency attention from the town’s only resuscitator — at the very moment that a beloved local doctor has a heart attack and dies waiting for the lifesaving device. Thus begins one of Douglas Sirk’s most flamboyant master classes in melodrama, a delirious Technicolor mix of the sudsy and the spiritual in which Bob and the doctor’s widow, Helen (Jane Wyman), find themselves inextricably linked amid a series of increasingly wild twists, turns, trials, and tribulations.
Dir: Douglas Sirk / 1954 / US / 108 min

“This film was a major turning point in [Douglas] Sirk’s career: its success sealed his identification with glossy material and led directly to the string of late masterpieces that includes All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, and Imitation of Life and that would influence so decisively filmmakers from Fassbinder to Todd Haynes.” – Geoffrey O’Brien, Criterion Collection

“Every step depends on stifled emotions and closely guarded secrets, resulting in a buildup of operatic passion that endows everyday gestures and inflections with grandeur and nobility.” – Richard Brody, New Yorker

SCREENING: FRI 9/17 4:00PM; SAT 9/18 4:00PM; FRI 10/1 7:00PM
Tickets available at the box office 1/2 hour before showtimes.

Upon entry all patrons will be asked to show proof of full vaccination (card or photo/screenshot of card) with matching ID before entry. Fully vaccinated means two weeks after your second dose. No exceptions. OFS is not accepting proof of negative testing at this time.

Patrons must wear masks at all times. A Thurston County directive effective Friday August 13, 2021, requires mask-wearing while indoors.

For more information, please see our operations announcement.