The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck: Twenty-Six Short Essays on a Working Star (Womens Media History Now!)

From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television. Catherine Russell's A to Z consideration of the iconic actress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America of her times. Russell examines Stanwyck's work onscreen against the backdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she also views the actress's off-screen performance within the Hollywood networks that made her an industry favorite and longtime cornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell's montage approach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artist whose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in the production of her films and in the debates around women, femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America. Original and rich, The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck is an essential and entertaining reexamination of an enduring Hollywood star. |Acknowledgments Introduction to Stanwyck Studies A A ll I Desire: Pastiche and Performance B The B arbara Stanwyck Show: Everyday Melodrama C C rimes of Passion: A Destructive Character D D ion the Son, and Barbara the Bad Mother E E dith Head: Clothing Makes the Woman a Woman F F orty Guns and The Furies: Angry Women G G ambling Ladies: Playing Games H William H olden: Making Men I I llicit: How to be Ultramodern J J ungle Films/White Women K K ate Crawley: Cross-Dressing in the Archive L The L ady Eve: Performativity and Melancholia M Fred M acMurray: Kissing and Playing N N o Man of Her Own: Double Women and the Star O Annie O akley: A Girl and a Gun P P aranoia, Abjection, and Gaslighting Q The Q ueen R R iding, Falling, and Stunts S The S tella Dallas Debates T T heresa Harris: Black Double U U nion Pacific: Unmaking History V V oice, Body, Identity W W orking Women and Cultural Labor X E x otica and Bitter Tears Y Y ou Belong to Me: Archives and Fans Z Z eppo Marx: Comedy and Agency Notes Bibliography Index | "Catherine Russell's The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck adds illuminating dimension to the actress's complex life story and equally vaunted career. Her meticulously researched and thoughtful analysis brings a fresh perspective to Stanwyck' s legacy, and captures the enduring power and charm of the classical Hollywood movie star." — Cineaste " The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck makes the choice to refuse to simplify Stanwyck's career. It underscores Stanwyck's importance, but it doesn't pretend like she, the films, or the era that created them are something they're not. As a result, Russell has put together an unflinching work of criticism that must be acknowledged as the definitive work on the subject. It's essential reading for anyone interested in Stanwyck or the era of film she headlined." — NewCity "Catherine Russell's inventive study of Barbara Stanwyck's long, fascinating career as a 'working star' offers a tantalizing model for other feminist histories of women's work in the film industry. Achronological and essayistic, Russell's approach weaves back and forth between Stanwyck's onscreen roles, her star persona, and her working life to document what Russell calls 'the structural misogyny of the industry.'"—Shelley Stamp, author of Lois Weber in Early Hollywood and Movie-Struck Girls | Catherine Russell ... From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television. Catherine Russell's A to Z consideration of the iconic actress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America of her times. Russell examines Stanwyck's work onscreen against the backdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she also views the actress's off-screen performance within the Hollywood networks that made her an industry favorite and longtime cornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell's montage approach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artist whose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in the production of her films and in the debates around women, femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America. Original and rich, The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck is an essential and entertaining reexamination of an enduring Hollywood star. |Acknowledgments Introduction to Stanwyck Studies A A ll I Desire: Pastiche and Performance B The B arbara Stanwyck Show: Everyday Melodrama C C rimes of Passion: A Destructive Character D D ion the Son, and Barbara the Bad Mother E E dith Head: Clothing Makes the Woman a Woman F F orty Guns and The Furies: Angry Women G G ambling Ladies: Playing Games H William H olden: Making Men I I llicit: How to be Ultramodern J J ungle Films/White Women K K ate Crawley: Cross-Dressing in the Archive L The L ady Eve: Performativity and Melancholia M Fred M acMurray: Kissing and Playing N N o Man of Her Own: Double Women and the Star O Annie O akley: A Girl and a Gun P P aranoia, Abjection, and Gaslighting Q The Q ueen R R iding, Falling, and Stunts S The S tella Dallas Debates T T heresa Harris: Black Double U U nion Pacific: Unmaking History V V oice, Body, Identity W W orking Women and Cultural Labor X E x otica and Bitter Tears Y Y ou Belong to Me: Archives and Fans Z Z eppo Marx: Comedy and Agency Notes Bibliography Index |"Russell has positioned her concise, structurally adventurous contribution to 'Stanwyck studies' to reflect the expanding range of