Written on the Wind

Written on the Wind centres on the wealthy Hadley family, Texas oil magnates whose fortune cannot keep their personal lives in order. Mitch Wayne, a geologist employed by the family, is loyal to his friend Kyle Hadley even as Kyle's drinking and recklessness threaten both the business and his marriage to Lucy Moore. Mitch and Kyle both love Lucy, and her choice of Kyle sets in motion tensions that the family's money and status cannot contain. Kyle's sister Marylee, meanwhile, pursues Mitch and resents Lucy. When circumstances turn a private conflict into a public accusation, Mitch finds himself facing a charge of murder.

Douglas Sirk directed the film, which sits between All That Heaven Allows and A Time to Love and a Time to Die in his filmography. George Zuckerman wrote the screenplay and Albert Zugsmith produced. Robert Stack plays Kyle, Lauren Bacall plays Lucy, Rock Hudson plays Mitch, Dorothy Malone plays Marylee, with Robert Keith as the family patriarch Jasper and Grant Williams in support.

Released by Universal in October 1956, the film runs 99 minutes and had a budget of about one million dollars. Its reputation has held up: on IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from roughly 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from 278 votes. A critics' rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 32 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.