Barbara Stanwyck Movies-Best to Worst-With Adjusted Box Office Results/Grosses
81"I'm rotten to the heart." - Barbara Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson the greatest femme fatale ever in 1944's Double Idemnity.
Ok before we get started on this Barbara Stanwyck movie hub let's get some behind the scenes information out of the way. This hub comes from the suggestion from Alecia Murphy . Also, I consider myself to be a huge movie buff, but looking at Barbara Stanwyck's movie list, I realize I have only seen two of her movies. So how can I write a movie hub that ranks all of her movies from best to worst? Other than the fact that I have watched many episodes of The Big Valley.....the answer is with Movie Score. Movie Score looks at the box office success, the critical response from critics and audiences and award recognition. Movie Score then takes all the information and through a mathematical equation gives each movie a score......100 would be a perfect score.
Barbara Stanwyck(1907-1990) appeared in 82 movies from 1929 to 1964. After a successful stage career, she moved to Hollywood in 1928. She proved herself to be versatile enough to appear in all genres of the movies. She was equally at home in dramas like 1937's Stella Dallas and 1941's Ball of Fire as well as comedies like 1940's Remember the Night and 1941's The Lady Eve. She also excelled in playing femme fatales in movies like 1944's Double Indemnity and 1946's The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers. Yet another genre she specialized was the many westerns she appeared though out her career.
Her peak years were between 1937 and 1949. The 1950s saw her constantly working but the quality of the movies started to diminish. One of her last starring roles was opposite Ronald Reagan in 1954's The Cattle Queen of Montana. Cattle Queen is the movie that made Reagan think about other career options...that turned out well for him. As the 1960s came into play Stanwyck stopped making movies and concentrated her career on television projects. She starred in The Barbara Stanwyck Show(1961-62), The Big Valley(1965-1969), and The Colbys(1985-86). In her later years, Stanwyck did lots of work for charity. She passed away January 20th 1990.
Barbara Stanwyck in 1948's Sorry Wrong Number, her 8th biggest box office hit 124.80 million in 2011 dollars.
Barbara Stanwyck's Top Ten Box Office Movies in 2011 Inflated Dollars.
Movie Year
| 2011 Adjusted Box Office(mil)
| Co-Stars
|
|---|---|---|
#1 Hollywood Canteen (1944)
| 209.90 million
| Bette Davis
|
#2 California (1946)
| 194.80 million
| Glenn Ford
|
#3 Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
| 168.50 million
| Sydney Greenstreet
|
#4 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
| 164.60 million
| Kirk Douglas
|
#5 My Reputation (1946)
| 150.30 million
| George Brent
|
#6 Double Indemnity (1944)
| 142.30 million
| Fred MacMurray
|
#7 Ball of Fire (1941)
| 137.50 million
| Gary Cooper
|
#8 Sorry Wrong Number (1948)
| 124.80 million
| Burt Lancaster
|
#9 The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)
| 118.50 million
| Humphrey Bogart
|
#10 Meet John Doe (1941)
| 112.10 million
| Gary Cooper
|
Gary Cooper and Stanwyck in 1941's Ball of Fire....her 2nd best movie according to critics and audiences.
Barbara Stanwyck's Top Ten Movies based on critics and audience voting.
Movie Year
| Critics Audience Score
| Co-Stars
|
|---|---|---|
#1 Double Indemnity (1944)
| 92%
| Fred MacMurray
|
#2 The Lady Eve (1941)
| 88%
| Henry Fonda
|
#3 Ball of Fire (1941)
| 87%
| Gary Cooper
|
#4 Remember the Night (1940)
| 84%
| Fred MacMurray
|
#5 Meet John Doe (1941)
| 83%
| Gary Cooper
|
#6 The Miracle Woman (1931)
| 81%
| Directed by Frank Capra
|
#7 Executive Suite (1954)
| 81%
| William Holden
|
#8 Sorry Wrong Number (1948)
| 81%
| Burt Lancaster
|
#9 Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
| 81%
| Sydney Greenstreet
|
#10 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
| 80%
| Kirk Douglas
|
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in 1944's Double Indemnity...ranked as her number one according to Movie Score.
Barbara Stanwyck's 72 Movies ranked by Movie Score. Movie Score is box office results + critical reception + award recognition. Perfect score would be 100.
