5 Schemers Deliciously Played by Barbara Stanwyck

I've always loved Christmas in Connecticut, despite its many flaws. When re-watching it last month, I realized that Stanwyck may be the main problem (well, Stanwyck and the script). She was cast as a screwy dame who constantly relies on men to get her out of jams. That's all fine and good if you're Carole Lombard. But Stanwyck was always best when she was the one calling the shots:

Florence "Faith" Fallon in The Miracle Woman (1931, Frank Capra) was loosely based on the very successful evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who lost a great deal of credibility when she allegedly faked her own kidnapping in 1926. That's not in The Miracle Woman, though. Stanwyck played a fraudulent evangelist who travels the country with a con man, faking miracles and reaping profits. Hopefully, the presence of Stanwyck and Capra will lead to the film's DVD release, especially since I taped my copy off of Turner Classic Movies during a thunderstorm, resulting in a very poor print.

Lily Powers in Baby Face (1933, Alfred E. Green) starts out being whored out by her father in his speakeasy. She escapes him, flees to New York and - thanks to the teachings of Nietzsche - sleeps her way to the top of a corporation. As the tagline read: "She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!" Only the censored version of Baby Face was available for decades until an original, uncut print was found in 2004. You can now watch both versions on the Forbidden Hollywood Collection from TCM available on Warner Home Video.

Jean Harrington in The Lady Eve (1941, Preston Sturges) gets her heart broken by beer baron Charles "Hopsy" Pike (Henry Fonda). What's a girl to do? Pretend to be an English Lady, so Pike will fall in love with her again, so she can dump him, so he'll run back to her, of course.

On the day she gets fired from her job as a newspaper columnist, Ann Mitchell in Meet John Doe (1941, Capra) submits a fake suicide note - signed "John Doe" - for her final column. The article gets so much attention that she convinces her editors to re-hire and to hire a bum (Gary Cooper) to act the part of John Doe to keep the gimmick going. What could possibly go wrong?

Stanwyck's greatest role was as one of the most fatales femmes in the entire noir cycle: The amoral Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944, Billy Wilder) seduces insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) and contrives a scheme to defraud his company by offing her husband (Tom Powers). Only then does the Neff find out what happened to the first Mrs. Dietrichson.

On DVD this Tuesday...

I love the holiday gift giving season. All kinds of new things make it to DVD and most of them are on sale. You can view a comprehensive list of all December 5th releases at DVD Aficionado. Among the highlights...

Kino releases four silent films by Ernst Lubitch (not available as a set): Anna Boleyn (1920); Die Austernprinzessin (1919) with Ich möchte kein Mann sein (1920); Sumurun (1920); and Die Bergkatze (1921).

Sony Pictures releases The Premiere Frank Capra Collection: American Madness (1932); It Happened One Night (1934); Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); You Can't Take it with You (1938); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); and Kenneth Bowser's 1997 documentary, Frank Capra's American Dream.

From the Turner Classic Movies Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1: Two versions of Baby Face (1933, Alfred E. Green): the original pre-release director's cut and the less coherent, censored theatrical version. Baby Face, with Barbara Stanwyck in the title role, was so risque, it was censored before the 1934 Production Code went into effect. Red-Headed Woman (1932, Jack Conway) marked a turning point in Jean Harlow's career. Waterloo Bridge (1931, James Whale) stars Mae Clarke (Cagney shoved a grapefruit in her face in The Public Enemy) and features an early Bette Davis performance.

Criterion's re-issue of Grey Gardens, includs the Maysles Brothers' brand new follow-up, The Beales of Grey Gardens. Criterion has also kindly (and wisely) chosen to release The Beales of Grey Gardens separately, so anyone who already has Grey Gardens will not be forced to buy it again.

The Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant classic Holiday (1938, George Cukor) was previously only available as a part of Columbia's excellent Cary Grant Collection. It is now being released separately and just in time for New Year's Eve!

Anchor Bay celebrates the famed German director with The Wim Wenders Collection: Chambre 666 (1982); Tokyo-Ga (1985); Falsche Bewegung (1975); Lightning Over Water (1980); Der Scharlachrote Buchstabe (1973); Die Gebrüder Skladanowsky (1995) Der Amerikanische Freund (1977); and Aufzeichnungen zu Kleidern und Städten (1989)