rememberingbarbarastanwyck images

"'Burlesque' is the title of the second Broadway play in which Stanwyck had a speaking part, and it was a key transition from her being a cabaret performer to becoming an actress in 1927. The street-smart, hard-nosed Stanwyck image - embedded in her lingering Brooklyn accent - is tied precisely to her roots as a cabaret dancer. [...] 'Burlesque' in 'Lady of Burlesque' is tied not only to the display of women's bodies but also to community, solidarity and working-class pride. [...] The film is by no means a critique of burlesque culture [...], but as a backstage drama it does manage to put women's working conditions in some perspective. [...] The burlesque trope in 'All I Desire' [...] invokes a class difference between Naomi and the bourgeoisie of Riverdale. In their mix she can masquerade as one of them, but her truth is that she belongs outside, along with her vitality, her wisdom, and her ownership of the spectacle. [In both films,] Stanwyck herself was able to harness her burlesque background."  Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _, 2023 Images: Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still from "Lady of Burlesque", 1943, and in a film still from "All I Desire", 1953. #barbarastanwyck #ladyofburlesque #allidesire #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"I have tremendous respect for writers. If it ain't there on the page, it ain't gonna be up there. I'm not good enough to make junk great and I've done plenty of junk. It's got to be on the printed page. Both Billy [Wilder] and [Preston] Sturges had this marvelous quality of writing economically. One sentence, two sentences maybe, that's all, not half a page explaining to the audience what they already knew or what they already saw. I don't know what the hell is the matter with writers today. Half the time, you don't know where they're going and the other half, you don't want to know.  I go to the movies occasionally today. I loved 'Ordinary People'. It was so real and human. I liked parts of 'The Stunt Man', but frankly, a lot of it puzzled me, and I haven't the slightest desire to see 'Raging Bull'. God knows I'm no intellectual but I like to have some idea of what a picture is about, where it's going, or why it was made at all."  Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Image: A candid of Barbara Stanwyck taken at the 1978 Publicists Guild Awards.  #barbarastanwyck #writers #billywilder #prestonsturges #publicistsguildawards #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Leonard Maltin (film critic and historian): For a woman who played so many tough characters, Barbara Stanwyck was surprisingly shy and vulnerable. Her last public appearance was in April of 1987 when she received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Agreeing to go on that night in spite of crippling back pain, one year later she agreed to let me interview her for our ['Entertainment Tonight''s] tribute to Frank Capra. She had been taking cortisone for her back pain and her face was a bit puffy, so she didn't want to be photographed. We did get her on audio tape and I got to meet her. A remarkable and resilient woman who spoke with feeling about the man to whom she felt she owed her film career: BS: 'I was a newcomer to movies when I got the opportunity to work wth Frank Capra and I can honestly say that he taught me everything I know about acting in front of a camera. Now, I've always believed that honesty was the foundation of any good movie and that was part of Frank's moviemaking bible too.' LM: Sincerity. That was what set Barbara Stanwyck apart from the crowd in her dealings with people and in her approach to acting. [...] Stanwyck could do it all and, whatever part she tackled, she made you believe it. [...] That was her gift and her art." Source: "Barbara Stanwyck's Obituary 1/20/1990", 1990. (Available on Youtube.) Images: Barbara Stanwyck, Frank Capra and Adolphe Menjou on set of "Forbidden", 1932. #barbarastanwyck #frankcapra #adolphemenjou #forbidden #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid photo of Barbara Stanwyck taken at the wedding of Joan Benny, Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone's daughter, 1954. Sitting next to her, though not entirely visible in the picture, her close friend Nancy Sinatra Sr. I love Missy's introspective expression here.  #barbarastanwyck #joanbenny #jackbenny #marylivingstone #nancysinatrasr #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"When Barbara Stanwyck works, she absolutely never socializes. Possibly at the end of a work week she might ask a friend in to dinner or perhaps to go out to Chasen's. Renee Godfrey, the wife of one of Barbara's favorite directors, Peter Godfrey, often had dinner on Friday nights with Barbara. Her husband had been ill for years with Parkinson's disease. I don't know how Renee worked it, but I shall be forever grateful to her and to her memory (she died several years ago from cancer) because she managed to get me invited to Barbara's home 'After' dinner one Friday evening. And that was the start of what I hope will be a lifetime friendship.  I can hear Barbara saying now, as I came through the front door that night, 'I don't know what you're doing here. I never let press come into my house!' [...] Those closest to Barbara Stanwyck call her 'Missy.' Sometime during the evening of that first visit she asked me to call her Missy. Remembering that during our [first] interview [which had taken place the year before, in 1961,] she mentioned that she had worn for many years only one perfume, Tuvache's Jungle Gardenia, I bought a small bottle of it to give to her. I have since learned you can never give Barbara a gift without receiving one in return. That first night she disappeared from the room for about ten minutes, coming back carrying a cream-colored short evening dress on a monogrammed hanger. 'Here,' she said, handing me the dress, 'I'd like you to have this.' I was embarrassed and said I couldn't accept such an expensive present. 'It isn't second-hand,' she protested. 'I had it made for myself and haven't worn it yet. Please take it. I want you to have it.' It was given so much from the heart I couldn't refuse. As she took us to the door when it was time to leave, she laughed and said, 'Please send the hanger back. I can't afford to have new monogrammed hangers made!'" Source: Shirley Eder, _Not This Time, Cary Grant!_, 1973. Image: Barbara Stanwyck and Shirley Eder on set of "Roustabout", 1964. #barbarastanwyck #shirleyeder #roustabout #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"['Remember the Night''s] producer, Al Lewin, suddenly left the studio [Paramount Pictures]. [Mitchell] Leisen became the picture's producer and could do what he wanted with [Preston] Sturges's script. He shaped the script to fit Barbara's and Fred's personalities [...] and the story became more the girl's picture. [...] Leisen took Barbara into the projection room one day after shooting to look at the picture. It was still rough in spots, sitll minus the musical score. Barbara watched it all and said, 'God help me. After all these years. I'm turning into a first class ham.' [...] The Paramount publicity department came up with two stunts to help promote 'Remember the Night'. The first was to have Bob Taylor sue the studio because he didn't want Barbara doing a scene in a corset. The second was to have Barbara pose for photographs hugging a cow. 'I must be lousy in the picture if you can't sell it any other way,' said Barbara. The studio pressed her about the promotional ideas; she rejected them out of hand, saying simply, 'They're phony.'" Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Images: Barbara Stanwyck, Mitchell Leisen and Elizabeth Patterson on set of "Remember the Night", 1940. #barbarastanwyck #rememberthenight #mitchellleisen #prestonsturges #elizabethpatterson #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Q: Speaking of some of your older pictures, have you any idea of how popular 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers' has become in New York? It's constantly revived as one of the first examples of film noir, and 'The Furies' as the first Freudian Western. BS: No, I had no idea but I'm delighted to hear it because I loved them both. Out here, where the pictures were only made, we get nothing, not a one. You know what I particularly liked about 'The Furies'? Working with Walter Huston. I worshipped him. I remember, one day, he celebrated his 65th birthday on the set and I said to him, 'My God, isn't it wonderful to reach that age and still be active?' And, he said, 'Missy,' - everyone called me Missy in those days - 'age is only a number. Don't forget it.' And I've tried not to. Another day, we had a rather dangerous riding sequence to do together and they had the doubles standing by for us. I decided I wasn't going to use a double and would ride myself, and then Walter, who hadn't been too eager to do it, I think, said, 'I'm not going to let any broad show me' and he did the riding himself too. It was his last picture, you know. He was all set to do 'Mr. 880' when he died." Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Image: Walter Huston and Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "The Furies", 1950. #barbarastanwyck #walterhuston #thefuries #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Happy World Book Day, everyone! To celebrate this special day, I thought I would share some quotes which showcase Barbara Stanwyck's love of books and reading: "I love books and the possession of fine books is a genuine thrill. I should die a little without them." (Barbara Stanwyck, "This Is What I Believe," "Screenland," January 1945.) "I'm not a very social person. I don't like to go to parties or entertain, except a few close friends. I do love to read." (Barbara Stanwyck in Shirley Eder, _Not This Time, Cary Grant_, 1973. Interview conducted in 1961.) "Although I've been in pictures for a long time, I still keep track of everything that's going on. [...] I read about thirty books a month." (Barbara Stanwyck in Peter Crowcroft, "The Lady Shoots Straight from the Heart," "TV Radio Mirror," February 1966.) "I read everything I can get my hands on. Books on all subjects. Books about anything and everything that interests me." (Barbara Stanwyck in Nancy Anderson, "Barbara Stanwyck: Salute to the Flag," "Lady's Circle," June 1971.) "[Barbara] wasn't formally educated. [...] She went to PS-152 [primary school in Brooklyn] and that ended at eighth grade. She did not go to high school. [...] But she did something that was infinitely more interesting: she educated herself. She read and read voraciously and [...] she taught herself what to read and how to think. Coming from nothing." (Victoria Wilson in "Victoria Wilson interview with Foster Hirsch - Part 2," 2014. Available on Youtube.) Whether it be poring over some of your favourite volumes, purchasing some new titles to add to your collection, or simply spending some quiet time reading, I hope you derive much enjoyment from the company of books today!  