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st
| Double Indemnity (1944)
| 142.30
| 72.66
| 92%
| 07 / 00
| Fred MacMurray
|
2nd
| Ball of Fire (1941)
| 137.50
| 69.18
| 87%
| 04 / 00
| Gary Cooper
|
3rd
| Hollywood Canteen (1944)
| 209.90
| 65.02
| 72%
| 00 / 00
| Bette Davis
|
4th
| Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
| 168.50
| 61.87
| 81%
| 00 / 00
| Sydney Greenstreet
|
5tb
| The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
| 164.60
| 61.51
| 80%
| 01 / 00
| Kirk Douglas
|
6th
| Sorry Wrong Number (1948)
| 124.80
| 60.47
| 81%
| 01 / 00
| Burt Lancaster
|
7th
| California (1946)
| 194.80
| 60.30
| 61%
| 00 / 00
| Ray Milland/Glenn Ford
|
8th
| Stella Dallas (1937)
| 101.00
| 57.52
| 78%
| 02 / 00
| Directed by King Vidor
|
9th
| My Reputation (1946)
| 150.30
| 52.97
| 66%
| 00 / 00
| George Brent
|
10th
| Meet John Doe (1941)
| 112.10
| 51.88
| 83%
| 01 / 00
| Gary Cooper
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
11th
| Executive Suite (1954)
| 104.90
| 51.54
| 81%
| 04 / 00
| William Holden
|
12th
| The Lady Eve (1941)
| 87.40
| 48.70
| 88%
| 01 / 00
| Henry Fonda
|
13th
| The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)
| 118.50
| 46.80
| 66%
| 00 / 00
| Humphrey Bogart
|
14th
| Lady of Burlesque (1943)
| 106.50
| 43.18
| 63%
| 00 / 00
| Michael O'Shea
|
15th
| Flesh and Fantasy (1943)
| 104.90
| 43.02
| 63%
| 00 / 00
| Edward G. Robinson
|
16th
| Titanic (1953)
| 65.20
| 42.27
| 77%
| 02/01
| Clifton Webb
|
17th
| Remember the Night (1940)
| 62.80
| 41.95
| 84%
| 00 / 00
| Fred MacMurray
|
18th
| Ladies of Leisure (1930)
| 88.20
| 41.26
| 68%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by Frank Capra
|
19th
| Union Pacific (1939)
| 85.90
| 41.06
| 67%
| 01 / 00
| Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
|
20th
| The Gay Sisters (1942)
| 90.60
| 40.52
| 64%
| 00 / 00
| George Brent
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
21st
| The Bitter Tea Of General Yen (1933)
| 64.40
| 39.29
| 76%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by Frank Capra
|
22nd
| The Furies (1950)
| 58.00
| 39.15
| 77%
| 01 / 00
| Walter Huston
|
23rd
| Forbidden (1932)
| 64.40
| 38.77
| 74%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by Frank Capra
|
24th
| The Violent Men (1955)
| 65.20
| 38.59
| 73%
| 00 / 00
| Glenn Ford/Edward G. Robinson
|
25th
| The Miracle Woman (1931)
| 43.70
| 37.09
| 81%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by Frank Capra
|
26th
| Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
| 70.00
| 36.12
| 62%
| 01 / 00
| Jane Fonda
|
27th
| Clash by Night (1952)
| 47.70
| 36.02
| 76%
| 00 / 00
| Marilyn Monroe
|
28th
| East Side West Side (1949)
| 61.20
| 35.52
| 67%
| 00 / 00
| James Mason
|
29th
| Annie Oakley (1935)
| 66.80
| 35.23
| 63%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by George Stevens
|
30th
| Baby Face (1933)
| 34.20
| 34.65
| 80%
| 00 / 00
| George Brent
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
31st
| BF's Daughter (1948)
| 65.20
| 34.63
| 60%
| 01 / 00
| Van Heflin/Charles Coburn
|
32nd
| All I Desire (1953)
| 35.80
| 34.63
| 79%
| 00 / 00
| Richard Carlson
|
33rd
| This Is My Affair (1937)
| 50.90
| 34.50
| 70%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Taylor
|
34th
| Shopworn (1932)
| 71.60
| 34.27
| 57%
| 00 / 00
| Regis Toomey
|
35th
| Breakfast for Two (1937)
| 48.50
| 34.02
| 70%
| 00 / 00
| Herbert Marshall
|
36th
| Cry Wolf (1947)
| 94.60
| 33.61
| 42%
| 00 / 00
| Errol Flynn
|
37th
| You Belong To Me (1941)
| 74.70
| 33.48
| 53%
| 00 / 00
| Henry Fonda
|
38th
| The Great Man's Lady (1942)
