notice the artifice, to see that he's not using realism but an exaggerated Hollywood studio style.... Films like this are both above and below middle-brow taste. If you only see the surface, it's trashy soap opera. If you can see the style, the absurdity, the exaggeration, and the satirical humor, it's subversive of all the 1950s dramas that handled such material solemnly. William Inge and Tennessee Williams were taken with great seriousness during the decade, but Sirk kids their Freudian hysteria." TV Guide described the film as "the ultimate in lush melodrama", "Douglas Sirk's finest directorial effort", and "one of the most notable critiques of the American family ever made." Leonard Maltin gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "Irresistible kitsch." The New Yorker Richard Brody discusses the film, which he says may be "Sirk's most full-blossomed achievement", in a video posted on the magazine's website in 2015. In 2005, actress Lauren Bacall accepted the Frontier Award on behalf of the film from the Austin Film Society, which annually makes inductions into the Texas Film Hall of Fame recognizing actors, directors, screenwriters, filmmakers, and films from, influenced by, or inspired by the Lone Star State. See also List of American films of 1956 Modernist film References Bibliography External links Essay by Laura Mulvey at The Criterion Collection Richard Brody's take on Written on the Wind 1956 films 1956 drama films 1950s American films 1950s English-language films 1950s psychological drama films American films based on actual events American psychological drama films Drama films based on actual events Films à clef Films about alcoholism Films about depression Films about dysfunctional families Films about siblings Films about the upper class Films based on American novels Films directed by Douglas Sirk Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films scored by Frank Skinner Films set in Texas Films shot in Los Angeles Southern Gothic films Universal Pictures films