od, the film is best seen as a parody of the ultimate realization of the American dream (Kendrick). The Hadley family has achieved the American dream of material wealth, but feel miserable and alienated. Their acceptance of the ideology of materialism renders it unnecessary to question its values. The family dominates their town, and the opening shots of the film depict endless rows of phallic oil towers and the enormous corporate skyscraper; ôthe Hadleys are everywhere, yet emotionally and spiritually they are nowhereö (Kendrick). One of the filmÆs key themes is the impact of the materialism of the 1950s on the American character.
Four main characters make up the film, two are the dysfunctional children of oil millionaire Jasper Hadley (Robert Keith), and the other two come from the lower echelons of society. JasperÆs son Kyle (Robert Stack) and daughter Marylee (Dorothy Malone, who received an Academy Award for her performance) are rich, spoiled, hollow and self-absorbed. Kyle is an alcoholic, college dropout playboy, and Marylee is best known as an alcoholic nymphomaniac. Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson) is the poor but stable boy who grew up with the Hadley family, became a geologist and holds an important position in the Hadley oil empire. Kyle, Mitch and Marylee were inseparable buddies, and Marylee has always been in love with Mitch. The fourth character is the ôniceö girl, stable secretary Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall) who Kyle and Mitch meet in New York and instantly fall in love wit
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