Ladies They Talk About

Ladies They Talk About
Released Date: February 4, 1933
Directors:Howard Bretherton and William Keighley
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess, Lillian Roth, Maude Eburne, Ruth Donnelly, Harold Huber and Robert McWade

     This is by far my favorite Pre-Code film! Watch it, and it might be your favorite too.

     This movie begins with a woman at a telephone booth, she is calling the police to inform them that there is a man running a muck and stabbing people left and right. When she leaves the booth, she has a sly smile on her face. We then see her getting into a car with her dog in her arms. She is still smiling and nothing seems to be happening around the area, people don't seem frightened or scared. She goes into the bank, a few minutes before opening because she had a train to catch. Or so she says. Then the boys she got into the car with, come inside and hold up the bank. Nan (Barbara Stanwyck) the woman who helped hold up the bank, ends up going to jail. The prison seems like home. Women are sitting around reading, and talking, smoking and laughing, they all also get to listen to the radio. It does not seem like jail. It seems like an okay place to be. But Nan tries to escape and ends up getting more in trouble with the law. It is such a great film guys, I hope you'll watch it and soon!!

Witness to Murder

Witness to Murder
Released Date: April 15, 1954
Director: Roy Rowland
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Jesse White, Harry Shannon, Clair Carleton, Lewis Martin, Dick Elliott, and Harry Tyler

     Could you imagine waking up in the middle of the night, and believing you witnessed a murder? Or how about witnessing a murder, telling the police, and nobody believing you actually saw it? How about being told that you're insane, and need help, that would stink wouldn't it? Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) woke up in the middle of the night and when she looked outside, saw her neighbor, Albert Richter (George Sanders) murdering a woman. Cheryl called the police right away but they did not find a shred of evidence to show that Albert actually killed someone. The two police officers are Lawrence Mathews (Gary Merrill) and Eddie Vincent (Jesse White). What do you suppose happens to a woman who believes she witnessed a murder, nobody believes her and worst of all, the killer knows who she is and where she lives? Find out what happens to Cheryl, by watching this awesome movie :)

Jeopardy

Jeopardy
Released Date: July 31, 1953
Director: John Sturges
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Ralph Meeker, and Lee Aaker

     Barbara Stanwyck can do anything. She was brilliant. Yesterday was her birthday and so TCM showed some of her movies, along with Ginger Rogers, because it was also her birthday. But this movie was one I had never seen before, and I'm glad I saw it. It was intense!!!

     Doug Stilwin (Barry Sullivan), his wife Helen (Barbara Stanwyck) and their son Bobby (Lee Aaker) are on vacation. They are driving through Mexico, and are headed to a beach house that Doug use to stay at with an old friend of his. They finally arrive, and Bobby decides to go play on the beach. They are near a dock and Bobby goes on it and plays. Helen calls for her son because it is time to eat, and when Bobby started to walk off of the dock, his foot gets stuck. So Doug goes up to help his son. Bobby gets off of the dock okay, but while Doug was walking on one part of the dock, he falls through and lands on the sand. Sadly,  his foot gets stuck under some pilings and he can't get out. He tells Helen to go get a big rope to tie to the piling and then to the car to pull him out.  But she needs help so she goes to find a rope and to get another person. She meets another American, Lawson (Ralph Meeker), who happens to be a fugitive. He takes over the car but will he help Doug? Find out, by watching this amazingly tense film, with some great actors and one hell of an actress. 

Sorry, Wrong Number

Sorry, Wrong Number
Released Date: September 1, 1948
Director: Anatole Livak
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Harold Vermilyea, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson, and William Conrad

     Wow, I cannot believe I have yet to write about the first Stanwyck movie I saw. This one scared me as a kid. I saw it for the first time when I was about 12 or so. And that was about when I was introduced to Hitchcock. Another highlight of mine. But one thing I found neat in my research on this film, was that Barbara Stanwyck's bed scenes, which is most of the movie, was only shot in fourteen days. And I know you won't know what I'm talking about till you see this movie, but there is a scene where Stanwyck gives her husband a cigarette case. Well that case was Stanwyck's own and it was a gift from her best friend, Joan Crawford.

     Leona Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyck) is sick in bed. She has a heart condition, so she's been laid up in a bed for a while. In the beginning of the movie, we find out that she is ill, that she let her nurse leave early and that she has been trying to call her husband but every time she calls, she gets the busy signal. Her husband is Henry J. Stevenson (Burt Lancaster). She keeps calling the operator to get a hold of her husband. Leona tries again, she is frustrated, and when the phone finally gives her a person on the other end, it is two men talking. She tries to break their conversation but they cannot hear her. She then discovers that they are discussing a woman's murder that will happen that night. She then calls the police to tell them what she heard. But they can't do anything because she has no idea who is about to be murdered. Then she calls her father, James Cotterell (Ed Begley) to tell him the news too. We then see a lot of flash backs after an old friend calls. Leona then thinks the murder will happen to her!!! Is that true? And if it is true, who is trying to kill her? Hmmm? Find out, by watching a great movie. One I have loved a long time. 

