Film Festival: The Holidays DURING WORLD WAR II, citizens tightened their belts by raising vegetables in Victory Gardens. And because of war rationing, it was difficult to get staples such as sugar and butter. With all this self-denial, vicarious pleasure could be had by reading about scrumptious gourmet meals home-cooked in cozy settings. Barbara Stanwyck’s…
Barbara Stanwyck
The Lady Eve comedy con game: Lisa’s Home Bijou
Film Festival: Cruise Ship Romance The Lady Eve (1941) is a sparkling romance on a cruise ship and a revenge plot in high society Connecticut. Barbara Stanwyck plays dual roles with Henry Fonda as the young heir of a brewing fortune. I’ve always loved the fantasy life of people cruising on ships in the old…
Stella Dallas ever-giving mom: Lisa’s Home Bijou
Film Festival: Three Hankies In the 1937 version of Stella Dallas, Barbara Stanwyck turns in an Academy award-nominated performance as a devoted mother. Get out those handkerchiefs! The tearjerker has long been a staple of storytelling in the 20th century, with novelists such as Olive Higgins Prouty, Lloyd C. Douglas and Fannie Hurst combining elements…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Annie Oakley
Film Festival: The West and Southwest Annie Oakley, whose career extended into the early decades of the 20th century, represented an icon for early 20th century women. As an independent, talented female celebrity, she traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and brought the culture, legends and romanticism of the West to people all over…
Lisa’s Home Bijou: Remember the Night
Film Festival: The Holidays CAN A THIEF AND a prosecutor find happiness together at Christmas? That’s the situation Preston Sturges creates for Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in Remember the Night (1940). Though not as well known as other holiday classic films, this romantic comedy is a great demonstration of an old-fashioned loving family celebration….