Image: Barbara Stanwyck photographed while she was reading at home, 1952.  #barbarastanwyck #worldbookday #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Uncle Buck* on Barbara Stanwyck: "She has always been the neatest gal I ever knew. [...] She's up with the chickens, and in a crisp pinafore, if she isn't making a picture. [...] When she's got time on her hands, watch out. If you turn your head, your desk is cleared out and dumped in the ash can. I took a trip East one summer. When I came back, I didn't know my room. [...] It was cleaned out like a bank vault after a stick-up. 'I hope you don't mind, McCarthy,' said Barbara. 'I just got sick of looking at all that stuff.' [...]  One time during the war she cleaned out the kitchen, all the bills and things in the drawers. 'Nothing of any value,' she explained at dinner that night. I sneaked out for a look. The ration books - for everybody, family, servants and all - were gone, burnt up in the trash. 'Now what do we do?' I asked. 'Starve? Go barefoot?' 'Don't bother about that,' said Barbara airily. 'It's clean, isn't it?' But she was sorry, I could see. And she didn't clean up anything for about a week. I've never seen the Queen [Uncle Buck's nickname for Missy] trust any serious housework to anyone but herself. When a servant leaves at our house and a new one comes in, she's down on her hands and knees cleaning up the room so it's right. She's got a nephew, Gene, [...] she's very proud of, and I don't blame her. Barbara sent Gene through [the University of] Notre Dame and he graduated 'cum laude'. He went into the army a private and he came out a major. Some boy. Well, when Gene came out not long ago to California, Barbara not only found an apartment for him - but she cleaned the place up herself." *Uncle Buck lived in Missy's various homes from the early 1930s until his death in 1959. Over the years, they became very close friends. Missy never forgot Buck's kindness to her when she was a kid. A former vaudeville actor, he had also been a good friend to her beloved sister Millie. Buck helped Missy run her various households and looked after her son Dion. Source: "Uncle Buck" McCarthy, "Me and the Queen", "Modern Screen", August 1948. Image: Uncle Buck and Barbara Stanwyck, circa 1938. #barbarastanwyck #unclebuck #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Barbara Stanwyck has not made a feature film since 1964's 'The Night Walker', a minor thriller in which she co-starred with her former husband Robert Taylor. [The following year,] she commenced starring in a television series, 'The Big Valley', which ran four seasons. Her television appearances in the Seventies [in a few TV movies and in 'Toni's Boys', in 1980,] have been [...] hardly worthy of her talents.  She denies even today [in 1981], that she is retired - 'Maybe 'they' think so, but I don't. They've thought that before and they were wrong,' she says - and only this year, she turned down a starring role in 'Cannery Row' ('because I couldn't see where it was going,' she explains). [...] BS: [a little nervously] 'You know, I haven't given an interview in over ten years. Frankly, there hasn't been that much to say that wasn't said before.' BD: 'Then let me say you can't be more nervous than I am awed. I've loved you all of my life. My mother took me to all your pictures and I can still hear her strangled sobs as you paid and paid and paid for one forgotten indiscretion after another. It's funny, isn't it, that the stars you love when you're very young, you never stop loving.' BS: 'That's absolutely true. I still love the stars who were stars when I was young. I still, to this day, relish them.'" Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Image: Barbara Stanwyck arriving at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, March 23, 1986. #barbarastanwyck #thenightwalker #thebigvalley #canneryrow #beverlyhillshotel #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"In this era [the early 1970s], when so many pictures are made for shock value, it may seem strange to some that my favorite role is one that was founded on sentiment, and which audiences remember because of the great heart which the central character in 'Stella Dallas' showed. [...] It was a part which showed a woman moved primarily by unselfish motives. On the surface, she had to appear loud and flamboyant - with a touch of vulgarity. [...] Part of her tragedy was that while she recognized her shortcomings, she was unable to live up to the standards she so painstakingly set for herself. [...] There is a point in portraying surface vulgarity where tragedy and comedy are very close; that thin dividing line had to be watched carefully. The characterization I gave had to be clear so that all the facets of Stella - a great woman in spite of her jangling bracelets and bobbing plumes - were never confusing to the audience.  My favorite scene in the movie was the one where Stella Dallas stands by a rail outside a church as Laurel is being married to her well-born fiancé. I had to indicate to the audiences, through the emotions shown by my face, that for Stella joy ultimately triumphed over the heartache she felt. [...] There was a shining triumph in her eyes, as she saw the culmination of her dreams for her daughter. [...] I like to feel that she was a woman who cheated failure. One who eagerly payed the full measure for what she wanted from life.  Some people may consider such a theme and such a character sentimental. But I think one must distinguish between sentimentality and honest sentiment. [...] I still receive letters from fans seeing the film for the first time, [...] and their comments make me doubly proud of the fact that I played this once-in-a-lifetime role." Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_, 1985 [1974]. Images: Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "Stella Dallas" taken by Jerry Springer and in two stills from the film, 1937. The second photo also features Barbara O'Neil. #barbarastanwyck #stelladallas #barbaraoneil #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Q: I'd like to continue our conversation about young actors and their training. Where did you get your training? BS: Uh... Experience. Life. I didn't go to [drama] school [...]. I have nothing against them. Some of them are very good, but, uh, I think the best thing is to get out and do it, try to do it, anyhow. I've known a couple that went to school and it's sort of like a crutch. They just sort of hang on to that school.  Q: Or they like to go from one school to another. They're afraid of getting their feet wet. BS: I think so, yes. And I find fault with some schools, not all. They don't release them in time to find out whether or not they can or can't do what they are supposed to do.  Q: And, eventually, you've got to work with pros... BS: ... Oh yes, you do...  Q: ... and get up there and put yourself on the line. BS: And even if you're bad, you make mistakes, this is the way you learn." Source: "Portrait: Barbara Stanwyck", 1968. (Available on Youtube.)  Image: Barbara Stanwyck and William Eben Stephens rehearsing for "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" episode "Out of the Shadows", 1960.  #barbarastanwyck #thebarbarastanwyckshow #outoftheshadows #williamebenstephens #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Dear friends and followers, Wishing you all a happy Easter with this lovely candid of Barbara Stanwyck taken in Monte Carlo in 1947! Missy was vacationing in Europe at the time and I particularly love how relaxed she looks here.  I shall be taking a short break from posting but will be back with more on our beloved Missy and her work soon. In the meantime, I wish you all the very best and, if you are also on holiday, I hope you will enjoy it to the fullest! #barbarastanwyck #montecarlo #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Though Barbara isn't active with [...] any of the well-publicized, celebrity-supported, Hollywood-based charities, she has been devoted for years to two causes: the welfare of the American Indian [sic] and the welfare of the blind. She works as a volunteer with the Braille Institute in Los Angeles in a variety of capacities: supplying the voice for 'talking books,' records offered to the blind; entertaining children in her home; chauffering them and chaperoning them at swimming parties. 'If a volunteer doesn't have the right voice for the books,' she said, 'there are so many other things she can do. If she can drive, she can help, although the Greyhound bus people have been marvelous about helping with transportation. Last summer a swimming pool was opened for the children on Ventura Boulevard, which gives volunteers another chance to help. They can go right into the water with the boys and girls, although of course a professional lifeguard is always on duty.  No, I haven't been in the pool. But the day it was opened, I was there, and it was wonderful to see the children - of all colors, all blind, but touching each other, laughing, having a good time together. Because they couldn't see, they had no idea who was black, white or what; so they could all be friends. It's a shame that we can't all be as unaware of our differences as those children were.' [...] Barbara's concern for the plight of the Indian [sic] is long-standing and deep-seated. As one of her ways of expressing it, she has financed the education of several young Indians [sic], and she is continuing this project." Source: Nancy Anderson, "Barbara Stanwyck: Salute to the Flag," "Lady's Circle," June 1971. Image: Barbara Stanwyck at an event held by the Costume Designers Guild, 1969. #barbarastanwyck #philanthropy #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Q: [When you arrived in Hollywood, in 1929,] you made 'The Locked Door'? BS: Oh God, that nothing! I staggered through it. It was all one big mystery to me. George Fitzmaurice directed it and he had been used to working with all the beauties of the silents - Norma Talmadge, Vilma Banksy, Billie Dove - and he kept arranging all kinds of drapery and tapestries behind me, and finally he shook his head and screamed, 'Dammit, I can't make you beautiful no matter what I do. I put tapestries and draperies behind you and nothing helps.' So I said, 'They sent for me, I didn't send for them.'" Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Image: Barbara Stanwyck and Rod La Rocque in a film still from "The Locked Door", 1929. #barbarastanwyck #thelockeddoor #rodlarocque #georgefitzmaurice #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Ella Smith quotes Lewis Milestone on working with Barbara Stanwyck: "'She was very knowledgeable about all phases of film production. She would come on a new set and carefully study the placement of the camera, lights, etc. Then she would call the cameraman over and introduce him to the mysteries of her own favorite key light. She astonished everybody with her knowledge of lighting and her technical know-how in general. [...] Our main problem in 'Martha Ivers' was the ending. While fishing around for one, I thought of an actual incident in the life of the famous, or infamous, Owney Madden*, the King of Hell's Kitchen. It happened when he was a very young man. [...] One evening, as Owney came into his favorite saloon, [a] young hood confronted him with a gun. Madden stared at him for a full minute while everybody held his breath. 'You punk, you haven't got guts enough to pull that trigger. So I'll do it for you.' With that, Madden thrust his thumb through the trigger guard and pressed the trigger - and shot himself. But he had tipped the barrel of the gun aside just enough so the bullet didn't hit him in a fatal spot. This daring act of bravado saved his life. I asked Barbara if she could see herself doing a scene like that. She had known Owney Madden when she was a young chorus girl, and she was very enthusiastic about having such an ending. So we developed the scene, with Kirk Douglas trying to kill her, and she was delighted with it. [...]' [Milestone] calls her 'from A to Z, the greatest lady of the screen' and says: 'You ask what I got out of my association  with Barbara Stanwyck on 'Martha Ivers', in addition to a fine film. My answer is simply: Barbara's friendship.'"  *Owney Madden was a prominent gangster in New York during Prohibition. He ran the Cotton Club in Manhattan. Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_, 1985 [1974]. Images: (1-3) Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas in three stills from "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers"; (4) Barbara Stanwyck and Lewis Milestone on set of the film, 1946. #barbarastanwyck #lewismilestone #thestrangeloveofmarthaivers #kirkdouglas #owneymadden #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"In the latter part of her career, Stanwyck's voice became husky, rich, and very deep [...]. Even as a young woman, her voice was lower than that of many women, and it had a surprising strength and range. She had a melodic style of delivery, and she was able to move quickly from intimate, velvety tones to a loud and angry scolding voice, creating melodramatic turns of events that were aurally as well as visually moving. It is also true that her Brooklyn accent remained in many roles, even when it was least expected. [...] [For example, in 'The Miracle Woman',] although the film is based on the story of Aimee Semple McPherson, who preached in Los Angeles in the 1920s, Stanwyck's long vowels and missed r's are distinctively New York. In 1931 Stanwyck was hardly a familiar voice, but her opportunity to come to Hollywood was largely based on her limited Broadway experience at a time when the film industry badly needed actors who could speak. Particularly through the 1930s, her New York accent had important connotations of working-class toughness, which she exaggerated in films such as 'Baby Face', 'Ladies They Talk About', and 'Gambling Lady,' for characters who needed that extra edginess [...]." Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _, 2023. Image: Barbara Stanwyck in a still from "The Miracle Woman", 1931. #barbarastanwyck #voicemodulation #newyorkaccent #themiraclewoman #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"[After 'The Barbara Stanwyck Show' was cancelled], fortunately, a good screen role came her way and, as she has put it: 'It was a chance to go back to pictures and see what would happen.' Concerning 'Walk on the Wild Side', Stanwyck 'always felt it could have been a damn good picture but it just didn't work out.' The film's failure to be a huge success was in no way the fault of its actors. It seemed to be in the writing - or rather all of the rewriting that took place. Laurence Harvey told 'Variety' at the time that 'the original script was excellent and had the force of the book' [_A Walk on the Wild Side_ by Nelson Algren] but that the producer 'called in new writers' who watered it down. [...] In any event, Stanwyck's work doesn't suffer from any of this. As the madam of the 'Doll House', a high-class New Orleans bordello (She said at the time: 'Chalk up another first for Stanwyck!'), it is her job to see that anything that comes between her and one of her beautiful girls (Capucine) is removed swiftly and by whatever method necessary. There are a lot of things for Stanwyck to play here: attraction to the girl, aversion to a legless husband, impatience and frustration when she is crossed. She is a power figure: intelligent, capable, cruel, and - in less guarded moments - vulnerable. The role is a meaty one and Stanwyck makes it exciting. It brought her back to the screen in fine form." Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_, 1985 [1974]. Images: Barbara Stanwyck in two stills from "Walk on the Wild Side", 1962.  #barbarastanwyck #walkonthewildside #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Larry Kleno, Barbara Stanwyck's publicist and friend, on her personality: "She was a very shy individual. She was not comfortable around strangers; she always preferred to be around people that she knew. She loved the crews on the sets of her films and they loved her. She knew everybody by name. She felt comfortable with them. [...]  She was very shy and vey insecure, and yet she could go out on a soundstage and work it for all it was worth, and give the camera exactly what they needed. The little girl who danced to the music of the hurdy-gurdy never lost that childish quality. No matter what her age was, you always wanted to protect her and shield her." Source: "Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line", 1997. (Available on YouTube.) Image: Barbara Stanwyck and cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg on set of "B. F.'s Daughter", 1948. #barbarastanwyck #larrykleno #josephruttenberg #bfsdaughter #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Q: How about working with John Ford on 'The Plough and the Stars'? BS: Well, John Ford had brought over the entire Abbey Theatre Company from Ireland when he made 'The Informer'. Then he got the notion while they were still here to do [Sean] O'Casey's _The Plough and the Stars_ with them, and Preston Foster and I were signed to play the Clitheroes, the romantic couple. We had to assume a brogue too but being Irish, that was no problem for me, and I recall that the actual filming was quite pleasant. But when the picture was finished, the studio said it couldn't understand us and they wanted John to reshoot it. He refused and sailed off to some damn place on his yacht, and then an assistant director shot Preston and my scenes over Sundays because by that time, we were both on other pictures. The final result wasn't any good. I've always felt that John should not have left the sinking ship but should have stayed behind and fought for us. God knows I had no power at that time, nor did Preston. Only John could have saved it and he should have." Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Images: Barbara Stanwyck and Preston Foster in two publicity stills from "The Plough and the Stars", 1936. #barbarastanwyck #theploughandthestars #prestonfoster #johnford #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Amidst all the confusion of that morning [Barbara Stanwyck was moving], the phone rang. At a time like this, no call was welcome, but this was a call for me to appear on the Lux Theatre of the Air. My hectic schedule for the next few weeks drew only a moment's hesitation. Lux Theatre has priority on my loyalty. You see, there was a time when I earned the title of 'suspension queen' of Hollywood. One by one I had turned down scripts which I felt were not right for me. Naturally, with each refusal, the studio placed me on suspension. I had no backlog of savings. So, I had to earn money somehow while I wasn't being paid. Danny Danker, who before his death handled the Lux show, heard about my stubborn, self-inflicted plight. With the warmth of understanding which marked him, he told me not to worry, I was welcome in radio. I was cast time after time in the Lux shows. With those checks I was able to hold out until I was offered a role into which I could throw my wholehearted enthusiasm. So I had a Lux show to do. And piled on a table there were several scripts I had to read. Since the completion of 'Sorry, Wrong Number,' I've been reading scripts like mad - looking for my next picture. It's sort of like looking for a job." Source: Barbara Stanwyck, "Moving Day", "Photoplay", January 1949. Image: A candid of Barbara Stanwyck taken at the CBS Radio Playhouse on January 14, 1952. On that day, she starred in the Lux Radio Theatre broadcast of "Goodbye, My Fancy". #barbarastanwyck #luxradiotheatre #danieldanker #cbsradioplayhouse #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck and Jean Simmons photographed on set of "The Thorn Birds", 1983. #barbarastanwyck #jeansimmons #thethornbirds #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"The heavy moments that [Barbara] Stanwyck played in ['Crime of Passion'] were accompanied by some light ones on the set. Director Gerd Oswald says that, after Sterling Hayden had been decided upon for the male lead Stanwyck '... was in full agreement with the choice, but had one small reservation - namely, the way Sterling dresses. Even though she was well aware that a low-income Los Angeles detective would not wear tailor-made suits, Missy felt that Sterling should wear neat and well-fitting clothes - a stock-in-trade that he was not known for. Her reasoning was that a sophisticated San Francisco newspaper columnist wouldn't fall head over heels in love at first sight with a guy wearing ill-fitting, sloppy clothes. She asked me to talk Sterling into buying himself a couple of new suits for his role. I talked to him in diplomatic language and he got the message.  