The Tarnished Angels (Director's Suite)

Adapted from the novel Pylon by celebrated writer William Faulkner, The Tarnished Angels blends the star power of three Oscar®-nominated actors with Douglas Sirk's cinematic genius in this barnstorming melodrama.

Set amid the trying economic circumstances of Depression-era USA, The Tarnished Angels tells the tale of Roger Schumann (Robert Stack), a former World War One fighter pilot. Having fallen on hard times, Schumann has been reduced to touring the county fairs doing stunt aerobatics, a profession which barely raises enough money to support his wife, LaVerne (Dorothy Malone) and his young son, Jack. Reporter Burke Devlin (Rock Hudson) arrives on the scene to interview Schumann for a "where are they now" article, and against his better judgment he finds himself inescapably drawn to LaVerne, Schumann's beautiful and troubled wife. What results is an emotionally-charged love triangle, a tug-of-war reminiscent of the past...

With a stellar cast, romantic black-and-white aesthetic, and the devastating critique of US culture associated with the director, The Tarnished Angels is one of Sirk's finest films.