Magnificent Obsession (1935)

Magnificent Obsession: Directed by John M. Stahl. With Irene Dunne, Robert Taylor, Charles Butterworth, Betty Furness. The life of spoiled rich Robert Merrick is saved through the use of a hospital’s only resuscitator, but because the medical device cannot be in two places at once, it results in the death of Dr. Hudson, a selfless, brilliant surgeon and generous philanthropist. Merrick falls for Hudson’s widow, Helen, though she holds him responsible for her husband’s demise. One day, he insists on driving her home and makes a pass at her. She gets out of the car and is struck by another car, she then goes blind. Merrick then talks to a friend of Dr. Hudson who tells him that her husband had a philosophy-to help people, but never let it be known that you are the one helping them. Only then, he believed, could there be true reward in life. Merrick watches over Helen, and visits her during her recuperation, concealing his identity and calling himself Dr. Robert. When he finds out that she is nearly penniless, he secretly pays for specialists to try to restore her vision. Finally, she travels to Paris and is told that her eyesight is gone forever. Robert follows her, confesses his true identity and proposes marriage. She forgives him, but goes away, not wanting to be a burden to him. Years later, Robert puts himself thru school and becomes a brain surgeon. He learns that Helen urgently needs an operation, which he performs. When she awakens, her sight has miraculously returned.

“I have seen both this original version and the Douglas Sirk remake from the 1950s. The two are extremely similar…so similar you might want to only see one of them. While the remake is naturally lacking in originality, it is a bit glossier and prettier due to the Technicolor as well as Sirku0026#39;s style…he had a real deft hand with romances.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story begins with the death of a famous and beloved doctor. It seems when the doctor needed life-saving equipment, it was being used on a drunk playboy who has pretty much led a selfish and worthless life. He feels bad about this, at least as much as he can at this point. But later when his actions ALSO cause the widow to become blinded, he suffers a huge crisis and dedicates his life to helping her and others.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRobert Taylor and Irene Dunne are very good here. But I didnu0026#39;t rate fhe film higher simply because while enjoyable, the film certainly seemed far-fetched and a bit schmaltzy. Still, it is worth seeing.”