Barbara Stanwyck

The Strange Lives of Martha Ivers might feel familiar in many ways, but it succeeds in carving its own special place in noir lore. Starring a bevy of actors that made names for themselves in the lauded film movement, Milestone’s picture embraces the melodrama inherent in the script, tapping into the core of the quartet of central characters. Martha’s love is indeed strange, but the word that comes to mind to describe her movie is ‘great’.

The File on Thelma Jordon Written by Ketti Frings Directed by Robert Siodmak USA, 1950 Cleve Marshal (Wendell Corey), assistant district attorney, arrives at the office of colleague and close friend Miles Scott (Paul Kelley) as the latter converses on the phone with Cleve’s wife Pamela (Joan Tetzel). The Marshals are experiencing rocky waters in …

The Lady Eve is all about the game of romance. Jean has a great monologue at the beginning of the film that really shows this game in action. While sitting at a dinner table, she narrates as various women approach Charles, in an attempt to gain his attention (“Every Jane in the room is giving him the thermometer and he feels they’re just a waste of time”). She studies Charles. What makes him tick? Is he self-conscious? What kind of woman would he like? All of this is for the purpose of conning him, which she does rather well. It also shows how love (and ultimately marriage) can be a façade.

Double Indemnity Directed by Billy Wilder Written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler U.S.A., 1944 There is a perverse sort of delight a film viewer can extract from witnessing the fall of someone too cool for school. How many times have vintage film noirs featured a protagonist which always had the right words to say …

Throughout the month of December, TV Editor Kate Kulzick and Film Editor Ricky D will review classic Christmas adaptions, posting a total of 13 each, one a day, until the 25th of December. The catch: They will swap roles as Rick takes on reviews of television Christmas specials and Kate takes on Christmas movies. Today …

Throughout the month of December, TV Editor Kate Kulzick and Film Editor Ricky D will review classic Christmas adaptions, posting a total of 13 each, one a day, until the 25th of December. The catch: They will swap roles as Rick will take on reviews of classic television Christmas specials and Kate will take on …

Barbara Stanwyck made her screen debut in 1927 and her strong screen presence established her as a favourite of many great directors, including Cecil B. De Mille, Fritz Lang, and Frank Capra. She went on to appear in over 80 films, often portraying strong-willed, independent women, was nominated for the Academy Award four times, and …

A classy dame.  A dynamite broad.  A tough cookie.  The language is definitely un-PC…and yet, it seems not only proper but singularly apt when talking about Barbara Stanwyck.  It was the language of the day when her star soared off into the ascent, and it would remain so her over the course of a 60-year …

Inspired by the recent Sound on Sight radio show on Preston Sturges, I have decided to supplement the work of one of the great comic directors by providing a list of under seen and generally under appreciated comedies from Preston Sturges’ era. Whereas most connoisseurs will be familiar with his work, as well as films …

It is arguable that women live in a “man’s world”. Women, it might also be argued, possess certain physical attributes of appeal to men that allow them considerable advantage under some circumstances. Such attributes coupled with certain behavioral subtleties often lay bare men’s weaknesses to a point where they seem compelled to act irrationally to …