One day, while we were in the middle of production, Sterling's trousers got caught on some equipment - resulting in a large rip on one of the trouser legs. Missy, who witnessed the mishap, said drily: 'There goes Jack Clinton's best suit.' Sterling replied: 'JIM Clinton. I have an extra pair of trousers. I'll go change.' Needless to say the entire set broke up. However, the joke is only funny if you are familiar with the Clinton story. Jim Clinton, like Robert Hall and a few others, was a chain of men's clothing stores throughout Los Angeles. They offered bargain suits with two pairs of trousers for thirty-odd dollars in those days - hardly a clothier catering to movie stars. So Sterling kept his promise by buying a couple of new suits, but Missy's wish that he wore neat and well-fitting attire remained unfulfilled. Anyway, anyone connected with the making of 'Crime of Passion' had a ball.'" Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_ , 1985 [1974]. Image: Sterling Hayden and Barbara Stanwyck in a still from "Crime Passion", 1957.  #barbarastanwyck #crimeofpassion #sterlinghayden #gerdoswald #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Robert Stack on Barbara Stanwyck:  "Barbara couldn't stand unkindness. There used to be a kind of a coterie of directors who were mean to performers. This particular day, on 'California', there was a director [John Farrow] being mean to this one particular bit player who couldn't fight back and she said, 'Cut, hold it, wait a minute.' She said, 'You, you apologize to this actor. Get up on a parallel. I want you to apologize to him in front of the crew, everyone to hear it. Otherwise, I'm on the first train home.' And he did." Source: "Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line", 1997. (Available on YouTube.) Image: John Farrow and Barbara Stanwyck chatting on set of "California", 1947. #barbarastanwyck #johnfarrow #california #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid of Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster taken at the 15th American Cinema Editors Awards held at the Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles, 1965. #barbarastanwyck #burtlancaster #americancinemaeditorsawards #cocoanutgrove #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

In the following excerpt from a 1987 interview, Barbara Stanwyck commented on why she never went to the rushes: "'I'm always surprised I looked so well on the screen. [...] Some of the pictures I never saw, and I stopped going to rushes in the early '30s.' Stanwyck explained that she took the advice of director Frank Capra, her Hollywood mentor." Victoria Wilson notes that Barbara first went to watch the rushes on the second day of shooting "Ladies of Leisure": "She looked at herself on the screen and 'didn't see anybody else, I just looked at me. I don't know what the hell the other actors were doing, but I was fascinated with me. It was a dramatic scene. [...] I was sick. My gestures seemed abrupt. My hands looked awkward. And I pulled my mouth to one side when I talked fast.' 'The next day I waved my hands around in elaborate gestures and delivered my lines carefully.' She was 'absolutely gorgeous. There were no veins standing up, my hands were lovely and my mouth was just so.' Capra was quiet. He didn't make any comment. Finally, he asked Barbara if she'd been to see the rushes. 'Oh, yes. And I've corrected those faults -' 'Don't you ever look at yourself again. I forbid you right now to go in to see yourself. Only go later, when the thing is done. We're going to do this morning's work all over again.'" In 1987, Barbara would recall that "It was one of the tricks he taught me, not to go [to the rushes]. [...] Mr. Capra said, 'You never really look at yourself. You're always looking at the veins sticking out of your neck or how you hold your hands. So never look at yourself while you are working. Only go later, when the thing is done.' I was noticing the dainty things, the feminine things, and missing the larger picture. Capra had such patience with me!" Sources: Paul Rosenfield, "Saluting Stanwyck: A Life on Film", "Los Angeles Times", 1987, and  Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Images: (1) Ralph Graves and Barbara Stanwyck in a still from 'Ladies of Leisure', 1930, and (2) Frank Capra and Barbara Stanwyck on set of the film.

"In both Sirk films ['All I Desire' (1953) and 'There's Always Tomorrow' (1956)], Stanwyck conveys a deep pathos, but it is accompanied by wisdom. She does not fit into these bourgeois families on multiple levels, and that disjunction or slippage can also be read as a kind of asynchrony or a being out of time. In this sense, for twenty-first century cinephilic audiences who appreciate Sirk's formalism and social critique, Stanwyck's characters are with us, or provide an effective point of entry to the repressive [...] families of the 1950s, imprisoned in their mausoleum-like homes." Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _, 2023. Image: Barbara Stanwyck in a still from "There's Always Tomorrow", 1956. #barbarastanwyck #theresalwaystomorrow #allidesire #douglassirk #1950s #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid of Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck taken as they were entering the Grauman's Chinese Theatre to attend the preview of "This Is My Affair", 1937. #barbarastanwyck #roberttaylor #graumanschinesetheatre #thisismyaffair #preview #candid #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Yesterday was the second anniversary of this account. I do not usually talk about myself for obvious reasons - this account is about Barbara Stanwyck, not about me. However, I do want to mention today that, for some time now, I have been reflecting on the importance of gratitude as an attitude and as a practice. Reading Missy's own words, and what other people had to say about her, reveals that appreciation of others and of the positive aspects of her life was a hallmark of her character. This remains one of the fundamental reasons why I admire her so much. As luck would have it, a couple of months ago I read Shirley Eder's _Not This Time, Cary Grant!_, which I had acquired because I had learned it contained sections on Missy. Towards the end of the book, Eder includes a fragment of a conversation with Missy. She writes: "some of the things she said are now permanently edged in my memory. 'I cannot recall, Shirley,' she said, 'ever hearing anyone say to me as a child, 'I love you!' [...] I tell you this', she continued, 'only to make you aware of how fortunate you are to have been surrounded by so much love all of your life. [...] But I'm grateful for what I do have. Every night before I go to sleep I thank God for what he has given me. When I awake each morning I again thank God for being here this day.'" Whether it be from a stance of faith in a higher being, or from a lay perspective, I think these words hold a depth of wisdom which make them unforgettable. Today, I would like to express my appreciation for Missy who is a source of solace and strength for me. I am grateful that life affords me the opportunity of paying tribute to her in this small corner of the digital world. And, I am thankful for all of you: those who follow silently, those who like my posts, those who generously reveal themselves in the comments and those who have shared so much with a stranger on the internet. I feel so fortunate! Source for quote: Shirley Eder, _Not This Time, Cary Grant!_, 1973. Image:  Barbara Stanwyck poses at home in 1968. Photo by John Engstead.  #barbarastanwyck #secondanniversary #shirleyeder #johnengstead #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Laura Dern on Barbara Stanwyck's performance in "Double Indemnity": "When you watch 'Double Indemnity', somewhere your morals as an audience get completely mixed up, and she's plotting to take out a life insurance on her soon-to-be murdered husband... You're worried for her, you're worried she'll be found out. You're feeling both protective of and horrified by her. There's that tracking shot through the shop of her and Fred MacMurray and she takes my breath away. She was drop-dead gorgeous and, in that role, evil. It's terribly confusing thanks to how seamless she is at manipulating US. Even we, the viewers, are the victims in 'Double Indemnity'." Source: "Laura Dern on Barbara Stanwyck", 2012. (Available on Youtube.) Image: Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in a still from "Double Indemnity", 1944. #barbarastanwyck #lauradern #doubleindemnity #fredmacmurray #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck in a beautiful publicity still for "B.F.'s Daughter", 1948. #barbarastanwyck #bfsdaughter #publicitystill #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Ella Smith describes Barbara Stanwyck's induction into the Hall of Fame of Great Western Performers in the National Cowboy Hall of Fame:  "Each year, Wrangler awards (statuettes of a cowboy on a horse, copied from a Charles Russell sculpture) are given to actors, writers, musicians, etc., whose work has contributed to maintaining the heritage of the West. [In 1973,] the 13th annual presentation of the awards took place at twilight, with candlelight adding to the beauty of a black-tie dinner. The last artist to be honored was Stanwyck, whose introduction began with a showing of clips from her Western films and from 'The Big Valley'. As she later described the footage: 'It started out in the forties when I was young and it went bang - bang - bang - very fast, with still photos and a man narrating. Then it moved into the film clips. Whoever edited this did a sensational job because, when they started showing the stunts, it looked as if I was breaking [...] my neck. The people oohed and aahed. It was quite stirring.' Stanwyck mounted the platform to a standing ovation and was presented with her award by Joel McCrea, president of the Center's board of directors. Struck by the dignity of the ceremony, she commented later on the sincerity and warmth that prevailed - and said the evening would remain in her memory as one of the finest of her life." In a 1981 interview, Missy recalled that "the only time I got an award where I wasn't nervous was when I got the National Cowboy Hall of Fame Award. Joel McCrea, who's head of it, called me up and told me about it and I took off to Oklahoma, stood in front of all those millionaires and I wasn't nervous at all. But that's the only time." Sources: Ella Smith _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_ 1985 [1974] and Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks", "Film Comment", March-April 1981. Images: Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea at the abovementioned ceremony, 1973.  #barbarastanwyck #joelmccrea #nationalcowboyhalloffame #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Anytime Barbara had a big emotional scene, she needed to be left alone. 'I'm building it up from scratch,' she said. 'By then, that's not me. I'm somebody else. I'm within somebody else's body and mind and I don't want to be pulled out again." Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Image: Barbara Stanwyck revising the script on set of "His Brother's Wife", 1936. #barbarastanwyck #actingtechnique #rolepreparation #emotionalscenes #hisbrotherswife #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck and June Allyson photographed on set of "Executive Suite", 1954. #barbarastanwyck #juneallyson #executivesuite #oldhollywoodactresses  #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Miss Stanwyck is probably unique to the Hollywood image in that she is both an actress and a totally forthright  woman. [...] She is honest about everything, even about herself, which is more than can be said of most people - in or out of show business. So, she talked frankly about her present life and future prospects. 'I really don't know why you wanted to talk with me,' she said, 'because I'm not doing anything. Everything as far as work is so 'iffy' right now. I'm not the kind to say I'm being offered script after script which I just don't want to do. Some of my friends make that claim. But the honest ones will tell you they are not getting that many offers. There's not that much activity.'  'Sure, I am offered work.' Barbara named several highly-touted television shows which have sought her as a guest star. 'But,' she continued, 'not many great movie roles are coming along. Yes, I'm talking with someone about another television series, a lawyer thing, but she has to get it written. You know it takes a long time and a lot of work to put a television show on the air.' 'When 'The Big Valley' went on, some critics accused us of copying 'Bonanza.' But 'The Big Valley' was in the works before 'Bonanza' was heard of. A writer had prepared a treatise almost 200 pages long, presenting the idea for the show and the characters, the woman ranch owner and her sons.' 'At that time though, women on TV were going out of style. My anthology ['The Barbara Stanwyck Show'], which wasn't such a hit anyway, Loretta's, Dinah's, The Ann Sothern Show - they had all disappeared. So nobody was interested in another series starring a woman. We sat on the idea two years before we brought it out again and finally found producers.'" Source: Nancy Anderson, "Barbara Stanwyck: Salute to the Flag," "Lady's Circle," June 1971. Image: Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "The Big Valley", 1967. #barbarastanwyck #television #thebarbarastanwyckshow #thebigvalley #publicitystill #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Hollywood film industry biographer Bob Thomas on Barbara Stanwyck:  "Well, Barbara was rare in Hollywood. She was not a personality star. Most of the major stars, they pretty much projected their own persona. Barbara was not like that. She didn't wanna reveal herself. At any rate, she could adopt any role: she could play mothers in tragedies, she could play wild, mad-cap comedies, she could play adventures, she loved Westerns, and that was probably why she was never a huge box office star. She was a freelance actress most of her time, and she made good salaries, but she never made the popularity charts. I don't think that bothered her at all. She just wanted to be a working actress." Source: "Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line", 1997. (Available on YouTube.) Image: Robert Cummings and Barbara Stanwyck rehearsing on set of "The Bride Wore Boots", 1946. #barbarastanwyck #robertcummings #thebrideworeboots #freelanceactress #workingactress #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck and Dorothy "Dot" Ponedel, who was Missy's make-up artist during production of "Remember the Night", 1939. Ponedel subsequently went uncredited. #barbarastanwyck #dotponedel #makeupartist #rememberthenight #oldhollywoodactress  #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"'Witness to Murder' calls for plenty of endurance on the part of its star. Stanwyck's observation of a murder committed by George Sanders prompts her to notify police. By the time they arrive, he has covered all the clues, and they decide she was mistaken. She spends the rest of the film in a tight spot because Sanders now has reason to kill her. She tries to prove he is guilty; he tries to convince the police she is a mental case. This lands her in a psychiatric ward for observation, puts doubts in her own mind, and leads to the confrontation with Sanders which she had predicted. Mentally, she is driven almost to distraction. Her fears - and her attempts to rationalize her way out of them - call for some highly seasoned acting, which they get. When, for instance, she is subjected to the questions of a psychiatrist with an impersonal and even insulting approach, she balances the character's doubts in herself with an awareness of what she must do to convince him of her sanity - showing that she understands him far better than he understands her (and showing how many facets of character Stanwyck can convey at one time). Physically, she is chased through streets and up a skeleton skyscraper into the film's cliff-hanging climax - where pursuit by Sanders causes her to fall off the roof and onto a platform that gives way just as she is pulled to safety." Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_ ,1985 [1974]. Images: Set of stills from "Witness to Murder" and a photo taken on set of the film, 1954.  #barbarastanwyck #witnesstomurder #georgesanders #garymerrill #filmnoir #performance #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"When Barbara isn't working, she follows no specific pattern to fill her days.  'But the days get by,' she said. 'I don't garden or paint or work needlepoint. I'm not doing much to further civilization. However, I read everything I can get my hands on. Books on all subjects. Books about anything and everything that interests me.' 'A friend of mine asked me the other day what I was reading, and I said, 'A book about Mary, Queen of Scots.' She asked, 'Don't you ever read about anybody else? You are always reading about her.'' 'Well, that's true. Mary fascinates me, so I'm interested in the ways various writers treat her. I've just finished reading 'King in Hell,' a novel about the Earth of Bothwell, who was Mary's third husband.' 'I think he was a very dashing and romantic man, the kind that a young Errol Flynn could have played on the screen.'" Source: Nancy Anderson, "Barbara Stanwyck: Salute to the Flag," "Lady's Circle," June 1971. Images: Barbara Stanwyck photographed beside some of her bookshelves and settling down to read at home, 1946. One of the books she is holding in the left-hand picture is _The Ghost and Mrs. Muir_ by Alice Denham. #barbarastanwyck #reader #books #maryqueenofscots #theghostandmrsmuir #home #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Herbert Marshall and Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "Breakfast for Two", 1937. #barbarastanwyck #herbertmarshall #breakfastfortwo #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Shirley Eder on visiting New York with Barbara Stanwyck: "Barbara, who hadn't been to New York in some twelve years, in 1965 went with my husband and me for some ten days of shopping, theatregoing and just walking through the Central Park Zoo (one of her favorite places in the world). [...] The first show we saw was "Golden Boy" starring Sammy Davis Jr. As we walked down the theatre aisle to our seats fifteen minutes before the curtain was to go up (Barbara never comes late to the theatre), you could hear the hum of voices growing louder and louder. [...] Pretty soon, we heard the hum turn into the name 'Barbara Stanwyck.'  Barbara sat rigidly in her seat, not knowing what to do. For some reason she seemed shocked by so much attention. [...] Then at intermission, [...] one by one, group by group, everyone in the theatre stood up together. Suddenly the entire theatre began to applaud her. Barbara was visibly moved by this demonstration. It was raining that night, so during the intermission she stood in the inside lobby signing autographs and shaking hands. Just when we were to return to our seats, a group of rain-bedraggled young fans pushed their way into the lobby handing her a bouquet of roses, which they had obviously run out to buy somewhere on Broadway. These young people were not ticketed members of the audience. I watched Barbara when they handed her the flowers. Tears rolled down her cheeks. As we walked back to our seats she whispered, 'You know, I didn't think the young people really cared.' Then she laughed and said, 'Maybe it pays to stay away such a long time. I better not show up in New York City for another twelve years.' When the curtain came down, an emissary, sent by Sammy Davis Jr., asked f Miss Stanwyck would come backstage. When we walked through the stage door, [...] the entire cast of 'Golden Boy' stood in a line on the stage and applauded. I've been backstage with many stars, but never before heard this kind of applause from an assembled cast." Source: Shirley Eder, _Not This Time, Cary Grant!_, 1973. Images: Barbara Stanwyck photographed in Central Park during the trip to New York referenced in the caption, 1965.

