Barbara Stanwyck has been surrounded by performers since an early age – from sixteen year old showgirl with the Ziegfeld Follies, to Broadway star and censor’s nightmare in pre-code films, it was a long and exciting road till she rocked 1941 with three hit comedies: The Lady Eve, Ball of Fire, and Meet John Doe.
One of the most versatile actresses of Old Hollywood, Stanwyck was notorious for an acting style that was unusually natural for her time and an onscreen presence that evoked empathy, desire and admiration. If some actors lit the screen, Barbara Stanwyck sets it on fire. With quick wit and empowering confidence, she took center stage in every scene.
Directed by Preston Sturges inThe Lady Eve, Stanwyck played a master con-artist who falls for her prey, Henry Fonda. He’s a rich snake specialist (you read that right) who is far too naïve around women — a fact she is perfectly aware and takes advantage of.
Next up she worked with the notable director Frank Capra in Meet John Doe, playing a keen journalist who, as a desperate last attempt at keeping her job, writes a fake letter about a man who swears he will commit suicide on Christmas due to the current state of the American society. This brings so much attention to the newspaper that castings for the imaginary John Doe begin. What started as a fictional story quickly escalades into a political movement — and as you’d expect, romance is the mix.
Then came Ball of Fire, directed by the legendary Howard Hawks and once again featuring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper. In this cheerfully sweet story she plays a singer/dancer who, due to her connections with a certain gangster in trouble, is looking for a safe place to stay. She finds it in a house where a group of intellectuals is working on a new encyclopaedia. All of them elderly except for the professor in charge of the vocabulary section (that is Cooper), who falls in love with her. They’re onscreen chemistry is palpable and endlessly entertaining to watch: while Cooper’s character is shy, her fiery presence and disarming confidence is the perfect counterbalance — giving true meaning to “opposites attract“.
In all of these movies, Stanwyck is nothing short of fascinating to watch. She could be loving and strong, intelligent and sexy, funny and fierce. Never outshined by her co-stars, no matter how big.
This post is part of the Funny Lady Blogathon, hosted by Movies Silently
