One Desire

This is the worst example of what the Universal "living room beefcake" Rock Hudson could make in those years. Not the best of the best, as you can guess, and nor the best of Jerry Hopper. Anne Baxter, poor Ann Baxter did her best at least to save the whole, but for my taste could not make it. But if you crave for the atmosphere of this fifties era, so you can spend a couple of hours watching it.

Look at Eve Harrington now! Oscar-winner Anne Baxter is marvelous in this movie, in which she plays Tacey, a gambling hall hostess who tries to go straight. She falls in love with gambler Clint Saunders (nicely played by Rock Hudson), and starts life anew with him and his brother. Julie Adams plays the bad girl who steals Clint away to the hilt. Natalie Wood gives an endearing performance as Seely, an orphan who also lives with Clint and Tacey. This is a sadly underrated film which showcases the talents of some of Hollywood's most cherished stars.

A woman's drama set in the west not a western. Anne Baxter is aces as Tacey the dance hall queen who wants a simpler life with Rock Hudson, who towers over her, and his brother in a small town until outside forces cause her no end of troubles. She suffers grandly in spangles and feathers all in rich Technicolor but manages to rein in the overheated emotions with a warm controlled performance.

A performance that isn't quite as controlled and all the better for it is Julie Adams' evil rich girl. Always an excellent actress but often cast as the love interest or nice girl she is so deliciously malevolent it's a pity she didn't get a chance to chew the high grade ham more often.

Natalie Wood, her next film after this was Rebel Without a Cause, doesn't have much to do but injects what there is of her part with movie star charisma and spunk. The same goes for Rock who is called upon to be handsome and rather thick. The whole film is really just there to provide a backdrop to the ladies flashy dramatics and on that basis it serves it purpose.

Not available on DVD, hard to believe with any film that has Rock, Anne and Natalie in the cast, this is well worth seeking out.

In what was supposed to be a soapy melodrama, One Desire ended up a bit of a disappointment. With the heavy dramatic star Anne Baxter playing a stereotypical hooker with a heart of gold and the handsome Rock Hudson as a selfish playboy, you'd think nothing could go wrong with the movie. The story took turns that verged on the ridiculous, and even in a soap opera, plot points that ridiculous didn't fly. Perhaps the original novel was extremely lengthy and fleshed everything out so it made sense, and perhaps the Hollywood movie chose to include all the key points even if they were choppy and silly.

Anne starts off the head hooker in a casino who's in love with no-good cards dealer Rock. When he gets a special visitor, his long-lost kid brother, Barry Curtis, he decides on a fresh start in a new town. Without any commitment or guarantees, Anne packs her bags and goes with them to the mining town. Rock takes a room at a hotel and pays for Anne's house so they can be respectable but so she can raise his brother while he goes to work. How respectable is it to have a man you're not even engaged to paying your rent, at that time? And if Rock is such a jerk to treat her that way, why would she go with him in the first place, keep house, cook, raise his brother, and risk her reputation when he flirts with other women right in front of her? Julia Adams, a banker's daughter, is the object of the ambitious Rock's latest affection, but it turns out Julia has a mean streak in her and takes it out on Anne.

So far, this sounds like a really interesting story, right? Trust me, the second half of the movie is much less fun. You'll get to see Anne in some pretty costumes, and you'll get to see a gawky Natalie Wood in the last childish role before she reestablished herself in Rebel Without a Cause, but there's not much more incentive. For a much better Anne Baxter drama, check out Season of Passion, and for Rock Hudson in a more likable role, try A Farewell to Arms.

Anne Baxter really delivers as a dance hall queen who gives everything up to pursue boyfriend Clint Saunders to a booming Colorado town.

On the way, she not only raises Clint's kid brother, she rears Ceilie, beautifully played by Natalie Wood. How is her kindness rewarded? She loses both children and ultimately Clint to the senator's daughter, who is viciously played by Julie Adams, the former Mrs. Ray Danton. Adams steals the picture as a conniving woman who will stop at nothing to get and keep Saunders.

The exciting ending with the underlying message of evil to him (her) who does evil is wonderful. A **** film in every sense of the word.