Charlton Heston on Barbara Stanwyck:  "She was one of a very small group of women who became stars by being strong women. She was one of the very few tough women who came across sympathetically, and with whom the audience could identify." Source: "Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line", 1997. (Available on YouTube.) Image: Barbara Stanwyck and Charlton Heston in a still from "The Colbys", 1985. #barbarastanwyck #charltonheston #strength #toughness #womanhood #thecolbys #television #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid of Barbara Stanwyck taken during a promotional interview for the film "To Please a Lady" conducted in Indianapolis, 1950. Photo by Larry Foster. #barbarastanwyck #larryfoster #topleasealady #candid #promotionalinterview #indianapolis #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"[William] Wellman was crazy about her [Barbara Stanwyck], and he didn't like too many actresses. She was lusty, bantered about, was full of wit. She played tennis, went to the fights, didn't gossip, and took trouble on the chin. She minded her own business, smoked with an unaffected pleasure thought of as masculine [...]. Neither Wellman nor Barbara were interested in the social world of Hollywood, nor were they engaged in the political games of the town. She admired Wellman. Both stood apart from Hollywood society.  Barbara didn't like the showiness of picture stars. 'I wouldn't wear an ermine coat to a Hollywood opening if I was offered the coat and a thousand dollar bonus,' she said. 'All of the ermine coats the furriers had in stock were rented to movie people for the [recent] opening of 'Grand Hotel'. Imagine putting on a show like that just to let people think you're more prosperous than you are. Not for me.' Wellman saw Barbara as intelligent, resourceful, tough: 'a magnificent actress.'  'Wild Bill' was one of Barbara's 'best-beloved' people. He studied his script hard, prepared for his day's work, and always did his best. His work was sure and fast. Wellman took chances. He would try anything that made sense to him regardless of whether it made sense to anyone else." Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Image: Barbara Stanwyck and William Wellman on set of "Lady of Burlesque" (1943). #barbarastanwyck #williamwellman #ladyofburlesque #personality #professionalism #nightnurse #sobig #thepurchaseprice #thegreatmanslady #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Barbara loved to go to the pictures. She was mostly interested in 'their technical side,' figuring out camera angles. 'How the lights were placed to get a certain effect on this or that player's face,' she said. 'It isn't what's going to happen, but HOW it's going to happen. You instinctively know the what of the situation but the how of presenting it becomes of terrific importance.'" Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Image: Barbara Stanwyck on set of "Union Pacific" (1939). #barbarastanwyck #perspective #cinephile #unionpacific #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Dear friends and followers, Wishing you a joyful Christmas break with these two lovely seasonal photos of Barbara Stanwyck taken in the mid-1960s. Whether you celebrate the holiday festivitites or not, I hope these will be days of peace, serenity and harmony for all of you.  I shall be taking a short break from posting, but will be back with more on our beloved Missy in 2024, that is, very soon! In the meantime, my gratitude goes out to all of you for being here throughout 2023.  May the New Year bring you all you desire! #barbarastanwyck #merrychristmas #happynewyear #happy2024 #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"'I'm freelancing now, you know,' she [Barbara Stanwyck] said. 'And, I'd made a couple of films for MGM [...] - 'B. F.'s Daughter' two years ago and 'East Side, West Side' last year. It was while I was doing that that Clark came and asked me if I'd like to play in 'To Please a Lady.' They'd just bought the story for him and he has the right to choose his leading woman. So I was it.' 'Had you ever worked with him before?'  Barbara laughed. 'Yes. Once. So long ago that we spent weeks trying to figure out just when it was. The picture was called 'Night Nurse' and was made - we THINK - eighteen years ago at Warners. Ben Lyon and I were the heap big stars, and a guy named Gable, who had done a couple of Westerns for Universal as his sole contribution to the industry, was doing a bit. He was a heavy, a very HEAVY heavy, as a chauffeur. He hardly opened his mouth.'  'I'll never forget one thing about that production,' Barbara said. '[...] Our dandy little opus hit Broadway the first day billed as Ben Lyon and Barbara Stanwyck in 'Night Nurse'. The second day it was Ben Lyon, Barbara Stanwyck and Clark Gable in 'Night Nurse'. And the fourth day all you could see were black letters three feet high which simply said 'Clark Gable!' and left poor Ben and me out completely.' Such things would bother the usual movie gal to her foundations. Stanwyck, however, is not the usual movie gal. She thinks they are funny. She looks on them not as a threat to herself but objectively. She realizes that there is room for more than one big-shot in the picture business and that it's pretty stupid to think otherwise." Source: Kate Holliday, "Sidelights on Stanwyck," "Screenland," November 1950. Images: Barbara Stanwyck and Clark Gable in a publicity still for "To Please a Lady" (1950) and in a film still from "Night Nurse" (1931). #barbarastanwyck #clarkgable #topleasealady #nightnurse #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactors #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Stanwyck isn’t Norma Desmond (the faded star in Wilder’s 'Sunset Boulevard'). She isn’t a dweller on past decades. Yet the notion amuses her. 'I see things,' she said smiling. 'I have instincts. Many times before somebody says something, I know what they’ll say. A couple of times people said, 'You are weird,' so I don’t do it anymore. Nancy Sinatra (Sr.) says, 'You’ve been here before,' and who knows? Other people say senility is setting in.'" Source: Paul Rosenfield, "Saluting Stanwyck: A Life on Film," "Los Angeles Times," 1987. Image: A candid shot of Nancy Sinatra Sr. and Barbara Stanwyck taken in the late 1970s. #barbarastanwyck #instinct #personality #ageing #nancysinatrasr #candid #candidshot #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck and her nephew, Brian Stanwyck Stevens, photographed on Christmas day, 1955.  Brian's father, Byron Stevens, was Missy's older brother and named his son Brian Stanwyck following her wishes. Byron worked as an extra in more than a hundred movies over the course of thirty years under the professional name Bert Stevens, but mostly remained uncredited.  The inscriptions on the photograph, which was probably taken at Byron's family home, read "Aunt Barbara and Brian" and "Christmas 1955". #barbarastanwyck #brianstevens #byronstevens #bertstevens #christmas  #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Barbara and Bob went to a preview of "Stella Dallas" at the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre. Uncle Buck* joined them. [...] Barbara was shy of people and did not want to be recognized. She turned up the collar of her plaid jacket and pulled down her hat to cover her eyes. A crowd of two thousand fans waited. By the time Bob got to the theater, a mob of women surged towards him. [...] Barbara held on to Bob's coattails as he made his way through the jam.  One of the cops saw a woman pulling on Taylor's coat and said, 'Oh, no you don't. None of that stuff.' The six-foot cop grabbed Barbara and pulled her away, shoved her through the doors and out onto the street. She tried to pull away from the cop's grip, but he held on, roughing her up. [...] Bob pushed his way back through the crowd to Barbara who was weeping and disheveled and trying to free herself from the cop's hold. [...] After the preview, a doctor treated Barbara for bruises on her arms and shoulders. [...] Later, Buck said to her, 'Are you crazy? Why didn't you tell him who you were?' 'Well, who am I?' she said. Barbara was terrified of crowds and felt suffocated in them. The incident only intensified her fears. [...] After the skirmish at the "Stella Dallas" preview, Barbara realized it was part of her job to dress more dramatically for public appearances and talked with Edith Head [...] about designing wardrobe for her. Barbara felt her clothes were neat and of good material. Edith thought they were 'too stern, too grim [...]. Your clothes can be simple and tailored, but they can be feminine too.' Edith set about designing suits for Barbara without their having a suggestion of menswear." *Uncle Buck was a former vaudeville actor whom Missy had first met in New York through her elder sister Millie. Over the years, he became a close and trusted friend who helped Missy run her household. He lived in her various homes from the early 1930s until his death in 1959.  Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Images: Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "Stella Dallas" (left) and with Robert Taylor at the premiere of the film in New York (right), 1937.

