This picture has Barbara Stanwyck playing her pre-Code forte: the hard-boiled girl with a heart of gold who gets the leading man (in this case, Ralph Graves) by the end of the last reel. My, but Stanwyck could speak volumes with her eyes. Each gaze holds a plethora of emotions almost too fleeting to list…but first and foremost is defiance, white-hot and fierce. She was nobody’s fool, but on the rare occasion that she was...you could see the tumult inside her, the rage against her own heart. A snappy little soaper that is comforting in its predictability, and livened up in spots by the always-wonderful Marie Prevost. Fun Fact: Early directorial work of Frank Capra.
I give this one:
Posts
5 comments:
You are right about Stanwyck's acting-with-her-eyes abilities! It never fails to amaze me. I haven't seem this pre-code Stanwyck yet though!
Oh me oh my her HAIR!!!! I can't wait to see this film, too, but just LOVE her look!
I have to admit that this isn't the greatest pre-code/Stanwyck film I have seen, but I think I have a strong fondness for pre-code Capra films!
I liked this one too. Sometimes I felt that Capra was trying to turn Stanwyck into a Hollywood siren/goddess like Garbo or Dietrich by going for lots of close ups and highly composed shots. It works within the story because she's supposed to be an artist's model. Ralph Graves was kind of a dud though.
Jenny: I would've loved someone more dynamic in Graves' place, but even though he was rather boring it only helped highlight Stanwyck. She was the sole "live wire" in the whole production - exactly how Kay was in Jerry's life.
Post a Comment