| 66.00
| 32.79
| 56%
| 00 / 00
| Joel McCrea
|
39th
| Roustabout (1964)
| 58.80
| 32.76
| 60%
| 00 / 00
| Elvis Presley
|
40th
| The File of Thelma Jordan (1950)
| 35.00
| 32.37
| 73%
| 00 / 00
| Wendell Corey
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
41st
| Forty Guns (1957)
| 27.80
| 32.34
| 77%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by Sam Fuller
|
42nd
| There's Always Tomorrow (1956)
| 31.80
| 32.07
| 74%
| 00 / 00
| Fred MacMurray
|
43rd
| The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
| 29.40
| 31.95
| 75%
| 00 / 00
| Henry Fonda
|
44th
| Internes Can't Take Money (1937)
| 54.90
| 31.79
| 60%
| 00 / 00
| Joel McCrea
|
45th
| Gambling Lady (1934)
| 40.50
| 31.38
| 67%
| 00 / 00
| Joel McCrea
|
46th
| Witness to a Murder (1954)
| 38.20
| 31.26
| 68%
| 00 / 00
| George Sanders
|
47th
| Night Nurse (1931)
| 31.00
| 31.22
| 72%
| 00 / 00
| Clark Gable
|
48th
| Always Goodbye (1938)
| 42.10
| 31.00
| 65%
| 00 / 00
| Herbert Marshall
|
49th
| The Other Love (1947)
| 46.90
| 30.72
| 61%
| 00 / 00
| David Niven
|
50th
| The Golden Boy (1939)
| 46.90
| 29.75
| 57%
| 01 / 00
| William Holden
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
51st
| The Plough and the Stars (1936)
| 42.90
| 29.75
| 61%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by John Ford
|
52nd
| The Lady Gambles (1949)
| 44.50
| 29.54
| 59%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Preston
|
53rd
| To Please A Lady (1950)
| 69.20
| 29.06
| 44%
| 00 / 00
| Clark Gable
|
54th
| No Man of Her Own (1950)
| 20.70
| 28.98
| 71%
| 00 / 00
| John Lund
|
55th
| Jeopardy (1953)
| 35.00
| 27.46
| 59%
| 00 / 00
| Directed by John Sturges
|
56th
| Blowing Wild (1953)
| 58.00
| 26.81
| 44%
| 00 / 00
| Gary Cooper
|
57th
| Trooper Hook (1957)
| 22.30
| 26.50
| 63%
| 00 / 00
| Joel McCrea
|
58th
| The Purchase Price (1932)
| 39.00
| 26.34
| 53%
| 00 / 00
| George Brent
|
59th
| So Big! (1932)
| 31.00
| 25.79
| 56%
| 00 / 00
| Bette Davis
|
60th
| His Brother's Wife (1936)
| 26.20
| 25.53
| 58%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Taylor
|
Rank
| Movie Year
| 2011 Inflated Box Office (Millions)
| Cogerson Movie Score
| Critics Audience Score
| Oscar®Noms / Oscar® Wins
| Co-Stars
|
61st
| The Bride Wore Boots (1946)
| 54.90
| 25.50
| 42%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Cummings
|
62nd
| Ever in My Heart (1933)
| 23.80
| 25.22
| 59%
| 00 / 00
| Ralph Bellamy
|
63rd
| The Man With The Cloak (1951)
| 29.40
| 25.13
| 55%
| 00 / 00
| Joseph Cotten
|
64th
| Crime of Passion (1957)
| 15.90
| 25.05
| 63%
| 00 / 00
| Sterling Hayden/Raymond Burr
|
65th
| These Wilder Years (1956)
| 28.60
| 24.96
| 55%
| 00 / 00
| James Cagney
|
66th
| Escape to Burma (1955)
| 29.40
| 24.59
| 54%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Ryan
|
67th
| The Night Walker (1964)
| 17.50
| 24.31
| 60%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Taylor
|
68th
| The Moonlighter 3D (1953)
| 29.40
| 23.54
| 51%
| 00 / 00
| Fred MacMurray
|
69th
| Banjo On My Knees (1936)
| 28.60
| 23.11
| 48%
| 01 / 00
| Joel McCrea
|
70th
| The Maverick Queen (1956)
| 27.00
| 22.89
| 50%
| 00 / 00
| Barry Sullivan
|
71st
| The Cattle Queen of Montana (1954)
| 25.40
| 21.35
| 47%
| 00 / 00
| Ronald Reagan
|
72nd
| The Bride Walks Out (1936)
| 26.20
| 18.54
| 38%
| 00 / 00
| Robert Young
|
Possibly Interesting Facts About Barbara Stanwyck.
1. Barbara Stanwyck birth name was Ruby Catherine Stevens. She became an orphan at the age of four when her mother passed away and her father went looking for work in Central America and was never heard from again.
