Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection (1950)

Classic film fans will find the Barbara Stanwyck Signature Collection as delicious as any multi-course buffet. The films combines some better-known titles (Executive Suite, Annie Oakley) with some lesser-known gems (My Reputation, Jeopardy) as well as some cool vintage extras.

Robert Wise directed Executive Suite (1954), a still-relevant portrait of cutthroat corporate shenanigans, starring Frederic March and William Holden (in a truly dazzling performance) as the sharks in the corner-office tank. Stanwyck plays an heiress with her trademark unflappability--and with possibly the steeliest business persona of them all. Extras include an enthusiastic commentary by Wall Street director Oliver Stone, as well as a vintage short and cartoon.

Annie Oakley (1935), the oldest film in this collection, went a long way toward cementing Stanwyck's tough-talking (and yes, straight-shooting) persona. Stanwyck is brassy and bold, and mighty fearless as the Old West legend. There's a fair amount of humor, too, in the screenplay and deft direction of George Stevens. Extras include a vintage short and cartoon.

Stanwyck stretches her acting wings in the soapy love story My Reputation (1946). It's hard to imagine the tough-dame Stanwyck worrying about anything so ephemeral as a reputation, but in this well-acted film, she's convincing as a young widow who cautiously tries to date again, only to set tongues wagging, and scandalizing even her own children. Extras include a great musical short featuring Jan Savitt and Band, and a vintage cartoon.

Mervyn LeRoy directs a fabulous cast in the film noirish thiller/melodrama East Side, West Side (1949), involving a bored married couple, past infidelities, and murder. Ava Gardner's a standout as the "other woman" who comes between Stanwyck's Jessie and James Mason's Brandon. The cinematography is atmospheric and taut. Even the supporting cast dazzles in its own right--Cyd Charisse, William Frawley, William Conrad, and a winsome Nancy Davis (the future First Lady). Extras include a short film and a fun Tex Avery cartoon, "Counterfeit Cat."

To Please a Lady (1950) may have one of the least appropriate film titles ever--it's a high-octane drama set around the world of early car racing, with a romance between Stanwyck and Clark Gable as the hook. But the film itself is a blast, especially for the well-shot, adrenaline-rush scenes of car racing, decades before the polish of NASCAR. Gable's a reckless driving champ and Stanwyck's the hard-nosed reporter who revs up his heart. Stanwyck's Regina catches racing fever: "It's like the Fourth of July and the heavyweight fight and the World Series all rolled into one." Amen, sister.

Jeopardy (1953) appears as a "double feature" on one disc with To Please a Lady. It's a fascinating psychological thriller that presages a whole genre of "ticking time-bomb" peril films, and also suggests a pivotal scene in Sometimes a Great Notion. Stanwyck plays a happily married wife, vacationing in Mexico with her husband (Barry Sullivan), who becomes trapped in the surf--and as the tide comes in, his luck may run out. A frantic Stanwyck has to make scary choices if her husband--and she--is to survive. The extra on this disc is an audio-only radio interview with Stanwyck. --A.T. Hurley Amazon.com

Warner Bros should get busy releasing all of her 30's output!

It's a shame that Miss Stanwyck finally gets a box set released (celebrating her 100th birthday), and most of the films are lackluster, or not the smashes that her ealier stuff was. When we are now seeing Tyrone Power having a 2nd box set released of all his 30's films (by Fox), it's a downright SHAME that we only have this one set showcasing the #11 All Time Female Movie Star, as determined by AFI. The difficulty is that she freelanced with all the studios, making it harder to get everything released and cross-licensing would be involved to have an extensive set. I hope that by the end of 2008 we'll see more of her ealier work on dvd. Or even Sony/Columbia needs to step up w/all of her Capra films. What a bummer, but i'll keep hoping! June 20, 2008

JUST NOT ENOUGH

THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THIS MOVIE COLLECTION WAS THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH MOVIES. OR I JUST WATCHED THEM TOO FAST. I LOVED THEM. THE PICTURE QUALITY WAS EXCELENT AS WAS THE SOUND. NOW I WANT MORE OF BARBARA. December 23, 2007

Barbara for ever

Barbara Stanwyck dans tout l'éclat de son talent : élégance, regard droit et brillant comme une pierre précieuse. Que ce soit dans le western, le thriller ou la comédie, elle imposait sa présence, éclipsant parfois ses glorieux partenaires (Cooper ou Gable, bien palôt à côté d'elle!) Elle avait l'assurance de la professionnelle, et la fraicheur de la débutante. Son coup d'oeil était infaillible, et son intelligence lui permettait d'être crédible dans n'importe quelle situation, même les plus invraisemblables. Aujourd'hui, seule une Meryl Streep pourrait lui être comparable... November 28, 2007

Terrific actress! You won't go wrong with this collection!