The Man with the Cloak

The Man With the Cloak
Released Year: 1951
Director: Fletcher Markle
Actors: Joseph Cotton, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, Leslie Caron, Joe De Santis, Jim Backus, Margaret Wycherly, Richard Hale, Nicholas Joy, Roy Roberts, Mitchell Lewis, Lynette Bryant, and Steve Carruthers

     Joseph Cotton and Barbara Stanwyck? The fact that the two of them are in this movie, it must be good. It truly is a good movie. Not the best I've seen with Cotton or Stanwyck, but it held my attention and it was a lot of fun. It has a cool quote from Edgar Allen Poe and it is really creepy. Not in the common way most movies are considered creepy, but... You'll see ;)

     Madeline Minot (Leslie Caron) goes to America to see her fiance's grandfather, Charles Francois Thevenet (Louis Calhern). When she first arrives to America, she goes to find the man's home, and does not believe she has the right address. So she goes to a bar nearby to ask where the house is. There she meets Dupin (Joseph Cotton), and they become fast friends. She is told that the address she has is correct and she goes to see him. When she arrives, she is told that he is very sick and Lorna Bounty (Barbara Stanwyck) tries to keep Madeline from seeing him. But Madeline goes straight into the grandfather's room and talks with him and she is able to stay. Madeline has a feeling that Lorna and the other people in the house are trying to kill her fiance's grandfather. Is she correct? I guess you'll have to watch this movie to find out ;)

Barbara Stanwyck: Steel - True

I have read a lot of biographies of the classics. Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, and many more. But I must say, Victoria Wilson's book: A Life of Barbara Stanwyck Steel - True 1907-1940 is possibly the best one I've read. Besides giving a great in depth story on Stanwyck, she also talks about the history of movie making, and a lot of American History at that time. It is really cool. I'd recommend this book to any Stanwyck fan, but also any classic movie fan. It is so good. I really can't think of the right words to describe this book, but I can tell you, I cannot wait to read the next part of Stanwyck's life. She truly is a classic and an amazing woman.

Classic Celebrities Diet

Barbara Stanwyck:
What kind of food do you think Barbara Stanwyck ate? You think a salad diet was what she enjoyed? Nope, in fact, in a newspaper clipping I just read, she was said to have enjoyed meat and potatoes. She said that she loved rare raw steak and potatoes and would add greens to her plate for the simple fact that it was healthy. She also said that she was not a big diet person, in fact, she thought it to be dull. She did gulp down a lot of water a day, and exercised with swimming, and tons of walking.

Grace Kelly:
Princess Grace would go to America for visits and said to have been a huge hamburger lover along with enjoying milkshakes. Her favorite? Chocolate and Vanilla milkshakes. Her exercise was always swimming and walking as well.

Carole Lombard:
Miss Lombard, or Mrs. Clark Gable, was a huge meat and veggies lover. Along with enjoying Coca-Cola. She was said to have drank coke one after the other, and played tennis too hard.

Meet John Doe

Meet John Doe
Released Date: May 3, 1941
Director: Frank Capra
Actors: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart, Rod La Rocque, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Warren Hymer

     I would like to start this post by saying that after long searching, there is no longer version of this picture. A lot of film historians went through files and could not find a longer version. What actually happened, and the reason so many believed there was a longer version, was that when this movie was first released, it was said that the movie was 132 minutes long. It wasn't, the movie is 123 minutes long. Which just simply means that the last two numbers were switched. This movie is so well made though, that you don't feel like it is too long. Despite there being a nine minute difference in time, the movie is still a little over two hours long. It was neat to find out that the director didn't want anyone to play John Doe, except Gary Cooper. Cooper said yes to playing the part because he loved working with Capra (which he already worked with in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) and he also always wanted to work with Miss Barbara Stanwyck. All made a deal in this movie, didn't they. Miss Stanwyck always said that Frank Capra told her to act, not just with words, but with her eyes as well. Something that she always believed to be the best advice she was given.

     Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) has just been fired from her newspaper job. And to give her boss a piece of her mind, and a great parting gift, she writes a letter. The letter states that this man, a one John Doe, is jobless and wants to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. Ann makes sure her boss gets the letter, and not only that, but has it published for the newspaper. Ann goes into her bosses office a few days later and tells him the truth. But because the story is so big, what will they do to tell the public? Ann recommends that they look for a regular American who won't give their secret away. Her boss enjoys this idea, not at first, but after some heavy thinking (smoke coming outta his ears and everything) he decides to do it. There is a huge line of men outside of his office, all claiming to have written the letter. Ann says that they should interview them all and pick out the right John Doe. They decline the first bunch when the perfect man walks through the door. Their John Doe (Gary Cooper). Not only is he tall and handsome, also in need of money, but he use to play baseball. What could be more American than that? He agrees to be Doe. He also needs his arm fixed, he stopped playing baseball after a major arm injury. His arm can be fixed and better yet, he can play baseball again. Everything looks great, but what about one small detail, once it is finally out that he lied, he probably won't be playing baseball after that. Will he go through with it? Find out, by watching Meet John Doe!!!

