Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952)

In the late 1920s, a wealthy hypochondriac (Charles Coburn) decides to leave all his money to the family of the woman he once loved. But just to be sure he's making the right decision, he anonymously moves into their home as a boarder to observe them. This charming comedy was the first collaboration between director Douglas Sirk and Rock Hudson (not yet a Star at this stage of his career) who would go on to make 7 more films together. Although Sirk's cinematographer collaborator Russell Metty didn't shoot the film, it still makes use of Sirk's vibrant use of color. What's most interesting about the film is that while it's a lighthearted family comedy, the subtext of a family self destructing because of their wealth is a theme Sirk would revisit more seriously four years later in WRITTEN ON THE WIND. In this regard, the character of the mother (Lynn Bari) whose obsession with money threatens to destroy her daughter's (Piper Laurie) happiness leaves a bitter undertaste under all the charm. With Gigi Perreau, Larry Gates, Gloria Holden, William Reynolds, Frank Ferguson, Skip Homeier and in a bit part, a pre-stardom James Dean.