I just caught this great film on TCM and it reminded me of the Douglas Sirk films featuring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, with their wounded female protagonists. Ellen Bowker's wealthy father, believing she will die in a year of heart disease, convinces (and pays the bills) for charming Dan Pierce to marry her. She truly loves him and is shattered when she finds out the truth. The direction reminded me of Sirk not only in its empathy for Ellen's distress, but also in its over-veneration of doctors and its reference to a mysterious medical organization dedicated to "Organic Heart Disease" that recalls the shadowy religious organization in "Magnificent Obsession." Dan also has elements of Ron Kirby from "All That Heaven Allows"; he designs a faux-farmhouse in Connecticut and likes to eat in Italian restaurants (which seems to signify a kind of bohemianism). Ellen, unlike Sirk's women though, is completely infantilized; doctors are consulted without her knowing it (it might "upset" her to know too much about her condition) and Dan even schedules an operation for her without telling her. This is a dignified woman's film with fine cinematography and excellent acting. Too bad it wasn't shot in lush, Sirkian Technicolor.
Review of Invitation