     This movie is super cute and also has a warm Christmas feel at the end of the movie. With a black and white Christmas, you can never go wrong.

Barbara Stanwyck

     Have you ever watched a Barbara Stanwyck movie? She was incredible. I have been watching a lot of her movies lately. Titanic; Christmas in Connecticut; Sorry, Wrong Number; Remember the Night; The Lady Eve; and Night Nurse. I have always said that classic films, black and white movies are the best, and she is a huge reason for me saying that. Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis always give 100%. Stanwyck also had a very cute husband, you know, Robert Taylor? Even though their relationship ended on horrible terms, they were a very cute couple while it lasted. 

  

     Barbara Stanwyck born as Ruby Stevens on July 16, 1907 in New York.  When Ruby was six years old, her mother, while pregnant, was on a bus with Ruby mind you, and a drunk kicked Ruby's mother in the stomach. After having a miscarriage and after tons of blood loss, Ruby lost her mother to infection. Ruby then turned to many homes for a family. As sad as this sounds, Ruby became Barbara Stanwyck and lived happily in California with amazing work and beauty. 

Double Indemnity

Double Indemnity
Released Date: April 24, 1944
Director: Billy Wilder
Actors: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Byron Barr, Porter Hall, Jean Heather, Tom Powers, Richard Gaines, Fortunio Bonanova, and John Philliber

     I have been watching a lot of newer movies, and when I say "new" I mean I just found them. I was watching this movie today and realized that because Barbara Stanwyck is in it, it must be great. And it is. This movie is very fast, but a thriller till the end. One thing that did bother me was Barbara Stanwyck's hair. So I was pleased to read that the director wasn't happy with it either. She wears a wig in this movie and it looks insane, but nobody can deny her great acting ability.

     Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) is married and unhappy. You can tell every time you see her around her husband. When Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) shows up to Mr. and Mrs. Dietrchson's house to sell Mr. Dietrichson a life insurance policy, Phyllis and Walter fall in love. Now what to do? Half of them is already married. Does this mean murder? It does!!! Walter and Phyllis plan out the perfect crime. But like real life, murder is never perfect, and the bad guys always get caught!!! This movie was number 29 of the greatest movies of all time, and you can see why. I have always enjoyed Miss Stanwyck and this is one of my favorites of her's now. 

Christmas In Connecticut

Christmas In Connecticut
Released Date: August 11, 1945
Director: Peter Godfrey
Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor, Frank Jenks, Joyce Compton, Dick Elliott, and Betty Alexander

     I'll tell you why this is a great Christmas movie. First off, as a person, what do we enjoy? Food? Holiday happiness? Love? Military (no matter where you are)? Well this has everything in it. This is a great film, and one that I have enjoyed many times. When I first saw this movie on a shelf at a store, I didn't think it looked that great. But because of the picture on the DVD case, it did look cute at least. And then I bought it, since it was on sale too. I took it home and watched it. And I fell in love. It is cute, for sure, but it is more than that. It is funny, you can almost taste the food they describe. I hope you'll watch it and fall in love too.

     Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) is stuck on a raft for a few weeks, starving and thirsty. Clearly in the military and waiting for their ship to come in, literally. Along with his partner Sinkewicz (Frank Jenks). Finally saved and being taken care of at a hospital, Jeff is hungry and unable to eat a fulfilling breakfast/lunch/dinner because of how long he was without food. He tries to get a better meal by making his nurse believe he is in love with her.
     Meanwhile, Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a very popular author. She writes a column in a magazine, about making a home made meals in the country for her child and husband. However, she lives in an apartment alone, and in the city. Far away from the country.  Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet) gets a letter from Jeff's nurse. Alexander is the magazine's top man, and is the boss of Miss. Lane. The nurse wanted to marry Jeff, and figured that the reason he did not want to get married was because he didn't know how wonderful a home cooked meal is, and also how wonderful having a family is. She wants him to spend Christmas with Elizabeth Lane, and to be fed everyday with her wonderful cooking. Thankfully, John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), who is in love with Elizabeth, also owns a farm in Connecticut. So he proposes to her, and she says okay since she wants to keep her job. Even though she does not love John. So there, Elizabeth, in one big swoop, has a farm, and a husband. All she needs is to learn how to cook, and also a baby. Thankfully John's maid watches a baby for a nearby neighbor and Elizabeth has a friend that cooks for her. Felix Bassenak (S.Z. Sakall) is a cute little guy that is an amazing cook and makes everything that Elizabeth writes about. You will be a happy camper watching this film, and will feel like you really are in the country. Will Elizabeth end up marrying a man she does not love? Will Jeff end up marrying a woman he really doesn't love? Or will the two fall in love, and end up together? Watch and find out :}