"Brooklyn-born and shanty Irish (by her own proud admission), Stanwyck reportedly has only incurred a directorial rebuke for a a bad scene. During the making of Meet John Doe, Frank Capra complained that she was letter-perfect in reading a page-long speech which he had wanted her to read stumblingly. As a solution, he rewrote the speech on the set and gave her two minutes to study it. This time, but with obvious effort, she managed a stumble or two." Source: Frank S. Nugent, "Stanwyck," "Collier's," July 12, 1952. Image: Barbara Stanwyck chats with scriptwriter Robert Riskin and Frank Capra on set of "Meet John Doe" (1941). #barbarastanwyck #meetjohndoe #robertriskin #frankcapra #speech #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

An elegant portrait of Barbara Stanwyck taken by John Engstead in 1968.  #barbarastanwyck #johnengstead #portrait #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Linda Evans gives her point of view on why Barbara Stanwyck was a groundbreaking woman: "LE: I think that she was a groundbreaking woman. I mean, I think she never fit in any category. She did pretty much anything that she wanted to do and I think that was what was great about her. She was not hindered by anything, by anything.  You know, she used to tease me during the show ["The Big Valley"] because Nolan Miller used to design the clothes for us and I have big shoulders, and everything then was supposed to be little shoulders and they would have to cut everything very small. And they had a very small budget for me because I wasn't a star at the time and she was, so Nolan would make her all these gowns. And she got upset cause they had a limited budget for me. So, one day she went to the producer and she said, 'I want Audra to have more clothes.' And he said, 'Well, we don't have the money for that.' So she called Nolan Miller over and she said, 'Take several of my outfits and have them remade for her.' And, you know (laughs), she was this big (joins her hands to signify small) and I was this big (opens her arms wide), so he had to do a lot of remaking. But she got me new clothes from her clothes. It was almost as if she thought of me as her daughter. Audra was her daughter and my mom died during 'Big Valley'. And she came up to me one day on the set and she said, 'Audra, I know no one will ever replace your mom, but I'll be your mom from now on.' And she was there for me.  Q: And you guys kept that relationship going? LE: Kept that relationship going." Source: "Linda Evans: The Complete 'Pioneers of Television' Interview." (Available on Youtube.) Images:  (1) Barbara Stanwyck poses with Linda Evans at a promotional dinner party for "The Colbys", 1985. (2) Barbara Stanwyck photographed with Nolan Miller at that same event.  #barbarastanwyck #lindaevans #nolanmiller #groundbreaking #friendship #thebigvalley #thecolbys #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"She [Barbara Stanwyck] was a team player, who rarely - if ever - challenged her directors. Her approach to filmmaking was entirely collaborative, especially when it came to fellow actors; the technical crews; and the costume, hair, and makeup personnel, who she knew played crucial roles on any production." Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _, 2023. Image: Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks, director Peter Godfrey and members of the film crew photographed on set of "Cry Wolf" (1947). #barbarastanwyck #geraldinebrooks #petergodfrey #crew #crywolf #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid shot of producer Ross Hunter, Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck taken at a promotional party for "The Night Walker", 1964. #barbarastanwyck #rosshunter #roberttaylor #thenightwalker #candid #candidshot #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"While I was cleaning out my desk [...], I took out the little New Testament I keep there. I'm not a hoarder, but a few things have moved with me through a lot of years and I wouldn't part with them for anything. Holding this Testament, I remembered the Dutch Reformed Church in Brooklyn, where I presented myself for baptism at the age of eleven. It was such a quiet little place and the pastor, Revend George Carter, was so kind.  [...] In the back of the Testament is an old report card. I used to sign mine myself and envy the kids who had parents to sign theirs. Today, I thought of all the times I have been asked for autographs and laughed about how I had to sneak some of those early signatures. I thought of Public School 152 - a place I hated except for a lovely teacher, Miss Phair. She was wise and gentle, understanding and patient with a dumb kid named Ruby, who lived in a fantasy world, self-created. Who defensively jeered at all that Miss Phair tried to teach her. Today I thought of how right she'd been when she warned me in her soft, undemanding voice, 'Life will deal you an awful blow, Ruby, unless you come down out of the clouds.' I wish I could tell her how, all these long years later, I remember her and her help and how, in some of the tough spots, I found I had heard what she said when it seemed I wasn't listening." Source: Barbara Stanwyck, "Moving Day," "Photoplay," January 1949. Image: A candid of Barbara Stanwyck taken by a fan, circa 1937. #barbarastanwyck #biography #recollections #memories #education #candid #candidshot #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck comments on her favourite scripts and on working with Howard Hawks: "BS: [..] The most perfect script, bar none, I ever read was Billy Wilder and Charlie Brackett's for 'Double Indemnity'. [The screenplay, which was an adaptation of James M. Cain's homonymous novel also greatly admired by Missy, was actually co-written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler.] Of course, that film is one of my great favorites, and I also loved Billy and Charlie's script for 'Ball of Fire'. Again, that perfection! I only wish Billy had directed it himself! Q: Didn't you get along with Howard Hawks? BS: Oh, I got along with him. I just found him cold. I have a raucous laugh ad when Howard would hear it, he'd turn around and frown at me. But he certainly knew how to put a picture together. Still, I didn't find making 'Ball of Fire' a joy. Thank God for Billy and Charlie's script." Source: Bernard Drew, "Stanwyck Speaks," "Film Comment," March-April 1981. Images: (1-2) Barbara Stanwyck and Billy Wilder on set of "Double Indemnity" (1944). (3-4) Barbara Stanwyck and Howard Hawks on set of "Ball of Fire" (1941). In the third picture, they are joined by Samuel Goldwyn. #barbarastanwyck #billywilder #charliebrackett #raymondchandler #doubleindemnity #balloffire #script #howardhawks #samuelgoldwyn #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck admiring a ceramic tile map of Venice during her trip to the city, 1950. #barbarastanwyck #map #venice #trip #candid #candidshot  #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"On the set [of "Ever in My Heart"], those who watched Barbara work and who worked with her - the property men, grips, electricians, cameramen, and others - confided in her, trusted her. To the crew Barbara was unassuming, hardworking, generous. She walked into the makeup department one day and saw the makeup women putting bottles of milk in the watercooler. The next day, a Frigidaire arrived. The package was marked, 'For the make-up girls to keep their milk cool for lunch-time.' The card was unsigned. On one Saturday when the company was working until daylight on night sequences, the prop boy came back drunk from midnight dinner. Barbara knew he would be fired if he was found in that condition and sent him on an errand at the far end of the lot. When he returned, he was still drunk. She sent him back on another pretext. This time he returned sober.  The script girl on the picture, Virginia Moore, was someone Barbara had worked with seven years before in the chorus of the Shubert's 'Gay Paree' and hadn't seen since. [...] She allowed their friendship to resume as if it had never been interrupted.  One of the electricians talked to Barbara about wanting to adopt a child. She quietly watched to see if he and his wife would make good parents; she decided they would and wrote a letter of recommendation on his behalf, helping him with the adoption. Barbara demanded perfection of her work, but she was often sentimental about others." Source: Victoria Wilson, _A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True, 1907-1940_, 2013. Image: Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "Ever in My Heart" (1933). #barbarastanwyck #everinmyheart #crews #generosity #egalitarianism #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"After years of talking about - and searching for - a vehicle for Miss Stanwyck, my Dad [Lou Edelman] and NBC came up with the idea for the anthology series, "The Barbara Stanwyck Show." It had the best writers, directors and co-stars available at the time. Everyone wanted to work with 'Miss' Barbara Stanwyck. The show was a critical success and Miss Stanwyck won her first Emmy Award. While getting up to receive this award, it became evident that Missy's lace dress had caught on my father's cufflink. My father somehow detached her train so she could proceed to the stage and accept her award! [...] I can only imagine Missy's laughter and language when she got back to her seat! From where I was sitting, I could see but not actually hear - but have no doubt I am right! Unfortunately, though, NBC cancelled this wonderful show." Should you be interested to watch this moment and Missy's acceptance speech, the video is available on YouTube. Source: Kate Edelman Johnson, "Missy and Me: Memories from Kate Edelman Johnson" in "The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Volume 2" DVD booklet. Images: (1) Barbara Stanwyck poses with the "Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role in a Series" Emmy Award which she was granted for her work in "The Barbara Stanwyck Show", 1961. (2) Missy's publicist, Helen Ferguson, tries to mend her dress while Raymond Burr looks on.  #barbarastanwyck #thebarbarastanwyckshow #louedelman #emmyaward #helenferguson #raymondburr #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A candid shot of Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck taken at a boxing match in Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, 1939. Judging by the look on her face, it must have been riveting!  The original caption reads: "Film stars Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck are pictured as they appeared at the heavyweight bout between Champion Joe Louis and title contender Jack Roper, won by the former in 2 minutes, 20 seconds of the first round. The fight, held at Wrigley Field, attracted 25,000. Third man in the ring was George Blake." #barbarastanwyck #roberttaylor #wrigleyfield #boxingmatch #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Ella Smith quotes Stan Margulies, producer of "The Thorn Birds": "And then came the big blowup. [...] The script we had given Missy had not been timed, and when we got around to timing it, we saw that it needed cuts. So I worked on them with the writer and director, and sent the new pages out. This was about a week before we were to start filming. The phone rang and my secretary said, 'Miss Stanwyck is calling.' I said, 'Good morning, Missy' and she said, 'This isn't going to be a nice phone call, so there's no point in wasting any time. Stan, I think you have just cut off my balls.' And that was the beginning. That was the NICE part. THEN she got angry. What I had failed to take into account, simply because she doesn't work like the modern star - and I should have known, because I had worked with Henry Fonda who was the same way - was that the day she'd decided to do the script, she had started working on it and had already marked how each scene fitted with the others, what her progress as a character was, and what she wanted to do with it. I had taken some of the building blocks away from her. I defended my position as best I could, and she replied: 'I'm not going to quit, because I don't quit. I said I would do the part; I will do the part. You have made it much more difficult for me. I never hang up on anyone. I want you to know I'm about to end this conversation.' And she banged down the phone.  