Old Movie Madness: Stella Dallas (1937)

OK - it is official, I have fallen completely in love with Barbara Stanwyck.  What an incredible actress.  She was capable of great comic timing, quick fire dialogue and in this role, a delicate but strong pathos.

The film begins showing the young Stella (Stanwyck) trying to catch the eye of a ruined heir, who is now running the local factory.  She has ambitions above her station and wheedles her way into his affections, resulting in marriage.  Her brashness just isn't suited to the circles he mixes in however, and the pair run into trouble just days after the birth of their daughter Laurel (Anne Shirley) when Stella wants to go dancing and falls in with a party crowd.

The pair separate with Stephen (John Boles, looking very suave) going to work away and Stella and Laurel remaining at home.  Stella loves her daughter with a passion and bring her up to be a wonderful and kind young lady.

As Laurel grows she begins to mix more in her fathers circles and falls in love with a very well off young man.  Her father has fallen back in love with an old flame but, keen to see her daughter happy, Stella agrees to them going away to live near him and the object of Laurel's affections.

Unfortunately Stella's brash personality and dress sense soon cause a stir and, not wanting her mother to realise how she is viewed by the high end folk they are with, Laurel insists they return home.  Sadly, on the journey home, Stella overhears people talking about her and she realises that for her daughter to he happy she needs to let her go.

 Stella in a brash outfit

She forces her daughter away, marrying someone she doesn't love, and whom her daughter loathes,  to push her away and allow her to live the life she always dreamt for herself.

 Tears as she watches her daughter marry

This film is possibly one of the best I have ever seen, I even put my knitting down to pay attention and that is some feat.  Stanwyck puts in a marvellous and heart wrenching performance as the working class girl helping her daughter along.  It is also refreshing to see the working classes of the period not all depicted as drunks - Stella being a firm teetotaller throughout the movie.

It is also marvellously styled, Stella's outfits are outrageous - too many bracelets, too much lace - and they contrast well with the staid classiness of her husbands social set.  Yet despite her brashness she is a kind and loving woman.

An utterly wonderful film.

IMDB

Old Movie Madness: The Lady Eve (1941)

Phew - a better movie to remove the drear feeling left by "The Edge of Love."

This comedy stars Henry Fonda as Charles Pike, an heir to an ale company whose money has allowed him to travel to the Amazon hunting for rare snakes.  After a year exploring he takes his prize find "Emma" the snake back with him on a boat to the USA and on the journey is targeted by all the eligible and not so eligible ladies aboard who are all too keen to have a piece of a rich bachelor.  Annoyed by their attention he is finally disarmed by Jean, a professional card shark who after observing him realises a different approach is needed - she trips him up and then indignantly insists he take her to her cabin to help her find another pair of shoes as he has broken her pair by his clumsiness.  Once in her cabin she flirts heavily, making him sit at her feet and fasten her shoes for her, quite a kinky little scene for the time.

Jean and her father, Handsome Harry, proceed to fleece him of several thousand pounds throughout the journey but their plasn look to be scuppered when Jean falls in love with their mark who proposes on the prow of the ship.  Before she has a chance to confess all her secret is revealed to Charles and hurt he ends their engagement.

Jean vows revenge and later makes her way back into his life posing as the Lady Eve, a British aristocrat.  Being a bit of an idiot Charles doesn't realise this is the same woman and marries her.  She takes her revenge by telling him on her wedding night of her various conquest's before their marriage and he runs off in a huff. 

Following their divorce he again sees Jean on a cruise ship and they fall into one anothers arms.

The good bits:  

• Jean's hair - OK - it is the same all the way through (aside from her days as Eve) - little victory rolls, a mass of poodle curls and long at the back.  I'll be wearing this look tomorrow if tonight's set works out - I cut my fringe especially.

• The costumes by the great Edith Head - wonderful slacks and blouses, a black beaded two piece showing the midriff, gorgeous beaded dresses and a lovely plaid pleated skirt and weskit.  Oh and an amazing platter had and monochrome suit worn by Jean to the races.

• The opening credits - great animation of a snake.

The bad bits:

• A bizarre white and gold (I assume, it is a black and white movie) suit worn by Jean on the ship.
  
• The implausible storyline.

All in all though its a pleasing little movie. Take a look at the original trailer below.  The voice over is rather dated...in a bad way.  Ahhh, the casual racism of days gone by....