Coming soon...

March 11, 2009


I'm working on three paintings for my Barbara Stanwyck trilogy (yes, she is so good she deserves not one, not two, but three paintings) each representing different stages in her career. I actually finished the oldest Stanwyck tonight, but I don't want to post them until all three are finished.

She's my absolute favorite actress (I know I throw around the words "absolute favorite" and "all-time favorite" a lot, but trust me-- she is really my absolute favorite!) so I'll also be gushing about her films in a post to go with the art.

In the meantime--
what's your favorite Stanwyck movie? I can't really choose which is mine-- I think one of the reasons I am breaking her portraits up into three different career phases is because I have favorites from each stage, and can't choose which stage I like best! I love Night Nurse, The Miracle Woman and Ever in My Heart from her earliest films. I love Ball of Fire, Meet John Doe and Remember the Night from her late 30's early 40's films. And I love Clash by Night, Jeopardy and Witness to Murder from her later films.

19 comments:

Cullen Gallagher said...
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Cullen Gallagher said...

Baby Face, Lady Eve and The Furies might be my three favs. Clash by Night and Ball of Fire are right up there as well. She's so good it's hard to pick just one!

Unknown said...

She's certainly one of my very favorites as well, & again I'd have a hard time picking one: I'd say (in no particular order) Ball of Fire, Meet John Doe & The Lady Eve.

Elizabeth said...

I haven't seen nearly enough of her movies to say for sure yet, but we just watched Double Indemnity a second time and that is certainly up there for me.

Nicole Newcomb said...

The Lady Eve is my all time favorite movie and my favorite Barbara Stanwyck film. I also love her in Baby Face and Remember the Night. :)

Anonymous said...

Ooh, Ball of Fire - #1 for sure. Clash by Night -#2. Clash by Night is one of those under the radar gems that no one ever talks about. I think it's great, though.

DKoren said...

Oh man, that's hard! She's so fabulous in everything she did. I guess my favorites would be Ball of Fire, Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Jeopardy, and I love her in Big Valley.

elena-lu said...

babay face i love that one!

vivienne strauss said...

I did worse than everyone else, I could only narrow it down to SIX! (in no particular order) Clash by Night, the Lady Eve, Baby Face, Double Indemnity, My Reputation and Executive Suite. She was just so darn versatile and easily deserves 3 portraits!

Classic Maiden said...

I look forward to your paintings :).

It's no secret that she is my top favorite actress too.

I have a hard time choosing my top favorites of her films too, because I have 63 of the (around) 80 films she made. So hence why it's very hard lol. The list of flms I'm talking about: http://classicmaiden.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-barbara-stanwyck-collection.html

But I would say movies like THE OTHER LOVE, BABY FACE, CLASH BY NIGHT, THE LADY EVE, BALL OF FIRE and THE GREAT'MAN'S LADY are the ones I love the most *squee* :D

Classic Maiden said...

Forgot DOUBLE INDEMNITY which is one of my all time favorite films ever made :)

Genevieve said...

Oh, I love Stanwyck! My favorites would have to be Ball of Fire, Meet John Doe, Remember the Night, and Double Indemnity. I can't decide which one is my favorite!

Unknown said...

Cullen- I forgot about Baby Face! Definitely a favorite!

John- On the TCM tribute to Stany by Jennifer Jason Leigh, those are the three she lists as her favorites, too. Every time I see the tribute I always tend to agree with her... but then again, it's hard for me to narrow it down to 20 let alone 3 favorites!

Elizabeth- Double Indemnity is great, although isn't her wig annoying? It always bothers me when I watch it... if she just had her regular hair it would be a perfect movie!

Nicole- I can see why it's your favorite! Don't you love the scene when Henry Fonda first meets "Lady Eve" and he keeps tripping, etc. I think he's hilarious in that movie!

casey- Clash By Night is very underrated. I always feel so bad for Paul Douglas!

DKoren- Oooohh... Strange Love of Martha Ivers! The list keeps growing :)

elena-lu: me too!

Vivienne- I don't even think I could get it to six! Now that you mentioned My Reputation, the list has grown again! If I really had to narrow it down, that would definitely be in the top 5. I just adore that movie!

Sebina- I love your Barbara Stanwyck posts! I'm so jealous of your collection :)
I haven't seen The Other Love yet.... is that a European DVD release only?

Genevieve- Once you narrow it down to those four, it really is hard to narrow the list any further!

Paul D Brazill said...

double indemnity-the absurdity of Walter's obsession hinges on the fact that she's so blank and asexual.

Classic Maiden said...

I actually got The other love through TCM. One of the few that were recorded from the TV :)

Ginger Ingenue said...

She looks so cute in those boxing gloves! :)

My favorite's BALL OF FIRE, which might have been my first Stanwyck-film as well.

Unknown said...

Gee... why on earth would Ball of Fire be your favorite?(cough.. Dana Andrews.. .cough.. cough)

R. D. Finch said...

Kate, I just discovered your very witty site (via a comment you left at Riku Writes). Hope it's not too late to name my own favorite Stanwyck performances. She's not in my top four of the Golden Age (Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Irene Dunne, Claudette Colbert), but she is in the next tier along with Garbo, Carole Lombard, Jean Arthur, Myrna Loy, and Jean Arthur--not bad company! Anyway, my three favorite Stanwyck's (all from the middle period): 1) "Double Indemnity" (I like the blonde wig!), 2) "The Lady Eve," 3) "Christmas in Connecticut." She was one of the few who were equally at home in comedy and drama. Perhaps the strangest thing I've seen her in is the Wellman-directed "Lady of Burlesque," a mystery in which she plays a stripper! It's based on a novel by Gypsy Rose Lee and is actually pretty good.

Unknown said...

I adore Lady of Burlesque. She did it as a favor for the director, mainly because she thought it would be a fun diversion from some of the more weighty movies she was doing at the time. I think it's a blast!

I just discovered your blog too! Your pre-code post was fantastic.