2. So how did Ruby Catherine Stevens become Barbara Stanwyck? In 1926 she was appearing in a play called The Noose. After the success of the The Noose she decided to change her name. Her character's first name in the play was Barbara while another one of the actresses in the play had a last name of Stanwyck. So put the two names together and created Barbara Stanwyck.
3. Barbara Stanwyck received 4 Oscar® nominations for Best Actress. Those four movies were...1937's Stella Dallas, 1941's Ball of Fire, 1944's Double Indemnity and 1948's Sorry Wrong Number. She never won an Oscar® but she receive a Honorary Oscar® Award in 1982: "For superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting."
4. Speaking of Oscar® talk....here is a crazy piece of trivia. Barbara Stanwyck's 82 movies received 28 Oscar® nominations in various categories over the years. The only Stanwyck movie to win an Oscar®?.....1953's Titanic.
5. With earnings of 400,000 dollars in 1944, Stanwyck earned the title of highest paid woman in the United States.
6. Barbara Stanwyck was married twice in her life. Her first marriage was to Frank Fay from 1928-1935. During their marriage they adopted Dion Anthony as their son. Her second marriage was to fellow actor Robert Taylor. They were married 1939 to 1950. Another relationship of note was between Stanwyck and Robert Wagner. They started their relationship when he was 22 and she was 45....it lasted 4 years.
7. The American Film Institute ranks Barbara Stanwyck as the 11th greatest actress of all-time. While Entertainment Weekly ranks her as the 40th Greatest Movie Star of All-Time.
8. Barbara Stanwyck's nicknames on the set were Missy or The Queen.
9. Barbara Stanwyck is the Godmother of Tori Spelling.
10. Barbara Stanwyck is the 70th actor/actress to receive a Cogerson career review hub page. My Greatest Actors/Actress Table has two separate tables....the first table ranks the 70 actors using all of their movies. Barbara Stanwyck comes in at #51 on that table one spot ahead of #52 Bruce Willis. The second table only looks at the actor's Top Ten Movie Score Movies. On that table Barbara Stanwyck comes in at #46....just ahead of #47 Anthony Hopkins.
Barbara Stanwyck appeared in 82 movies from 1929-1964. Of those movies, I was unable to find all the information needed to calculate Movie Scores for 10 of her movies. Those movies were 1929's The Locked Door, 1928's Mexicali Rose, 1931's Illicit, 1931's Ten Cents a Dance, 1933's Ladies They Talk About 1934's A Lost Lady, 1935's The Secret Bride, 1935's The Woman in Red, 1935's Red Salute, and 1936's A Message to Garcia.
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
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Barbara Stanwyck did a lot of fine work. Did you say which two movies you saw? Double Indemnity and which other? I thought I was her fan, but that names of her films are not rushing memories to mind. She doesn't score well with your Cogerson Movie Score. You must be a tough grader.
As usual you have done a fine job here. Back to TMC for me.
Hey Flora only 21....and you call your self a fan, that is barely over 25%....lol.....just kidding. I have only seen Meet John Doe and The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers(and that was only after doing the Douglas hub)....I have tried to watch Double Indemnity twice...but both times the tape and then later the DVD would not work. I have seen Body Double...which was the 1980s version of the classic movie. But I know that does not count.
Hey Mckbirdbks.....nope I have not seen Double Indemnity....I have tried twice to watch that movie but both times I have failed....the first time was during the VHS days and tape broke about 10 minutes into the movie.....the latest time was about 3 months and I checked it out from the library...and the DVD kept freezing...until I finally gave up.
I must confuse...that I had really only heard of 6 of these movies before I started doing these hubs...and that even included her and Reagan in The Cattle Queen of Montana....but this is what is so fun about doing this hubs....I now have at least 5 movies to track down and watch. Enjoy TMC.
okay-I'm back.
First-I somehow missed calculating Union Pacific in my mind when I was adding up the films I've seen-I've seen *22* films, still bad.
Next, some comments about the nature of the films I haven't seen:
Regarding top ten movies I haven't seen:
There is one film among her hits that because of its plot lines, I know I would go crazy being impatient and annoyed at the characters so I have avoided it deliberately-Meet John Doe. I'm not at a place in my life where I find those situations funny. Instead , I see myself likely to shout at the television "Don't believe them! You are being used!"
Outside of that movie, there is only one film I've not seen that I've had access to-Ball of Fire. For reasons unknown to me, it always seems to be on TCM when it is bright outside or when I'm asleep.
