Douglas Sirk birthed the entire Ralph Lauren aesthetic with this bonkers, booze soaked deconstruction of American materialism and success.
It is hard not to get wrapped up in a nostalgic, backward looking point of view, when even the miserable people look this fantastic. This was not a “great” America by any means (I love Sirk’s subtle centering of their servants in a few scenes), but it was a far more aesthetically beautiful place.
Of course it could just be that movies like this created that dreamworld.
Sirk’s brilliance is showing us all its glory and then systematically taking it apart. Brilliant performances throughout - but especially Dorothy Malone who is just a transgressive ball of seductive energy.
A masterpiece!