Barbara Stanwyck: The Miracle Woman (Hollywood Legends Series)

This is not a true biography of Stanwyck but focuses on her film with some biographical information included. The films are not presented in sequence but categorized in groups such as the Capra films, screwball comedies, westerns, etc. I found the book disappointing in the fact that in order to make Stanwyck look good, the author had to belittle most everyone she worked with. Betty Bronson is called “hopeless”, Stanwyck is always “more focused” than Bette Davis, Lionel Barrymore is a “dreaded ham thespian, Robert Taylor has a “creepy and even Dracula-esque quality about his face”, Adolphe Menjou is “hopeless”, Gable has “squinty blue eyes”, Lizabeth Scott is “100 percent artificial”, and so on. Stanwyck was a show more strong enough and good enough actress to stand on her own, without having to cut all these other actors down. The author even discusses how actresses like Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, and others match up to Stanwyck. show less