| Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck: 1946 - 1947 |
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| The two Mrs. Carrolls 1947. Warner Brothers Director:Peter Godfrey Cast : Barbara Stanwyck ( Sally) Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Nigel Bruce, Isobel Elsom, Stanwyck Costumes: Edith Head |
| The bride wore boots 1946. Paramount Director: Irving Pichel Cast: Barbara Stanwyck (Sally Warren) Robert Cummings, Diana Lynn, Patrick Knowles, Peggy Wood, Costumes: Edith Head |
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| Barbara Stanwyck, Ann Carter, Humphrey Bogart |
| Patric Knowles,Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings |
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| This was the last performance of Stanwyck in a comedy on the big screen and sadly the last humorous film she did was marred by silly lines and clumsy direction. The comedy, about a wife who loves horses and a husband who doesn't, finds the stars bickering constantly (and expertly in spite of gratuitous extraneous tricks and incidents the director brings in to make the film seem funnier than it is.) |
| Although Barbara usually got along very well with her directors and was not known for giving ultimatums, an incident occurred while making the film that did cause her to put her foot down. During a very hot July afternoon the cast was gathered at the Midwick Country Club near Los Angeles, where some very tricky and strenuous steeplechase scenes were to be shot. The most difficult riding scenes involved Cummings but not Barbara. Portable, air-conditioned dressing rooms were nearby and she waited in her watching the filming. Pichel ordered that the race,which was run down the entire length of the country club,be shot in its entirety for each take. During the race Cummings was to ride in some precarious positions, and the actor found it quite a hair-rising experience. Nevertheless Pichel Thoughtlessly ordered take after take. After the thirteenth take, cast and crew alike were hoping it was over when the director ordered to start again,"Once more,it's not good enough!" Reluctantly everyone began preparing for another take, when Stanwyck walked toward Pichel with all the calm,cool self -assurance expected of her. Once she was a few feet away from the director, she looked him straight in the eyes and said,with a cool smile," Mr. Pichel, if Bob Cummings rides that goddamned race one more time, I'll see that you'll never work in films again!" With that,she turned on her heel and,with enormous poise,strode the two thousands or so feet back to her trailer as Irving Pichel,biting his lip, said,"Print takes one,four and thirteen. That's it for today!" It was a rare show of temper by Stanwyck,but a right one. The race is wonderful as it is. |
| Large in atmosphere,( as are all three of Peter Godfrey's films with Stanwyck) the film was shot in1945 but released in 1947. Stanwyck plays the soft-spoken and agreeable wife of a psychopatic Bogart who spends his time marrying,painting his wives as "The Angel of Death" and getting rid of them with poisoned milk Bogart is miscast as the psychopatic artist, and there seems to be very little chemistry between the two leads. Nevertheless they pull off a skillfull climax to what they have built, helped by a superb musical score and good direction. |
| Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Cummings |
| Barbara Stanwyck' private life was kept as private as possible. Robert Taylor was discharged from the Navy on November 5, 1945 and returned home and the couple seemed the ideal one, two mature professionals : he the handsome vet, she the beautiful actress, devoted to each other. But all was not what it seemed. In many ways Stanwyck and taylor were incompatible. He was an outdoorsman who loved hunting, fishing, and flying. She hated flying and had no interest in outdoor activities, He was a sound sleeper, she suffered from insomnia and was a voracious reader. Barbara's career was of primary importance to her;Taylor couldn't have cared less about his own, for him it was ajob and nothing more. Bob being 4 years younger than his wife and she was jealous and very possessive and that began to wear on him. |