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Barbara Stanwyck Profile
* Films in Bold Type air on 8/19
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Stardates: Born July 16, 1907, Brooklyn,
NY; Died 1990.
Star Sign: Cancer
Star Qualities: “Bruised velvet” voice,
Roman nose, impeccable poise contrasted
with emotional volatility.
Star
Definition: “I have never worked with
an actress who was more cooperative, less temperamental and a
better workman, to use my term of highest compliment.” -- Cecil
B. De Mille
Galaxy Of Characters: Lulu Smith in Forbidden
(1932), Lily Powers in Baby Face (1933), Thelma Jordon in The
File on Thelma Jordon (1950), Mae Doyle in Clash By Night (1951).
An actress of unparalleled emotional power who could turn with ease to comedy, Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990) was beloved by co-workers and named by many directors, including Cecil B. DeMille, as their favorite female star. Born Ruby Stevens in Brooklyn, Stanwyck worked as a showgirl and Broadway actress before making her film debut in 1929. Frank Capra, her movie mentor, would direct her in five films including The Miracle Woman (1931), in which she shines as a flamboyant evangelist.
In a sizzling performance that helped lead to new censorship rules, Stanwyck is Baby Face (1933), a ruthless blonde who sleeps her way to the top. The boxing drama Golden Boy (1939) paired her with budding star William Holden, who always credited his subsequent success to Stanwyck. Capra's Meet John Doe (1941) casts her as a reporter who creates a phony hero (Gary Cooper), then watches him become the real thing.
Stanwyck's murderous wife in Double Indemnity (1944) set the standard for the film noir femme fatale. In the Clifford Odets drama Clash by Night (1952), she gives one of her most moving performances as a world-weary woman searching for security. Playing a neurotic heiress, Stanwyck captures the acting honors in the all-star boardroom drama Executive Suite (1954). For a complete career overview, check out Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991), directed by renown film critic Richard Schickel and narrated by Sally Field. Four times an Oscar nominee as Best Actress, she won an honorary Academy Award in 1982 as "an artist of impeccable grace and beauty." Although she made her final feature film in 1965, Stanwyck continued a successful TV career into the mid-1980s.
by Roger Fristoe
 
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31 Days of Oscar Highlights for Feb. 16
Join us for Billy Wilder's outrageous comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), nominated for 6 Oscars® plus The Odd Couple (1968), Grand Hotel (1932), Key Largo (1948) and 9 more Academy Award honorees.
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