I couldn't wait to receive this collection. Barbara Stanwyck is such a great actress and this doesn't disappoint. All of the movies are fabulous, but I'd say my favorites are 'East Side, West Side' and "My Reputation." As a kid I grew up watching her in the Big Valley, but have always been a fan. The lady can do no wrong and seemed especially wise in the projects she chose to do. All of these movies are a hit, and I hope they release more of her films on DVD. November 20, 2007

Barbara Stanwyck Signature Collection DVD Review

In honor of the 100th birthday celebration of silver screen legend Barbara Stanwyck, Warner Home Video finally releases six classic films, previously unavailable on DVD, remastered and complete with special features galore.

The prestigious "Signature Collection" series boasts excellent packaging and ample special features, but this time around the selections of films aren't quite as spectacular as some of their previous choices. Several of Stanwyck's better films may be wrapped up in rights issues, and this feels lacking due to the absence of more noticeable titles.

Stanwyck was destined for fame ever since landing her first movie role in a Frank Capra-directed feature and then in Baby Face for Warner Bros. which notoriously forced the creation of the production code. During her 37 years, she received four Academy Award nominations, an honorary Oscar in 1982 and the American film Institute's Life Achievement award in 1987.

One of the stronger films of the collection, Annie Oakley sees George Stevens direct, Preston Foster as Toby Walker and Barbara Stanwyck as the title sharpshooter. Years before Irving Berlin's hit Broadway musical, Stanwyck shaped the historical figure into a memorable bit of cinema. Despite being largely inaccurate to the real-life Oakley, this western comedy is still remarkably entertaining and carries a carefree lightheartedness as only ever-present in such silver screen fun. A 1935 vintage short and a cartoon accompany the feature.

East Side, West Side has a great cast including James Mason, Ava Gardener, Van Heflin and Cyd Charisse. Stanwyck plays a loyal housewife who has difficulty hanging on to her husband after he is seduced by Gardener, whose performance almost outdoes the leading lady. A great dramatic tale this 1949 classic features its original theatrical trailer plus a companion short subject and a Tex Avery cartoon.

Perhaps the most revered and critically acclaimed film of the lot, Executive Suite reunites Stanwyck and William Holden in a captivating boardroom drama. Directed by legendary Robert Wise, this Ernest Lehman adapted film, based on the best-selling novel by Cameron Hawley featured an impressive MGM cast including Frederic March, Walter Pidgeon, June Allyson and Nina Foch, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role. A Venice film Festival special jury prize winner, this powerful drama features a full-length commentary track by Oliver Stone, its original theatrical trailer and a vintage cartoon and short subject.

Barbara Stanwyck plays Jessica Drummond, a wealthy suburban housewife, in My Reputation. Grieving over the loss of her husband who died in battle, she must raise her two adolescent sons alone, resulting in further empathy from the audience. Jessica meets an army officer on leave and hopes to find love again, despite the interference and meddling of her social circle friends. Not one of her more memorable roles, My Reputation features a musical short, cartoon and audio tracks of radio theater adaptations with Stanwyck and Alexis Smith.

The final disc of the set is a double feature combining Stanwyck's To Please a Lady and Jeopardy. In To Please a Lady, Clark Gable joins the fun as a renegade racecar driver whose questionable tactics result in the death of another driver. Stanwyck is the no-nonsense reporter out to end his career - except that the two fall in love, expectedly complicating matters. Shot at the site of the Indianapolis 500, this largely forgettable film has more lasting power for auto racing enthusiasts. Jeopardy features director John Sturges keeping viewers on the edge of their seats as Stanwyck and Barry Sullivan search for their missing son on the Mexican coast. With plenty of twists and turns, this Hitchcockian thriller features the original theatrical trailer and Stanwyck's 1954 Lux Radio theater broadcast.

Barbara Stanwyck is undoubtedly one of the greatest actresses of the silver screen, and this set gives a decent sampling of her undeniable talent, but her absolute best works are either part of other company's collections, still currently unavailable, or curiously absent.

- Mike Massie
November 8, 2007

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