Overall movies I haven't seen:
Any other Stanwyck films I haven't seen it is because I've not been able to find a copy. My goal is to all her films except Meet John Doe.
Now then, what I have seen: Among her top ten box office hits, I have seen 6 of them-#1, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9.
Among her top ten critics hits, I have seen 7 of them: #1,2,4,7,8,9, and 10. Among her Movie Score top ten, I have seen 6 of them: #1,3,4,5,6 and 8.
Overall:
The highest I've seen, as I've said, #1-Double Indemnity.
The lowest I've seen is $63: The Man With The Cloak-the title character is Edgar Allan Poe, by the way, before he was famous. It is an early role for Leslie Caron. I don't think it should be so low, but then I don't think Stanwyck ever gave a bad performance. Some of her early talkies were admittedly early, but that is just practice.
The earliest of her films I've seen is 1931's Night Nurse. The youngest films of hers I've seen is 1954's Executive Suite and Witness to Murder. I don't know which one was released later in the year
I have seen only 22 of her films. That is 31% -very low for a fan!
My favourite films of hers involve crime. She was excellent as a villain and as a victim. I love her crime/suspense movies, as well as her crime comedies!
My number favourite, no surprise, is Double Indemnity. Other favourites which I can only order alphabetically are:
Clash By Night
Jeapardy
Mad Miss Manton
The Man With A Cloak
No Man of Her Own (because it's the only film Gable and Lombard made together)
Sorry, wrong Number
The Strange love of Martha Ivers
The Two Mrs. Carrols
Witness to a Murder
The *other* films I've seen in movie order besides my favourites-including the top ten again- are:
Hollywood Canteen
Christmas in Connecticut-used to air on TCM every year, now it airs on AMC with commercials
Stella Dallas
Executive Suite
The Lady Eve-I prefer this of her films with Fonda
Remember the Night-I love this Christmas movie and see it on TCM every year; I do not know why it isn't more famous
Union Pacific
Eat Side West Side
Baby Face
Night Nurse
The Golden Boy
Hey Flora....22 is much better. Let's see the ones you have not seen....Meet John Doe was ok....I do not think you are missing very much with that one....but Ball of Fire is now one of the ones I want to see. I just bought Danny Peary's book Alternative Oscars....and he says Stanwyck should have won Oscars for Ball of Fire and Double Indemnity...plus Movie Score picked them 1 and 2.
As for The Man With The Cloak...at the box office it could not crack the Top 100 of 1950....and then both critics and audiences did not rate it high either..so it scored low.
No Man of Her Own...is the 1950 version...the Gable/Lombard one was 1932 or 1934....although Stanwyck did star with Gable twice...#47 Night Nurse and #53 To Please A Lady...
And looking at your list..the ones that are now are my list to watch besides #1 & #2 are #4 Christmas in Connecticut #12 The Lady Eve and #16 Remember the Night.
So since you have seen many more Stanwyck movies than me....how does the Movie Score Top Twenty look to you?
ph, okay-then it is back to 21 films and 29%. Ho hum.
Ok nice hub. I remember her from the Big Valley, but I never realized she had such a huge and long movie career. Just going down the list of co-stars is very impressive, Bogart, Cooper, Flynn, Cagney, Elvis, Gable, Davis, Holden, Fonda, J. Fonda and Monroe. Thanks for showing me the light. Voted up.
The top twenty look pretty accurate to me, although I haven't seen all of them. I have seen some multiple times-again, she didn't give a bad performance. She gave good performances and great performances. There are some in the bottom twenty which I think should be in the middle.
I don't like boxing, but I'm amazed it that Golden Boy is as low as it is.
Check out Baby face-it is as low as it is because it was lost for decades. It somehow escaped the censors but it was considered very daring. Today it would get PG-13, but 30 years ago, it would be rated R-so imagine what it was in 1933-just as the code was starting. It has since been found via TCM and its sources.
You are welcome KellyE....I agree her co-stars and directors are legendary...it is why I included a column just for those names....I am glad I could help you see the light...but I honestly I am just seeing the light myself when it comes to Barbara Stanwyck. Thanks for stopping by.
Hey Flora...sorry I had to move your number back to 21. Glad to see the Top 20 looks solid.....Well BabyFace came in at #30 not bad for a movie made in 1933 that got lost for decades....I will look for that one. Golden Boy got William Holden noticed but did not turn him into a star...he had to wait almost another 11 years before he became a star after he made Sunset Boulevard....Golden Boy finished 38th on his hub.
Thanks for checking out my hub...and making sure nothing looks to far out of whack....especially before Steve gets here to challenge all the Scores.
