All That Heavens Allows and Come September

Rock and Jane in front of the picture window.

All That Heaven Allows (1955). My second favorite Douglas Sirk film (after Imitation of Life with Lana Turner) stars Jane Wyman as Cary Scott, a wealthy widow in a New England town who falls in love with Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), a younger man who works as a gardener. Their romance faces the disapproval of Cary’s snobbish children and her country club friends, who think Ron is beneath her. Cary must choose between following her heart or conforming to society’s expectations. All That Heaven Allows is not a nuanced film. Indeed, most of the characters are drawn too broadly: Cary's children are shallow and her friends, except perhaps for one played by Agnes Moorehead, are snooty; in contrast, Ron's friends are warm and inviting. However, Sirk imbues this story with an elegant simplicity and paints it with vivid colors. The opening scenes, set during autumn, pop with visual splendor. Later scenes set in front of a picture window in Ron's mill-turned-home look like Paul Gaugin's Winter Landscape come to life. It's clear that Rock Hudson, who also teamed with Jane Wyman in the previous year's inferior Magnificent Obsession, was still honing his craft as an actor. However, he projects his character's earnestness and confidence well and plays off effectively opposite veteran star Wyman. Todd Haynes' 2002 drama Far from Heaven is an affectionate homage to All That Heaven Allows. It also concerns a "forbidden love affair" and Haynes copies Sirk's color palette skillfully. 

Gina Lollobrigida and Rock Hudson.

Come September (1961). Rock Hudson's comedic follow-up to Pillow Talk (1959) is a modestly amusing outing with enough plot for two or three movies. Rock plays Robert Talbot, a wealthy American businessman, who owns a villa in Italy where he spends every September with his Italian girlfriend, Lisa (Gina Lollobrigida).  However, he arrives early one year and finds out that Lisa is about to marry another man, his villa has been turned into a hotel by his concierge, and a group of young American girls are staying there. He tries to romance Lisa, chaperone the girls, and deal with a group of boys interested in the young ladies. With Walter Slezak as the concierge and Brenda De Banzie as the girls' tour guide, Come September could have focused on the villa-as-a-hotel plot and been very funny. Unfortunately, the veteran supporting stars get cast aside for most of the movie in favor of teen star Sandra Dee (Gidget) and pop singer-turned-actor Bobby Darin. That's not to say that Dee and Darin aren't appealing. In real life, they fell in love on the set and got married; their mutual attraction shows up clearly on the screen. However, the overall result is that Come September is a bit of a disjointed mess, funnier in parts than as a whole. By the way, that's future Oscar winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) as Bobby Darin's best friend.