All I Desire

media release: USA | 1953 | 35mm | 79 min.

Director: Douglas Sirk

Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Carlson, Maureen O’Sullivan

Turn of the century small-town Wisconsin is the setting for this underrated Sirk melodrama featuring a fiery Stanwyck as a failed actress who returns to (the fictional) Riverdale years after abandoning her husband (a terrific Carlson) and children to pursue her career. Based on a sharply-titled novel, Stopover by Carol Ryrie Brink, and saddled, against the director’s wishes, with a happy ending, Desire is nonetheless a typically and effectively scathing Sirkian indictment against the petty moralism of America’s middle-class and middle-west. (BR)

Take a break from the dog days of summer and enjoy free screenings of great movies every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening from June 28 to August 4. UW Cinematheque's summer season begins with Charlotte Le Bon's evocative Falcon Lake on June 28, followed by David Lynch's Blue Velvet on June 29. Summer selections also include local premieres, another trip to Lynchland by way of the Land of Oz, and a voyage into and beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Plus, a pair of dreamlike contemporary classics from Hungary, two by Federico Fellini starring Alberto Sordi, a Barbara Stanwyck double feature showcase on 35mm, a diptych of NYC bank heist films, and more! All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.