"Magnificent Obsession" is one of those movies that I have known about since I was small, but only now have gotten around to seeing it. For me it was most interesting for the actors. Jane Wyman was near 40, with many movies behind her, and only a few ahead. She plays Helen Phillips, who loses her husband tragically.
Rock Hudson was still in his 20s, and an established young star. He plays Bob Merrick, who we see is a rich, spoiled guy used to getting what he wants. His outlook changes when he meets Helen and falls in love with her. But Helen finds him crass, and knows that her husband was dead because Merrick had been in a foolish boating accident which tied up the equipment which could have saved her husband. So, the movie is about her struggles, while Merrick tries to get her to care for him. Highly melodramatic, but a good example of the genre. Two years later Wyman and Hudson would make "All That Heaven Allows" together.
SPOILERS. As Helen gets out of a cab on the traffic side, to get away from Merrick's advances, she is hit and injured, and becomes blind as a result. She learns to cope as a blind woman when doctors tell her they can't do anything, but Merrick insinuates himself back into her life, posing as "Robbie" Robinson. He decides that to make amends he must go back to medical school, and as his mentor says, becoming a doctor will be a "magnificent obsession", thus the title of the movie. Eventually as Helen seems to be drifting away, he is forced to perform emergency surgery, the movie ends with him in her arms, in the hospital bed, she can see him.
Rock Hudson was still in his 20s, and an established young star. He plays Bob Merrick, who we see is a rich, spoiled guy used to getting what he wants. His outlook changes when he meets Helen and falls in love with her. But Helen finds him crass, and knows that her husband was dead because Merrick had been in a foolish boating accident which tied up the equipment which could have saved her husband. So, the movie is about her struggles, while Merrick tries to get her to care for him. Highly melodramatic, but a good example of the genre. Two years later Wyman and Hudson would make "All That Heaven Allows" together.
SPOILERS. As Helen gets out of a cab on the traffic side, to get away from Merrick's advances, she is hit and injured, and becomes blind as a result. She learns to cope as a blind woman when doctors tell her they can't do anything, but Merrick insinuates himself back into her life, posing as "Robbie" Robinson. He decides that to make amends he must go back to medical school, and as his mentor says, becoming a doctor will be a "magnificent obsession", thus the title of the movie. Eventually as Helen seems to be drifting away, he is forced to perform emergency surgery, the movie ends with him in her arms, in the hospital bed, she can see him.