Robert Blees (1918–2015)

The great Barbara Stanwyck is Naomi Murdoch a good-time touring showgirl who is estranged from her small-town family. A decade after leaving home Naomi receives a letter from her daughter Lily (Lori Nelson) inviting her to the school play where Lily has a starring role. Naomi returns, sparking a small-scale scandal amongst the townsfolk and rekindling the spark of romance in her abandoned husband, Henry (Richard Carlson) and her former lover, Dutch (Lyle Bettger). “All I Desire” is directed by Douglas Sirk with a great eye for easy melodrama and a sharp approach to a dramatic situation. The film has a number of controversial for the time themes including a mother abandoning her seemingly perfect family for the life of a travelling troubadour in additional to her indulgence in a series of infidelities. Sirk handles these with a great deal of sympathy and a refusal to be judgemental – albeit with a fair degree of soap opera dynamics. The cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie is exceptional with each set painted with perfect light and shot with beautifully clear, crisp black and white photography. Barbara Stanwyck is superb throughout. She has a compelling screen presence and is able to subtly portray a well-judged vulnerability through a tough exterior.… (plus d'informations)