All I Desire
Directed by Douglas Sirk
Written by James Gunn and Robert Blees from a novel by Carol Brink
1953/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Naomi Murdoch: We’re a big disappointment to each other, aren’t we? You’ve got a mother with no principles; I’ve got a daughter with no guts.
Stanwyck is always worth seeing but I found the story lacking. Sirk is really Hayes-Code bound on this one.
The year is 1910. Naomi Murdoch (Stanwyck) left her husband Henry (Richard Carlson) and three children to be an actress on Broadway. Her daughter Lily (Lori Nelson) is starring in the high school play and sends Naomi an invitation which she accepts.
Naomi arrives and is not exactly welcome with open arms. Lily wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Young son Ted (Billy Gray) wants to get to know her. Henry and daughter Joyce are still bitter over their abandonment. Sara Harper (Maureen O’Sullivan), the local high school drama teacher, has been seeing Henry but her love is unrequited.
The rest of the film involves Naomi’s efforts to get closer to her children, an unwanted advance from one of her former lovers, and an ending that did not seem prepared for to me. If you are looking for the subversive tone and style of later Sirk melodramas you won’t get it here.
