Barbara Stanwyck: Comedy Goddess
Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 9:30AM 
Despite being one of Old Hollywood's most electrifying actresses, Barbara Stanwyck feels somewhat forgotten (apart from cinephiles) when compared to her contemporaries like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford or Ingrid Bergman. The one role that arguable does keep her immortal with the mainstream is the devilish Phyllis Dietrichson in Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, the noir to end all noirs starring the greatest femme fatale of them all. Still, to believe that Stanwick was essentially a noir vixen is unfair to her grand legacy. More than many actresses of her time, she rejoiced in hopping from genre to genre, unencumbered by exclusive contracts to studios that might want to pin her down to one type of role.
Because of that, she was able to experiment with the extremes of Pre-Code libertinism (Baby Doll), weepy melodrama (Stella Dallas), historical epics (Titanic), tragic romances (There's Always Tomorrow) and even camp classics (Walk on the Wild Side). Her tonal flexibility was unparalleled as she was able to mold her trademark toughness and sexual confidence into almost any role conceivable. She was much more than just the venomous Mrs. Dietrichson, even though that is one of her greatest achievements. I'd go so far as to say that she was one of the great comediennes of her era, on par with Irene Dunne, Carole Lombard, and Jean Arthur. Just take look at her second Oscar nomination…
Barbara Stanwyck may have had an enviable filmography, but her refusal to chain herself to any particular studio made her a bit of a pariah when it came to the promotion of her stardom. In regards to Oscar, the big studios had a huge influence on the awards' early decades and they'd rather spend their resources on nabbing their household stars some nods than assuring recognition for a rebellious interloper like Stanwyck. Throughout decades of hard work of consistently high quality, the actress managed to conquer four nominations in total, but a win was always out of her reach. Still, the Academy's choices serve to highlight the variety of her talents.
There's 1937's Stella Dallas and its rhapsodies of self-sacrificing motherhood, the sociopathic calculations of 1944's Double Indemnity and the broad hysteria of 1948's Sorry, Wrong Number. In the middle of them, we can even find one of the actress's best comedic turns, as the 40s oversexed take on Snow White. The movie is Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire and the role is that of the improbably named Sugarpuss O'Shea, a showgirl running from the mafia who takes refuge among eight dotty scholars who are presently working on a new encyclopedia. Naturally, many ridiculous hijinks ensue and, by the end of the picture, she's stolen the heart of the hunkiest professor.
The role may seem trite and the plot wacky, but Ball of Fire is a delight from start to finish. It's true that much of the pic's success can be attributed to Hawks' direction, the hilarious script by the dynamic duo of Bracket and Wilder, as well as the stunning supporting cast. However, Stanwyck is the glue that holds it all together and the spice that, when added to the other ingredients, makes this cinematic recipe go from good to great. Slinky, confident, playing befuddlement but never dumbness, the actress makes the story's wild turns seem logical and its emotional arc feels true. More importantly, she delivers the humor perfectly.
From her sparkly entrance, while lips syncing to Martha Tilton to a troublesome wedding ceremony by the movie's climax, Stanwyck is as magnetic as she is funny. Everything can be used for comedy when she's around, from the way a book is held to the nervous mutterings when faced with matrimony to a criminal. It's especially impressive how Stanwyck never once appears to be making a great effort, always hiding the mastery of her acting, putting the film's success ahead of her own spotlight. Even when Ball of Fire threatens to overextend its welcome, she's ready to make potential script problems work onscreen, playing a sentimental conclusion with enough acerbity and dry humor to prevent it from becoming schmaltzy.
If you're interested in seeing with your own eyes how Barbara Stanwyck was a comedy goddess, Ball of Fire is available for streaming on the Criterion Channel. She's even better in Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve, which you can rent from Amazon or Youtube. Regarding her best comedies, there are few things more charming than the two Christmas classics she did in the 40s - Remember the Night, which you can stream on Direct TV and FlixFling, and Christmas in Connecticut, streaming on Direct TV and available to rent on Youtube and other platforms.
Reader Comments (17)
I have yet to see her on Ball of fire. I prefer her Stella Dallas over her Phyllis Dietrichson since I'm a melodrama lover. God, she made me cry like a baby, that last scene with her tearful eyes is just magic.