cultural approaches to women in media published during the past decade. . . . The twenty-six bite-sized essays cover themes of work, gender, sexuality, ageing, misogyny, class and race." — Times Literary Supplement "Catherine Russell's The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck adds illuminating dimension to the actress's complex life story and equally vaunted career. Her meticulously researched and thoughtful analysis brings a fresh perspective to Stanwyck' s legacy, and captures the enduring power and charm of the classical Hollywood movie star." — Cineaste " The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck makes the choice to refuse to simplify Stanwyck's career. It underscores Stanwyck's importance, but it doesn't pretend like she, the films, or the era that created them are something they're not. As a result, Russell has put together an unflinching work of criticism that must be acknowledged as the definitive work on the subject. It's essential reading for anyone interested in Stanwyck or the era of film she headlined." — NewCity | Catherine Russell is Distinguished University Research Professor of Cinema at Concordia University. Her books include Archiveology: Walter Benjamin and Archival Film... From to Barbara Stanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talents but also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film and television. Catherine Russell's A to Z consideration of the iconic actress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America of her times. Russell examines Stanwyck's work onscreen against the backdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she also views the actress's off-screen performance within the Hollywood networks that made her an industry favorite and longtime cornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell's montage approach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artist whose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in the production of her films and in the debates around women, femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America. |Acknowledgments A **A**ll I Desire: Pastiche and Performance B The **B**arbara Stanwyck Show: Everyday Melodrama C **C**rimes of Passion: A Destructive Character D **D**ion the Son, and Barbara the Bad Mother E **E**dith Head: Clothing Makes the Woman a Woman F **F**orty Guns and The Furies: Angry Women G **G**ambling Ladies: Playing Games H William **H**olden: Making Men I **I**llicit: How to be Ultramodern J **J**ungle Films/White Women K **K**ate Crawley: Cross-Dressing in the Archive L The **L**ady Eve: Performativity and Melancholia M Fred **M**acMurray: Kissing and Playing N **N**o Man of Her Own: Double Women and the Star O Annie **O**akley: A Girl and a Gun P **P**aranoia, Abjection, and Gaslighting Q The **Q**ueen R **R**iding, Falling, and Stunts S The **S**tella Dallas Debates T **T**heresa Harris: Black Double U **U**nion Pacific: Unmaking History V **V**oice, Body, Identity W **W**orking Women and Cultural Labor X E**x**otica and Bitter Tears Y **Y**ou Belong to Me: Archives and Fans Z **Z**eppo Marx: Comedy and Agency Notes Bibliography Index "Catherine Russell's __The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck__ adds illuminating dimension to the actress's complex life story and equally vaunted career. Her meticulously researched and thoughtful analysis brings a fresh perspective to Stanwyck' s legacy, and captures the enduring power and charm of the classical Hollywood movie star." —__Cineaste__ "__The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck__ makes the choice to refuse to simplify Stanwyck's career. It underscores Stanwyck's importance, but it doesn't pretend like she, the films, or the era that created them are something they're not. As a result, Russell has put together an unflinching work of criticism that must be acknowledged as the definitive work on the subject. It's essential reading for anyone interested in Stanwyck or the era of film she headlined." —__NewCity__ "Catherine Russell's inventive study of Barbara Stanwyck's long, fascinating career as a 'working star' offers a tantalizing model for other feminist histories of women's work in the film industry. Achronological and essayistic, Russell's approach weaves back and forth between Stanwyck's onscreen roles, her star persona, and her working life to document what Russell calls 'the structural misogyny of the industry.'"—Shelley Stamp, author of __Lois Weber in Early Hollywood and Movie-Struck Girls__ |**Catherine Russell**... From The Lady Eve, to The Big Valley, BarbaraStanwyck played parts that showcased her multidimensional talentsbut also illustrated the limits imposed on women in film andtelevision. Catherine Russell's A to Z consideration of the iconicactress analyzes twenty-six facets of Stanwyck and the America ofher times. Russell examines Stanwyck's work onscreen against thebackdrop of costuming and other aspects of filmmaking. But she alsoviews the actress's off-screen performance within the Hollywoodnetworks that made her an industry favorite and longtimecornerstone of the entertainment community. Russell's montageapproach coalesces into an engrossing portrait of a singular artistwhose intelligence and savvy placed her center-stage in theproduction of her films and in the debates around women,femininity, and motherhood that roiled mid-century America.

Original and rich, The Cinema of Barbara Stanwyck is anessential and entertaining reexamination of an enduring Hollywoodstar.