6 Reasons Why I Love Barbara Stanwyck

First of all, the hugest of huge happy birthdays to the wonderful lady to whom this post is dedicated!

I almost started writing a huge gushy post about how amazing, wonderful, fantastic...AMAZING...and fabulous Stany was, but then I realised that there aren't any words I could use that would fit her perfectly. So, I decided to share with you the 6 (don't ask why 6!) reasons that she is, for me, one of the greatest actresses ever, and more importantly, why she is my in my Top 3, tying with Greer Garson for 2nd place!

1: She commands audiences (or viewers, if you will) like no one else. She captures people's attention just as easily by quiet, slow movements as she does when she's screaming, shouting and/or shooting someone! Certainly, there are many other actresses whom you might say command the screen just as well as she does, BUT, I've never seen anyone who does it quite like her. Bette Davis, for example, never fails to capture my attention when she's flinging her arms around and being generally raucous, but often she loses me when she's being more restrained. For me, there is no one else who commands the screen quite like Stany.

2: Her voice. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate - once you've heard her voice, you'll never forget it. But, just for the sake of it, her voice is one of the most beautiful I've heard - it's virtually hypnotic!

3: She made every single character she played memorable. To name but a few: Lily Powers in Baby Face, Jean Harrington in The Lady Eve, Leona Stevenson in Sorry, Wrong Number, Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity, and Mae Doyle in Clash By Night.

4: She had guts. Well, she had to with the things she'd gone through in her life. Although at first she was reluctant to take on the role of ruthless killer Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity, she eventually agreed - even though she was afraid of the effect that it might have on her career. As she once said, "I'm a tough old broad from Brooklyn. I intend to go on acting until I'm ninety and they won't need to paste my face with make up.".

5: She was stunning - and so much of her beauty came from the inside. She was well known to be very kind toward the film crews - in fact, one of the directors she worked with many times, Frank Capra, said something along the lines of "...if there was a Hollywood popularity contest, Stanwyck would certainly win!"

6: From the first time I saw her, I felt really attached to her - as though I actually knew her. I'm sure all of you know that feeling - you'll watch someone in a film for the first time, and you feel a connection. You can love and admire an actor or actress without it, but it's that little bit more special if that feeling's there. For me, Stany is one of four that I've always felt "connected" to: Deborah Kerr, Greer Garson, Eleanor Parker an Stany. Apart from these four, my other favourites I've only felt the connection to on and off.

I could go on forever, but, as I promised, I'm only sharing 6 reasons today! I hope you've enjoyed reading them, and I'd love for you to comment and share your "6 Reasons For Stany" ;D

Enjoy the rest of the day...and don't forget to pop on one of Stany's films! :)

Barbara and Lucille ♥