Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection DVD Credits:

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Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection DVD Release Date: 29th October 2007

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Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection DVD Review:

Executive Suite (1953)
Based on the novel by Cameron Hawley, Executive Suite essentially leads up to a corporate meeting that plays out like a boardroom 12 Angry Men, only the numbers are smaller and one of the men is Barbara Stanwyck. When the president of a furniture company dies on his way to a meeting to declare the next president, the board must make a decision on their own, which turns into a series of political moves including blackmail. William Holden plays the manufacturing VP who doesn’t want to see the company in the hands of money-hungry accounting man (Fredric March). It is a fantastic film, and although Stanwyck is only a supporting character, this is easily the best film in the set. Director Oliver Stone gives a commentary for the film which is phenomenal, and other special features include a vintage Pete Smith short and a classic cartoon. The theatrical trailer is also included.

Annie Oakley (1935)
One of the fascinating elements of early films as their ability to show common men parts of the world they would never otherwise be able to see. This set has a few great examples of this often transparent sub-plot of films, including a tour of Mexico in Jeopardy which is laughable today, but I’m certain fascinating at the time. In Annie Oakley it isn’t so much location as ability, and the film makes fantastic use of the incredible stunt horse-riders that are a part of the Wild West Show Annie Oakley (Stanwyck) joins with her incredible shooting abilities. She replaces the lead sharpshooter, but he doesn’t mind when they fall in love. It is an energetic and fun biopic that is also a standard boy-meets-girl story. The DVD includes a vintage musical short and a classic cartoon.

My Reputation (1946)
Stanwyck listed her performance as Jessica, a young widow and mother, as one of her personal favorites. She is a loving mother and respected woman, a far cry from her best known role in Double Indemnity. When she meets an army officer while vacationing with friends, she starts a simple romance with the man. This causes a great deal of gossip in her social circle, and eventually even her two boys hear about the indiscretions that everyone thinks Jessica has made. The DVD has an audio-only featurette from a radio show with Stanwyck reading one of the two adaptations of the film. There is also a musical short and a classic cartoon.

East Side, West Side (1949)
Melodrama turned murder mystery, East Side, West Side is a frustrating tale of a devoted wife (Stanwyck) who is married to a philandering man whose old mistress has just returned to town. Ava Gardner stars as the mistress trying to tear the husband away, but in the process she ends up dead and the mystery becomes a task for a man in love with Stanwyck. It is a jumbled film, entertaining enough although mostly because of the stellar cast. The DVD has a short, cartoon and a trailer.

To Please a Lady (1950)
Clark gable co-stars in this romance film beginning with boy-meets-girl, boy-hates-girl. Stanwyck is a reporter who destroys the career of a race-car driver by claiming his driving results in the death of other drivers. Even though she ruined him, he eventually begins to love her anyways and she roots for him as he rises back up on top as a new man. The most impressive element in the film is the fabulous racing scenes, even though the ending of the film is a bit trite. There is a theatrical trailer included.

Jeopardy
A strange noir-like film about a family in Mexico having a series of bad incidents turn their trip into a nightmare, Jeopardy is strange in the role it puts Stanwyck. When her husband is trapped under a pier on a secluded beach, she is forced to leave him and her son to try and find some rope to help release him. She doesn’t speak Spanish, so when she comes across an American she trusts him immediately. Soon after he begins driving her car she finds out he is actually a ruthless killer with no intention of helping her rescue her husband. There is a radio-show adaptation included on the DVD as well as a theatrical trailer.

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Barbara Stanwyck - The Signature Collection DVD review written by: Ryan Izay