Cogerson - I wondered how you got some of your info. You're always so comprehensive! I did see "Sorry Wrong Number" but I haven't seen anything else on that list. I am interested in seeing Double Indemnity now though. Dave said he saw it and it was great. He loved Big Valley and saw quite a few of her movies.
Thats another reason why I love your articles - Dave and I will sit and discuss which movies we have seen, liked -they are fun. He is a huge movie buff - enjoys watching movies again with the girls so it is great to be reminded of movies we forgot about. You reminded me of License to Drive recently - so I got it and my 12 yr old and 14 year old nephew watched it - they loved it! Thanks!
Cattle Queen of Montana's a little low on the moviescore isn't it Conanson? in fact it's almost last! [bites fist]
Kidding, a classy hub on a classy actress, good work.
Highest paid actress in Hollywood? didn't know that.
Flora's seen a lot more of her films than I have, I count only... 8. That is low. Double Indemnity no.1 no surprises there, classic film. Wasn't it remade as Body Heat?
Hey I bought the DVD of Roustabout, I'm a bit of an Elvis fan you see, no Stanwyck doesn't sing in it.
A very useful hub Brucenson, I can check out some of the top rated Stanwyck films I've missed. Cheers dude.
Voted Up and Useful, Interesting too.
I remember The Big Valley because my mom was a fan of the show, but those shows were reruns. I thought she was such a beautiful actress. I didn't know she was Tori Spellings godmother, interesting. Voted UP and Awesome!!
i realize that i have been remiss in keeping up with your blogs. i have made a resolution to do better in the future. this is interesting about barbara stanwyck.
i am not sure i have seen any of her movies. i guess i remember her mostly from television. i may be wrong but i think she was on the small screen earlier than most of the "movie stars". i do remember that most movie stars looked down on tv and considered it beneath their talents.
Hey RealHouseWife....I get most of my movie information from old Variety magazines....I have every year ending movie recap from Variety from 1940-1943 and 1946-1980....it lists most of the movies that got released...box office information from the 1930s and 1920s is very limited...so I have to read lots of books...and lots of google searches....in the hopes of finding some box office gold nuggets...in this case some of her movies pretty much only list the fact that the movie was made....sorry so long but you asked...lol.
I am glad my movie hubs can create some conversation starters...Double Indemnity is now high on my list too...before I wrote this hub I was pretty clueless on her massive career....glad to hear the younger kids still get a kick out of License to Drive...thanks for stopping by.
Hey Steve....well you have seen 8 of her movies...that is 4 times the amount of my total....but I did just reserve a copy of Double Indemnity.....maybe the third time will be a charm. I did not realize you were a Elvis fan....he is the only actor to have every single one of his movies be profitable. Body Heat is a classic...not sure if it is considered a remake....but they have the same story....my favorite line in that movie is....Kathleen Turner to William Hurt...."You are not very smart are you?...I like that in a man."
When I was doing this hub I thought....Steve is going to have a field day on the Movie Score and I will not be able to know if the Movie Scores are way out of whack.....but I think Flora thinks the Top 20 looks pretty solid....so I think Movie Score works even when I know next to nothing about the subject.
Very nicely done, what a great reference tool you have created. Voted up and awesome.
Hey Sunshine625...thanks for stopping by....I remember watching reruns of the Big Valley...because of Lee Majors...he was big as Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar man during the 1970s....and the reruns from the 60s made it seem he was everywhere.
It is amazing that so many people really only remember her tv career....and forget about her 30 years of movies...I am in the same boat....Shirley Jones is another actress that falls into that category...as people only remember Mrs. Patridge...and not the Oscar winning actress....thanks as always for stopping by.
Hey mimic...thanks for your resolution....you will really like the next one...as it will be Mr. Sidney Poitier...all of his 42 movies from 1950-1997.....coming soon to a Cogerson hub near you. Sorry it has taken me so long to get to Sidney but the research has started.
As for Barbara...I think you are correct in that she was one of the first big stars to head to tv....but she did make over 80 movies in her movie career....thanks for checking in....hope your birthday was awesome.
Thanks for checking in Yankees Rule....I agree with you...it is a great reference tool...thanks for stopping by.
Hey ConanBruce, I'm not a Stanwyck expert so this hub is pretty useful to me. I know The Lady Eve and Meet John Doe are popular and I expected them to do better on the chart. I mean why is My Reputation in the top 10, there's nothing distinguished about it, except miss Stanwyck. Even Flora missed that one. ;)
Hey Steve...The only think that stands out about My Reputation is how much money it made....it is listed as one of the biggest hits of the entire 1940 decade....so back in 1946 something about the movie got the movie going public very excited about it. I was not even aware of The Lady Eve before doing this hub....Stanwyck thought it was the best comedy she ever made....I will be checking that one out. Thanks for your input.
