“Love? Can any man love a woman for herself without wanting her body for his own pleasure? Love is understanding… sharing… enjoying the beauty of life without the reek of lust. Don’t talk to me about love! What do you know? What does that young buck know? What does any man know?” -Barbara Stanwyck as Jo Courtney, A Walk On The Wild Side (1962)
If Barbara Stanwyck wasn’t a lesbian, she sure was a damn fine actor!
On second thought… why couldn’t she have been both?
A Walk With The Wild Stanwyck
For reasons unknown to me, the NYC Opera Fanatic got an urge out of the blue to explore the work of Barbara Stanwyck, an actress heretofore largely unexplored by the film fanatic in me.
Of course, even at an early age, I knew Barbara Stanwyck from The Big Valley. Oops. Sorry. Excuse me.
Miss Barbara Stanwyck
The NYC Opera Fanatic wishes he had one of those “I first heard opera listening to the Met broadcasts” rite-of-passage stories. You know, the ones like you read in Opera News… in advertisements from the Metropolitan Opera so that you’ll make them the sole heir to your vast fortune. Alas, no such story for me.
On Saturday afternoons there was no opera floating around the NYC Opera Fanatic’s not-so-little house on the prairie. Oh No! Saturday afternoons were reserved for Channel 39’s TV-Westerns marathon, capped-off by a racous dinner with the grandparents and The Lawrence Welk Show.: A One-A. And A Two-A. And A Three-A!
aside: now do you understand why I am the way I am?
My father was the Westerns-fanatic. Considering where we lived, I guess those Westerns were like his own personal reality shows. I mean, believe it or not, my father was a professional calf-roper at one time …long before bouncing baby NYCOF came on the scene.
aside: The NYC Opera Fanatic apologizes to his Yankee readers. Calf-roping is a rodeo event where this guy on a horse chases down a calf (who doesn’t get much of a head-start, btw), jumps off the horse, kinda knocks the calf down and then ties its legs together. Fun, eh? Even more suprising, people gather in great herds to watch this “sporting” event.. Well, I guess it is better for the environment than NASCAR.
But, I digress.
My father’s favorite Western was Gunsmoke but I much preferred The Big Valley which centered upon the Barkleys of Stockton, Calfornia (way before they moved to Broadway, I guess) of which Miss Barbara Stanwyck was their Mother Courage. I guess I liked the show because, even at a young age, I recognized great talent when I saw it (aka Stanwyck, not Linda Evans).
Who am I kidding? I liked Stanwyck in The Big Valley but I loved Heath.
Lee Majors as bastard son, Heath Barkley. So, you realize, that made Heath not Miss Barbara Stanwyck’s son … on the show… which, of course, explained why Heath was devoid of all trace of Miss Barbara Stanwyck’s acting genes.
Being young-ish, I had difficulty, at first, reconciling 1960’s blond shaved Lee Majors with 1970’s swarthy hairy Lee Majors, especially since I could watch both Lees almost back-to-back (Valley re-runs and Six Million Dollar Man first-runs). At some point, I guess I decided either or both Lees was vastly preferable to Farrah Fawcett. Her poster came down from my closet door and Lee’s went up (and I’ve felt like six million dollars ever since!)
But, I digress… back to Miss Barbara Stanwyck.
Then came The Thorn Birds, which put the men back in mini-series.
Stanwyck was great in The Thorn Birds. She was so evil. I wonder why evil Stanwyck is so much more effective than good, or at least, law-abiding Stanwyck?
Who am I kidding? I liked Stanwyck in The Thorn Birds but I loved Bryan Brown!
I couldn’t find an appropriately hunky pic of “ruggedly handsome” (Leonard Maltin’s words, not mine) Brown from Thorn Birds so use your imagination and read about him on imdb
Oh why couldn’t my family have sheep instead of stupid old cattle?
But I digress… back to Stanwyck.
The Colbys. Who could forget The Colbys? Ahem. Well, who could forget Barbara Stanwyck’s tour-de-force performance as Charleton Heston’s sister? Heck, that alone would have damned-near killed me too!
“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.” -Barbara Stanwyck
Who am I kidding? I liked Stanwyck in The Colbys but….
…I loved Stephanie Beacham as Sable!
Now there’s a great talent wasted! Everyone talks about how Stanwyck never got the recognition she deserved but, in Beacham’s case, it’s never even getting the career she deserved. I mean, anyone who chews scenery with greater gusto than Joan Collins deserves some props… plus I just read Beacham did all that while being completely deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other! You go.
Oh, but I digress again. Back to Barbara Stanwyck.
My advice: skip The Two Mrs Carrolls and go directly to A Walk On The Wild Side.
“Tell him about the days and nights of Hallie Gerard! Tell him about the mud you’ve rolled in for years! Well? Tell him?”
Oh yeah. The NYC Opera Fanatic loves Barbara Stanwyck in that!