The actors are as artificial as the settings. They look like Photoplay covers, and speak in the clichés of pulp romance. Sirk did not cast his films by accident, and one of the pleasures of “Written on the Wind” is the way he exaggerates the natural qualities of his actors and then uses them ironically (…) To appreciate the trashiness of “Written on the Wind” is not to condescend to it. To a greater degree than we realize, our lives and decisions are formed by pop cliches and conventions. Films that exaggerate our fantasies help us to see them–to be amused by them, and by ourselves. They clear the air. — Roger Ebert