Awesome job Cogerson! I think you pretty much nailed everything about Barbara Stanwyck, but I didn't know she was Tori Spelling's godmother- I would have thought it would have been someone else. I've seen a good number of her movies and my two favorites are definitely Sorry, Wrong Number and Double Indemnity. I saw the two Mrs. Carrolls, but Bogey freaked me out in that one and it was poorly written. Who's next?! I'm excited.
Hey Alecia...I am glad you like your suggested hub....it was fun and a huge learning experience doing her hub....I went from knowing next to nothing about her career to learning many many things that will not leave my mind anytime soon....I am looking forward to finally seeing Double Indemnity. Sidney Poitier is next on the hub schedule...already started researching his movies...thanks for the suggestion and thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Looking at Flora's humungous post, that's practically a hub in itself. Flora can start a hub, paste that in, add a couple of Stanwyck pics and hey presto a new hub. There's over 500 words in that comment much more than you find in most hubs these days. :)
Whoa!! The photo from 1941 "Ball of Fire," is pretty RISQUE for that era!! Looks like Barbara made a movie with nearly every male star there was back then (including, ELVIS? lol) She played her share of "hard-a**ed" women.....borderline B*tch...know what I mean? Great job as always Cogerson. Your hubs are plain old AWESOME
Hey Steve...you have to give Flora credit...she reads and really thinks about her comments....which I greatly appreciate(in case Flora reads this)...her comment gives me an idea of which movies I should check out in the Barbara Stanwyck collection. So I can go from only 2 Stanwyck movies to a more respectable number.
Hey fpherh48...you are right that photo is pretty risque....it is amazing that he has survived all this time. I agree about all her co-stars...as I was researching the hub....I kept thinking almost every one of her movies had a screen legend either directing the movie or co-starring in the movie. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments.
Hello Cogerson, Bruce, son, I enjoyed reading the personal comments but did not know that she and Robert Wagner had a thing...must have been frowned upon in those days. I have seen many many of her movies - you did not mention the TV movie, the Thornbirds that was quite a hit with other stars. I have enjoyed so many of her films...SHE WAS A GREAT ACTRESS...THANKS FOR THIS HUB.
They Really Need To Give Barbara Stanwyck An Honorary Oscar...I've Seen Bios On Her But Have Never Seen Her Movies.;)
Cogerson, you will be able to see Double Indemnity, The Lady Eve, and Remember the Night via TCM.
Steve-I get overly enthusiastic about my favourites.
Hey BERN1960....yep you boy Robert Wagner and her had a 4 year relationship....she was almost 50 when it ended. True I did not mention the Thornbirds....it was a very popular tv mini-series. Thanks for the compliment and for stopping by.
Hey Mentalist acer....they actually did give her a Honorary Oscar back in 1982....53 years after her screen debut....I am right there with you about not seeing many of her movies...but I am trying to catch some in the near future...thanks as always for your comments.
Thanks Flora I need to do a better job of checking out the schedule on TCM....when I was on my "Watch Every Major Oscar" search...I actually found a site that e-mailed when the movies where on TV that I was searching for...I can not remember that website...but it came in handy. Thanks for the information.
Barbara Stanwyck is one of the all-time great actresses and one of my personal favorites. She was excellent at both comedy and at playing nasty femme fatales.
My favorite Stanwyck film was "Double Indemnity" where she was amazing as the manipulative vixen plotting murder with Fred MacMurray.
She often used to specilize in a variation of the classic Femme Fatale, playing the scheming woman who falls in love with the man she was trying to manipulate (The lady Eve, Ball of Fire, Meet John doe.)
Great star. Great hub.
Rob
HeyRob....thanks for stopping by....I will say watching Double Indemnity has moved up the list of movies to see....I currently have a copy reserved at my local library...and hopefully this copy will work.
I am glad I did a hub on one of your all-time greats....her career is very impressive....and I look forward to checking out the movies you mentioned....as always thanks for your comments.
Barbara Stanwyck was a classy lady. I heard while she was at the top of her game as an movie star she made it a point to know the names of everyone on set, even the crew.
She was both lovely and talented. The fact she spent her last years working for charity is no surprise.
Hey ruffridyer....you are 100% correct she was a very classy lady....she had a great reputation in the world of Hollywood.
