Ladies They Talk About vs. Stella Dallas

faithx5

on 5/21/2012

Stanwyck vs. Stanwyck, eh? Fair enough, as when she's at her best, she's about the only person who can give herself a run for her money. :) And both these films are pretty much tolerable only because she gives them everything she's got, as she always did. Ladies They Talk About is a slight Pre-Code with Stanwyck as a bank robber who falls for an evangelist - who proceeds to turn her in even though he loves her, too. It's not particularly politically correct, and jumps between hard-boiled and melodrama with little ease. Stella Dallas is a far more prestigious picture, a certified three-hanky about a woman who marries out of her class (and against type) and has to deal with the consequences to herself and her family. It's also quite old-fashioned and quaint to modern viewers, but Stanwyck turns in one of her absolute most compelling performances, rising above the material and dragging it with her. Ladies They Talk About is perhaps the slightly more fun film simply because of the Pre-Code aspects, but I give Stella Dallas the vote for proving Stanwyck's chops in a straight-up melodrama.