Sirk""s most successful melodramas of the mid-to-late 50s decade included the following - predominantly from Universal-International:All I Desire (1953)Magnificent Obsession (1954)All That Heaven Allows (1955)Written on the Wind (1956)The Tarnished Angels (1957)- reuniting stars Stack, Malone, and HudsonImitation of Life (1959)- Sirk""s last American filmThis vivid, gaudy and slightly campy Technicolor film, from a screenplay by George Zuckerman that was adapted from Robert Wilder""s best-selling novel of the same name, centered on the frenzied dynamics within a self-destructing, filthy-rich (literally) Texas oil family named Hadley.Professor Lowe resisted the idea of harming his valuable find, Jason, claiming that there were "financial considerations" ("we wait and sedate him.He""d learned how to win.He spent a lot of money doing it.An awful lot of money.I was beginning o wonder where he got it from.There were rumors throughout the state that Willie was making deals with all kinds of people, strange deals.Why don""t you f--kin"" stop? You""re not goin"" on business.You""re gonna suck each other off, right? Suck ""em, suck ""em baby." When they reach the street, she yells more invectives out the window, jealously incensed at the sexual dimensions of their relationship: "You f--kin"" queer.The film""s major tagline echoed the search:"he had to find her...he had to find her"The main characters were briefly described on one of the film""s posters:ETHAN - Whatever it took - he""d find her!DEBBIE - Somewhere out there - she was captive!LAURIE - Her heart wanted to wait - and couldn""t!MARTIN - He started the search as a boy - and ended it a man!CLAYTON - The Good Book in one hand - and a gun in the other!John Wayne, the "Duke," had already played many major roles in numerous westerns in his career, includingThe Big Trail (1930),The Spoilers (1942), Howard Hawks""Red River (1948),and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949), and had appeared in five previous Ford westerns, including:Stagecoach (1939),3 Godfathers (1948), Fort Apache (1948),She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), andRio Grande (1950)-- and would appear in a few more, including:The Horse Soldiers (1959)andThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962).