“Summer nights are pleasant in Caulfield. They smell of heliotrope and jasmine, honeysuckle and clover. The breeze that stirs the curtains is soft and gentle. There’s the hush, the stillness of perfect peace and security. Oh, yes, the summer nights are pleasant in Caulfield–but not for us. Not for us.” Desperate, pregnant, and recently dumped…
Here’s yet another round-up of some great current deals out there. Let’s just call it our public service to anyone looking to add to their personal film collection (we totally don’t need a shopping intervention. Not at all). As always, please note that the sale prices listed are accurate as of posting, and may be…
A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940 Victoria Wilson Release Date: November 12, 2013 Simon & Schuster Hardcover, 1044 pages The word “exhaustive” gets thrown around quite a bit when talking about biographies. But never has that term been more aptly used than when referring to Victoria Wilson’s stunning recent biography of film legend Barbara Stanwyck.…
“One of the best actresses I ever worked with.” –Joel McCrea Over the course of twenty-three years–from 1934’s Gambling Lady through 1957’s Trooper Hook–Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea starred in six films together. By all accounts, the two of them formed a supportive and friendly relationship; each spoke highly of the other in interviews, and on…
Many of director Alfred Hitchcock’s films take place in a single setting, restricting the movement of the characters to a central locale. Movies such as Lifeboat (1944), Rope (1948), and Rear Window and Dial M for Murder (both 1954) are claustrophobic and unnerving, filled to the brim with tension and unbearable suspense. The characters cannot get away from one another, and…
With the publication of his 1994 biography of Barbara Stanwyck, Axel Madsen infuriated a legion of the actress’ fans by claiming that Stanwyck had been bisexual, as evidenced–he says–by a lifelong friendship with her publicist, Helen Ferguson. Indeed, Madsen provides little evidence for his speculation; he admits that there is no proof of Stanwyck’s supposed…
We’re wrapping up our April of Barbara Stanwyck flicks with a look at one of my favorite pre-Codes, the 1931 drama Night Nurse, co-starring Joan Blondell and a villainous, non-mustachioed Clark Gable. Stanwyck stars as Lora Hart, an aspiring nurse who finagles a probationary training position at a hospital after meeting the chief of staff, Dr.…
Joan Gordon (Barbara Stanwyck), a nightclub singer in New York City, intends to marry Don (Hardie Albright), the scion of a wealthy family. But Don’s father discovers that Joan had been the mistress of a bootlegging gangster, Eddie Fields (Lyle Talbot), and forbids the union. Resentful of the fact that her association with Eddie ruined…
True Classics 