Barbara Stanwyck
Signature Collection Box Set (Warner Bros.; Annie
Oakley / East Side, West Side / My Reputation / Executive Suite / Jeopardy / To
Please a Lady)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Films:
Annie Oakley B
Executive Suite B+
My Reputation B
East Side, West Side B
To Please a Lady B-
Jeopardy B-
My
fascinating and admiration for Barbara Stanwyck grew at an early age and came
in the form of two films: Preston Sturges’ 1941 film The Lady Eve and Sam Fuller’s 1957 film Forty Guns. Both are quite
different in many ways, but the way that Stanwyck steals the screen in these
two films just amazed me. Later I would
see 1944’s Double Indemnity and I
was hooked. I’ve said this before and
I’ll say it again, Stanwyck is hot, just about as hot as they get. She isn’t your typical Hollywood starlet
either, but she is just naturally beautiful and has talent to match her charm,
wit, and performance. She lived to see a
long career that spanned nearly 60 years and was about as tough as they come,
this box set from Warner gives a fairly good selection of her minor works in a
set that will certainly give a modest idea of her abilities and if you don’t
fall in love with her after seeing these, you probably never will. Then again you should certainly see her more
famous works, like Double Indemnity.
The first
film in the set is George Steven’s 1935 film Annie Oakley and both Stevens and Stanwyck were on their way to
making very memorable films shortly after this film. Stanwyck is in pure form here though as she
takes on the title character of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and quite
frankly she sets hearts and guns ablaze with ease. It’s no wonder why Sam Fuller (even when
though Stanwyck was 50 years old at the time) would cast her in his 1957 film Forty Guns and she is still, you got
it, hot! Since both Stanwyck and Annie
Oakley are larger-than-life characters the match up works so well.
My Reputation is from 1946 and was in the
middle of Stanwyck’s career and certainly her at the top of her game for sure,
she had just done a handful of hits and My Reputation, while not nearly as
popular, is a solid film and highlights Stanwyck in full glory. Here she plays another part that works well
for her as she is a lonely widow that becomes involved with a military man and
‘her reputation’ is put on the line around the town they live in as well as
through her children, and it’s certainly a film that says a great deal about
the 1940’s in general and the mindsets that were once in place in this period of
history.
East Side, West Side is a really terrific film from
1949 starring James Mason and Ava Gardner and is a mixed up love story as James
Mason plays a man who is married to Stanwyck’s character, but years ago he had
an extra-marital affair with Gardner’s character and how she has re-entered the
picture in an attempt to rekindle the old flame. Stanwyck’s character has her eyes on a man
arriving from Italy. Despite Ava Gardner
being 15 years younger than Stanwyck, she is outdone in just about every scene
and Stanwyck shows just how age and beauty can go hand in hand. I was surprised by the honesty of this film
and the openness that it had as well, which is a big bonus in my book.
A year
later Stanwyck teamed up with another aging star in Clark Gable as they star in
To Please a Lady, which I have to
laugh when I hear that title! This is
one of the weaker films in the set, although both of the leads are terrific in
the film, but its a little light on substance.
In some respects you have to wonder if this was just a film to get paid
for both actors as they clearly are above this type of B-material. Stanwyck is a reporter and the film centers
around automobile racing and more specifically the Indy 500, but the film
sometimes can’t make up its mind if it wants to be a serious car movie or a
silly love story. The results are
heavily mixed.
On the
same DVD disc is the double feature Jeopardy
and is another one of the weaker films in this set as it is more of a B-picture
that Stanwyck shamelessly stars in with Barry Sullivan and Ralph Meeker. In some respects the film is more of a Film
Noir than anything else as she becomes the captive of an escaped convict and
you can guess where this damsel in distress goes from there.
Finally
Stanwyck gets her career back on track with 1954’s Executive Suite, which is one of the better films in this set and
really shows her capabilities as she stars with William Holden, who was coming
off Stalag 17 and would go on a few
years later with Sabrina and David Lean’s amazing Bridge on the River Kwai.
The film centers on a CEO who dies and a replacement must be found, but
the drama ensues when the likely candidate is being countered by a younger
ambitious businessman and plays out much better than it sounds.
This box
set includes all 6 films in 1.33 X 1 transfers, which have been restored to
good condition for this DVD box set and enables these films to be accessible to
a new generation. The contrast looks
good as all of the films are in glorious B&W with very few scratches on the
prints. Grain is never excessive and the
blacks are deep and the whites are solid as well, although there are some
moments where the detail is not nearly as sharp as some may prefer and this
will be more evident on larger TV sets and HDTV’s, but given the age of these
films it’s forgivable to most. Audio is
also pretty good as the films contain the original mono mixes, which are fairly
clean and free of hiss and the snap, crackle, and pops to make the
presentations enjoyable for sure.
All of
the films contain little gems of bonus features, but the real highlight is the
audio commentary track on Executive
Suite by Oliver Stone, which is very good and a great addition to perhaps
the best film in this set. The rest of
the supplements range from vintage perks to other promotional materials that
make for great little additions to this box set and for some; you can never get
enough of Stanwyck!
Also
check out the reviews for Golden Boy
and Ball of Fire starring Barbara
Stanwyck reviewed elsewhere on the site!
- Nate Goss