She's fantastic in Ball of Fire, but The Lady Eve is her real deal. Such perfection, the greatest screwball comedy of all time (tied with The Awful Truth), and Preston Sturges' masterpiece. Too bad she had to go up against Bette Davis for HER greatest performance in the Little Foxes in 1941. Who cares about the deHavilland/Fontaine sisters rivalry? Davis/Stanwyck is the battle royale of that year.
Love her performance in Christmas in Connecticut! I watch in every year during the holidays.
When a comedy goddess encounters a writing god. Love it.
Old Hollywood’s most versatile actress. Whatever the genre is you could place Stanwyck in and she would feel at ease and soar. Could you image Hepburn in The Furies or Davis in Ball of Fire? LOL I’ve always wondered why she isn’t as famous as those two considering she just operates on a such a deeper and more interesting level. Stella Dallas, No Man of Her Own, Baby Face, Remember the Night, Double Indemnity, Crime of Passion, The Lady Gambles, There's Always Tomorrow, The Bitter Tea of General Yen, etc. Wow.
ken -- agreed. THE LADY EVE.... is just perfect. ugh. But i love her in Ball of Fire, too.
Claudio-- totally agreed on her tonal flexibility. It's amazing really. Most actors try to do that now outside the studio system but few are equally strong in just about every genre they try.
I agree that she was the most versatile of the major Golden Age actresses. It was that she was able to relax into comedy in a way that Bette, Joan and Kate couldn't.
Hepburn did comedy well most of the time but she was usually jittery, jumpy and anxious. She could be a pleasure but it was a different kind of humor and performance. With Bette and Joan you were usually aware they were working at being funny. Stanwyck had none of those qualities she just was funny because she was able to not show the effort at making her character thrive.
The performers who were closest to her ability to work various genres are Carole Lombard and to a lesser extent Olivia de Havilland both of whom could be strong in drama and play comedy with a wry tone. But it took a while for Lombard to find her footing on screen and Olivia was a bit more mannered but Stanwyck was at home right from almost the beginning (her first two films The Locked Door and Mexicali Rose are horror shows best forgotten).
She's terrific in Ball of Fire but my favorite of her comedy work is Christmas in Connecticut. It was the film she made directly after Double Indemnity and I've wondered if her breeziness in it is in part due to a certain relief at shedding Phyllis Dietrichson. She's also quite delightful in The Mad Miss Manton, a zippy little film that doesn't get discussed nearly enough.
Great post! I love Barbara Stanwyck and am glad so many others recognize her superb comic abilities. Ball of Fire is so much fun , as is Christmas in Connecticut, but The Lady Eve may be her best comedic performance for me.
Great article, Barbara Stanwyck had pure talent and a strong work ethic. So many of her roles took a certain gutsy quality. For me Ball of Fire is my favourite, but she is watchable in pretty much anything she did.
Every time I see Barbara Stanwyck’s name in the credits, I think, well this will be worth watching. (And it is!)
She certainly proved her versatility with a 60 year career and a successful transition to television, where she won 3 Emmys.
Tough, smart, funny women with sincerely deep emotion never go out of style.
Her most underrated performance is in Lady of Burlesque. She wears even more clothes than in Ball of Fire or The Lady Eve, yet she really manages to convey the low down, raunchy world of the grindhouse. Quite an achievement! And her number "Take It Off the A String, Play It on the G String" is fantastic, worth the price of admission alone.
THE LADY EVE...Sublime!
She is delicious is "The Lady Eve" which is very sexy romantic screwball comedy
One of my favorites from classic Hollywood. I first fell in love with her in Big Valley. For some reason, it was on TV in syndication after school every day. She was bad ass in that show. Ball of Fire is so great--that Drum Boogie scene is ICONIC.
William Holden's tribute to her while they were presenting together in the 1978 Oscar Ceremony is lovely.
Also watch "Christmas in Connecticut" every year. It does start a little slow, but speeds up in the 2nd half.
Great actress!
Yessss!! Thx u Claudio for this tribute...
Stanwych is indeed it effortlessly sexy n funny in Ball of Fire, but she IS perfection in The Lady Eve released in the same yr!! Strange tt the Academy din pick her best perf tt yr (a case o K Hepburn in 1933, perhaps?)
She is indeed the most versatile actress among her contemporaries. i guess she's so effortlessly good n so dependable, tt the academy n movie goers took her for granted!
R u gonna do a Lady Eve tribute too??? Plzzzzzzzz do 🙏
I read this article! I hope you will continue to have such articles to share with everyone! Thank you