I am now up to three Barbara Stanwyck movies as I finally saw Double Indemnity...great roles for Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson....but Fred MacMurray was awesome in the lead role.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting it is as always greatly appreciated.
Great, you've seen Double Indemnity! I love that film and never tire of it.
Hey Flora....I most have gotten the same bad DVD from the library....it acted up as MacMurray was entering his insurance company at the beginning of the movie.....I took it out...first attempt rubbing alcohol to clean it did not work....but I refused to give up.... then I drove to one of the last video stores around....they took the dvd and ran it through DVD cleaning machine.....and finally to worked again....so the third time was the charm. The best piece of trivia I picked ...Richard Crenna played the main lead part in a 1974 TV version called Double Indemnity....then Crenna played the husband part in 1981's Body Heat...I did not even know about the tv version.
Also it was Edward G. Robinson's first supporting role...I wonder if he realized when he accepted this part that he was signing up for almost 30 more years of supporting parts.
Glad I finally watched a classic film that I have been aware of most of my life.
Robinson was interested in making great movies, not his ego. Originally he had it in his contract that he had to be listed first in the credits. When he made Key largo there was a problem, because this requirement was also in Bogart's contract. Robinson gladly allowed the change in his credit listing so that he could work with Bogart.
Hey Flora, thanks for the information on one of your favorite actors.....he was excellent in Double Indemnity...as in Key Largo. I think he realized that it was time to move to great supporting roles. Thanks for stopping by.
This is a great hub. Stanwyck is my favorite actress from that era. She pulls off comedy, drama, and sex appeal easily.
She really should have won an award for Stella Dallas, not only was it great acting. But she was one of the few actresses during that time to forgo wearing makeup for a role. She actually allowed herself to look like a fool and show her age in that film. I really respect that about her.
Linda Williams said of Stanwyck in Stella Dallas: "I can think of no other film star of the period so willing to exceed both the bounds of good taste and sex appeal in a single performance."
And you mentioned that Baby Face got lost in the shuffle. I think that had to do with the fact of it's sexual nature. Even though it was made before the Production Code was enforced, the end of the film was censored and edited so that Stanwyck's character is "punished" for her sexually lascivious deeds. I can see why it might be hard to find a copy of the film even though it has significant cultural relevance because it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable to society in 1933.
And Ball of Fire is great, though I would consider it a comedy. I love that the professors were based on the dwarfs from Snow White.
So there you have it drama (Stella Dallas), sex appeal (Baby Face), and wise-cracking comedy queen (Ball of Fire). I haven't even started on Double Indemnity yet!
Voted up and awesome.
Thanks for a great comment juliafranceschini....I agree with all of your points in the comment. Since I wrote this hub I have doubled my Barbara Stanwyck movies and I am now up to 4. I finally saw Double Indemnity and The Lady Eve. Still on my list of movies to watch are two of the movies you mention Stella Dallas and Ball of Fire.
Your comments have moved Stella Dallas to the number spot of movies to watch. She did earn her first Oscar nomination for the role. Nice quote from Linda Williams. As for her sexual side...I found her very sexy in The Lady Eve...I was actually surprised that some of the scenes still made the movie...for example when Henry Fonda is replacing her broken shoe...wow...I could not believe I was watching a 1941 movie.
One of my favorite movie books is Danny Peary's Alternative Oscars....and his book he makes the case that Stanwyck should have won two Oscars for her performances in Ball of Fire and Double Indemnity.
Thanks stopping by and checking out my Stanwyck and thanks for such a great comment...I learned many things from your comment.
I like this page it is very informative.However you stated that none of Stanwyck's films ever won an Oscar, but Titanic(1953) won an Oscar for Best Writing.
Hey PeteWallace you are 100% correct....Titanic got nominated for two Oscars and won one....they helped move Titanic's score from 39.99(20th ranked) to 42.27(16th ranked)...thanks for catching my error and getting her movies correct....it is greatly appreciated.
Peter Breck has died at the age of 82, it has just been announced. He was best known for playing Nick Barkley on The Big Valley, one of Stanwyck's three sons. This leaves Lee Majors and Linda Evans - two other children of Stanwyck's on the show, as the last surviving regular cast members. There were four children-three sons and a daughter. Stanwyck died first. Then Richard Long, who played the eldest child.
Hey Flora, that is sad about Peter Breck. I remember him from The Big Valley. At least we still have Lee Majors and Linda Evans still around. Thanks for sharing this information.
FloraBreenRobison 7 months ago
Just about to have dinner, so I won't go through the films of hers I've seen, but so far I've seen 21. Considering I'm a big fan, I am NOT happy with that total.