It was fairly cool between us for a while. [...] Finally, as she began getting into the rhythm of the picture, we resumed our good relationship [...]. The lovely thing about Missy is that she does have a mind of her own. You never have to wonder what she thinks about anything or where she stands. [...] We did have our differences, but they could always be resolved because we were each talking from specific points, and because the good of the picture was always what was important, not her ego." Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_. Image: Barbara Stanwyck as Mary Carson in a still from "The Thorn Birds". #barbarastanwyck #stanmargulies #thethornbirds #marycarson #personality #oldhollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"The 1950s were a challenging decade for women actors of Stanwyck's generation. Fewer and fewer good roles were available to women and [...] their salaries lost parity with men of their age. Stanwyck managed to keep steady work in movies until 1957 partly because of her experience as a freelancer, which became a necessity as the studio system gradually ended its contractual relations with actors. Audience demographics shifted to a younger male audience, and studios responded with stories featuring older men and new young women, along with younger men. [...] Not only did Stanwyck continue working in Hollywood, but by the end of the decade she was a milionaire, whereas many of her colleagues had fallen on hard times." Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _. Image: Portrait of Barbara Stanwyck taken by John Engstead, 1954. #barbarastanwyck #1950s #studiosystem #freelance #cinemahistory #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Walter Brennan and Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "Banjo on My Knee" (1936). #barbarastanwyck #walterbrennan #banjoonmyknee #publicitystill #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"The great bulk of Barbara's mail, understandably, requests a photograph or an autograph, or expresses approval of some theme or scene in 'The Big Valley'. Occasionally, however, a thoughtful letter with a different approach emerges from the ordinary. A recent such one stated, 'I'm just past 40, and worrying about it. There are so many things I still want, and want to do. I suppose I should be complacent, with my children nearly raised, but I feel that my years are my enemies. I fight them; I resent them. Yet sometimes I feel I've missed the point of passing time. I should be able to develop an outlook that would give me comfort and courage.' A letter of that sort inspires Barbara to sit up straight and take a deep breath. Her blue eyes kindle and warmth comes into her sudden smile. She has something to say on the subject, and as usual she is glib and articulate without being superficial. It is typical of her that she doesn't even mention the physical changes that the passing of the years bring. [...] She speaks instead of  what she considers more important things. She says, 'Yes, my friend, you are missing a point. Your years are your best friends. They give you experience, and experience is not only a great teacher, but a fine bricklayer. It builds a wall thick enough to blunt most pain, and high enough to keep out vaulting hopes. It also encloses and holds safe all the things you want to cherish. The past is unassailable.' She notes that the writer mentions 'so many things' that she wants. Barbara adds, 'I imagine that means material things, but one of the first securities that the passing years should give one is a diminishing regard for material possessions.'" Source: Fredda Dudley Balling, "Your Years Are Your Best Friends," "Lady's Circle," May 1968. Image: Press photo of Barbara Stanwyck, 1968. This was one of the images used to illustrate the original article. #barbarastanwyck #pointofview #fanmail #experience #ageing #pressphoto #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Edith Head on the jewelry Barbara Stanwyck wore while playing the role of  Leona Stevenson in "Sorry, Wrong Number": "To indicate her wealth and elegance, we arranged with a Beverly Hills jeweler to lend her a fortune in gems. In addition to full insurance coverage, he insisted upon an armed guard to accompany her at all times. As small Barbara walked off the set - even when her destination was the powder room - she was shadowed instantly by a large man with two guns. A very impressive gentleman. As Barbara said, 'At least they picked a good-looking one.'" Source: Ella Smith, _Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck_. Image: Burt Lancaster and Barbara Stanwyck in a film still from "Sorry, Wrong Number" (1948). #barbarastanwyck #jewelry #edithhead #sorrywrongnumber #burtlancaster #filmstill #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck and David Niven at a press conference to promote "The Other Love" (1947). In the third picture, we can see them being photographed at Missy and Bob's home on that same day. #barbarastanwyck #roberttaylor #davidniven #theotherlove #pressconference #actorsathome  #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"Capra's fourth film with Stanwyck ["The Bitter Tea of General Yen"] was intended to be a triumphant spectacle to inaugurate the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York. The premiere screening was preceded by live stage acts, inaugurating the huge multipurpose venue, but the poor reviews and slack box office meant it was pulled after only eight days of a planned two-week run, and the film ended up losing two hundred thousand dollars. [...] The [Grace Zaring] Stone novel was tremendously popular, with twenty international editions by the time the film was released, but rather than a romance, Stone depicted a 'companionship' between the missionary and the general. [...] The popularity of Stone's novel may have been partly due to the titillating promise/threat of miscegenation, but it is mainly a story of adventure, cross-cultural exchange, and the depiction of a cosmopolitan man educating a naïve young woman. The reception of Capra's film indicated that, for American audiences [at the time], miscegenation was much more of a threat than a promise. [...] Stanwyck herself said of the public response to the film's interracial romance, 'So what! I was so shocked [by the reaction]. It never occurred to me, and I don't think it ever occurred to Mr. Capra when we were doing it. I accepted it, believed it, loved it.'" Source: Catherine Russell, _The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star _. Image: Nils Asther and Barbara Stanwyck in a publicity still for "The Bitter Tea of General Yen" (1933). #barbarastanwyck #nilsasther #thebitterteaofgeneralyen #frankcapra #reception #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood  #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

Roddy MacDowall on Barbara Stanwyck: "She makes you realize that you can keep going. There is no end except by your own choice." Source: "The Hollywood Collection: Barbara Stanwyck Straight Down the Line" (1997). (Available on Youtube.) Image: Barbara Stanwyck photographed by Ron Galella at Chasen's Restaurant, Beverly Hills, 1980.  #barbarastanwyck #roddymacdowall #chasens #rongalella #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

A set of pictures of Barbara Stanwyck taken by John Engstead in 1968. Missy dedicated the first photo to her close friend Nancy Sinatra Sr. The inscription reads:   "To "Lady" Nancy Always With Love - Barbara"   In my opinion, that tuxedo looks fabulous on her! #barbarastanwyck #photoshoot #johnengstead #nancysinatrasr #tuxedo #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"If actresses, like school kids, had to bring home report cards, Barbara Stanwyck's would have more 'A's' on it than the first page of the telephone directory. In the course of a long and astonishingly consistent Hollywood career, she has made more than 50 pictures - yet never has been late on the set, never has forgotten her lines and, with a fine exhibition of left- and right-handed batting, has knocked off no fewer than four Academy nominations for performances in comedy, tragedy and melodrama. That she has never managed to win the coveted Oscar may be attributed to any number of things. But to the women and men who have worked with her, it's always a case of 'the Queen was robbed!' Just as Gable is known as the King in Hollywood, Stanwyck is the Queen to her crews. Unfailingly, at the end of each picture, some sheepish spokesman steps forward, cap in hand, to present a little token of respect and esteem. 'To the Queen' or 'To the Queen Bee from Her Drones' is the way most of them are inscribed, and they range from silver lockets, coffee makers and upholstered stools to the portable record player she received on completion of her current film, RKO's Clash by Night. While Stanwyck's trophies may not look as well on her mantelpiece as a golden Oscar, they are a rare currency nonetheless; for working crews generally don't part with their cash for any such frivolous purpose as what the columnists call 'gifting a star.' In naming Barbara their Queen Bee, they not only have given her a regal nickname which has stuck, but have called attention to the most important fact: that Queen Barbara is probably the most workmanlike, professionally dedicated actress in the entire film colony." Source: Frank S. Nugent, "Stanwyck," "Collier's," July 12, 1952. Image: Barbara Stanwyck poses on set of "The Lady Gambles" with an upholstered stool bearing her name, a gift from the film crew (1949).  #barbarastanwyck #thequeen #nickname #crew #gifts #professionalism #theladygambles #actressonset #oldhollywoodcinema #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck

"She [Barbara Stanwyck]'s never lost this quality of realism, and the saints can be praised for it. She's never forgotten where she came from, what she did at the beginning of her career. She will say, casually, 'When I was a chorus girl for the Shuberts...' and you know that she not only remembers when the name 'Barbara Stanwyck' meant nothing to anybody but that she considers such days an extremely important part of her education."  Source: Kate Holliday, "Sidelights on Stanwyck," "Screenland," November 1950. Image: Ruby Stevens (Barbara Stanwyck) in a publicity photo for the revue "Keep Kool," 1924. #barbarastanwyck #realism #chorusgirl #education #rubystevens #keepkool #publicityphoto  #oldhollywoodactress #oldhollywood #classichollywoodactress #missy #rememberingbarbarastanwyck