Movie Starlets of the 1940's: Barbara Stanwyck

Welcome back folks to Day 3 of Movies Starlets of the 1940's Week.  Our gal of the hour hails from a six decade long career from stage presence from both film and TV.   With a strong, realistic depiction and deemed a favorite to work with directors Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra giving her 85 movies in 38 in Hollywood before making her way to television.  This is Barbara Stanwyck.

Larry, yer pulling my sequins!

Phyllis: I think you're rotten.
Walter Neff: I think you're spoiled- so long as I'm not your husband.
Phyllis: Get out of here.






Just before her sixteenth birthday in 1928, our Ruby Catherine Stevens prepared for work a s a chorus girl allowing for her to be recognized for a Vaudeville act Ziegfeld Follies giving her Broadway credentials for more than 9 months and over a hundred performances that playwright David Belasco (Warrens of Virginia, A Good Little Devil and Laugh, Clown, Laugh) who suggested Ruby needed a stage name that popped into the heads of producers and directors and Barbara Stanwyck was created.

Holy cats, yer that Stanwyck kid!

With her first talkie roles of The Locked Door and Mexicali Rose churned out in 1929 were complete flops, Frank Capra (It Happened One Night, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Meet John Doe, The Battle of Russia, The Battle of China and It's a Wonderful Life) cast her in the romantic drama Ladies of Leisure giving her top billing in and starring next to Ralph Graves (Sporting Life, What Am I Bid?, Nobody Home,The Extra Girl, Flight, Ladies of Leisure and Dirigible) showing off some versatility our gal across the way has worked with the likes of Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper ranging in crime drama, screwball comedy, romantic drama and even making her way into westerns and opening doors from co-workers to more than a few close friends of the like of : William Holden, Ralph Meeker, James Stewart, Linda Evans, Joan Crawford, Jack Benny and Robert Wagner meeting the starlet demand clear up to age 45 before moving to television.

Being from foster care and given no quarter in life, Stanwyck viewed FDR as a bad idealist  and not the best of choices against Nazi Germany.  She even felt Stalin had its influences in decisions on the war and how to run our country.   Robert Wagner and Ms. Stanwyck had a four year fling starting on the set of Titanic and moved to Wagon Train and the latter show that gave more than a few young ones their chance in The Big Valley.

Stanwyck died tragically at 82 with from chronic smoking and special-effects smoke on the set of The Thorn Birds giving her bronchitis causing her congestive heart failure.  Referred as the Best Actress That Never Won an Oscar, Stanwyck was voted the 40th Greatest Movie Star of All Time by Entertainment Weekly and deemed number 11 of the American Film Institute 100 years of the Greatest Screen Legends.   Guess she did alright for herself.

Matriarch actress indeed. Hmph!