The Lovers (also known as) / 1949 / crime, drama, film-noir / 1h 19min / directed by Douglas Sirk / country: USA / language: English

Tuesday Matinée
Coming Soon, 3/31

““Shockproof” is based on a script by the sensationalist director Samuel Fuller (“Shock Corridor”) and was directed by Douglas Sirk, who made “Imitation of Life” and other bejeweled weepies… Mr. Sirk, a refugee from the German film industry who in the late 1940s was still finding his way in Hollywood, later said he agreed to direct “Shockproof” because it hit a favorite theme: the price of flouting taboos. But a studio-mandated, soft-suds rewrite by Helen Deutsch (“National Velvet”) nixed Mr. Fuller’s original ending, which had Griff violently rebelling against the system that tried to keep him and Jenny apart. What remains are hardboiled quips, metaphorically overripe situations (Griff’s blind mom sees through him, get it?) and anxious yet vague lead performances by Mr. Wilde and Ms. Knight, who were married at the time. The end product so depressed Mr. Sirk that he briefly returned to Europe… But while “Shockproof” will inspire more groans than gasps, it’s essential viewing for fans of Mr. Fuller and Mr. Sirk… ”
–Matt Zoller Seitz, The New York Times