(Douglas Sirk, US 1956, 84 min., 35mm)

Sirk, cinema’s poet laureate of upper-middle-class American angst in the 1950s, examines the unhappy marriage of toy manufacturer Clifford Groves (Fred MacMurray) and his wife, Marion (Joan Bennett). When Groves accidentally meets up with old flame Norma (Barbara Stanwyck), he’s provided with the temporary illusion that happiness is still possible. This beautiful melodrama marked the fourth and final pairing of Double Indemnity stars MacMurray and Stanwyck.