A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details NNoo CCrriinnoolliinnee--CCoovveerreedd LLaaddyy:: SSttaarrddoomm,, AAggeennccyy,, aanndd tthhee CCaarreeeerr ooff BBaarrbbaarraa SSttaannwwyycckk Linda Berkvens DPhil thesis submitted to the University of Sussex March 2011 1 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature:………………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Acknowledgements I am grateful to the following people for all their support, feedback, and encouragement: Dr. Frank Krutnik, Dr. Thomas Austin, Dr. Michael Hammond, Dr. Niall Richardson, my PhD- buddy Rosemary Shirley, Sharif Mowlabocus, the DPhil student organizers of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Conference 2008, Constance McCormick-Van Wyck, Jenny Romero at the Margaret Herrick Library, Sandra Joy Lee and Jonathan Auxier at the Warner Bros. Archives, Ned Comstock at the Cinematic Arts Library and Dace Taube at the Regional History Center at the University of Southern California, staff at the BFI, University of Sussex Library and Special Collections, Paley Center in New York and Los Angeles, EYE Film Instituut Nederland library, my DPhil friends in the School of Media, Film, and Music, Nick Till, Sarah Maddox, Tamar Jeffers McDonald, Martin Shingler, Kate & Rachel, Charlotte, and Willemijn. I would also like to thank my parents Berry and Ans Berkvens for continuous enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the project. I dedicate this thesis to you. 3 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX LINDA BERKVENS (DPHIL) No Crinoline-Covered Lady: Stardom, Agency, and the Career of Barbara Stanwyck SUMMARY This thesis examines how Hollywood’s female star images were created, promoted, and sold to the public, using a case study of Barbara Stanwyck. The research focuses in particular on the models of womanhood Stanwyck offered, her position as a female star in the male-controlled film industry, and her shifting image from the start of her career in 1930 until her final television performance in a continuing-character series in 1969. The research takes a different look at star studies as it is conventionally approached within the discipline of film studies. I use a historical approach that examines stars not just as images but also as part of a film’s production, distribution, and exhibition process. I also attempt to develop the dominant approach of examining stars as images by using the historical approach to demonstrate how star images were created and promoted, and I argue that an understanding of these historical and industrial processes provides a better knowledge of the fashionability of stars. In writing the thesis I therefore rely on previously unused primary materials found in various papers and archival collections, fan magazines, and newspapers. The analysis of these materials demonstrates the relationship between Stanwyck’s image and the cultural and industrial events or trends of the time by locating the image in its original context. The chapters are arranged chronologically by decade, but they are primarily organized around a key historical, social, or industrial aspect that describes the focus of that decade. In my conclusion I offer explanations for the shifts in Stanwyck’s fashionability and I consider the usefulness of the historical approach to understand star images. 4 Table of Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 7 LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH APPROACH .................................................................................... 9 THESIS STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................ 26 CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 29 THE CONSTRUCTION OF STANWYCK’S IMAGE, 1930-1939 ..................................................... 29 STANWYCK, CAPRA, AND ACTING .......................................................................................................... 36 ONSCREEN IMMORALITY AND OFF-SCREEN MORALITY ......................................................................... 52 A NEW BEGINNING ................................................................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................................. 67 AGENTS AND AGENCY: STANWYCK AS A FREELANCE STAR ............................................... 67 PERIOD 1: STANWYCK AT WARNER BROS., 1931-1934 .......................................................................... 70 PERIOD 2: THE PRODUCTION OF THE GAY SISTERS, 1941-1942 ............................................................. 75 PERIOD 3: STANWYCK AND HAL WALLIS PRODUCTIONS, 1944-1950 ..................................................... 82 CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 89 A VERSATILE WOMAN: STANWYCK IN THE WAR AND POST-WAR ERAS......................... 89 STANWYCK’S VERSATILITY .................................................................................................................... 90 WOMEN AND WORLD WAR II ................................................................................................................. 94 IMAGES OF WOMEN IN STANWYCK’S FILMS: WARTIME PRODUCTION TRENDS .................................... 101 FILMS AND FEMININITY ........................................................................................................................ 109 CHAPTER 4 ........................................................................................................................................... 119 FADING STAR, 1950S-1960S ............................................................................................................... 119 AGEING STARS ..................................................................................................................................... 121 STANWYCK’S MATURITY AND HER FILM ROLES .................................................................................. 126 THE HOLLYWOOD WESTERN ................................................................................................................ 135 CHAPTER 5 ........................................................................................................................................... 147 STANWYCK ON TELEVISION IN THE 1960S ................................................................................ 147 THE BARBARA STANWYCK SHOW ........................................................................................................ 151 THE BIG VALLEY .................................................................................................................................. 161 HARRIDAN IN A HORROR PICTURE........................................................................................................ 170 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 176 NO CRINOLINE-COVERED LADY: EXPLAINING STANWYCK’S FASHIONABILITY ................................... 176 RESEARCH APPROACH AND STAR ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 181 LIST OF WORKS CITED .................................................................................................................... 197 APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................................................... 231 APPENDIX B ......................................................................................................................................... 239 APPENDIX C ......................................................................................................................................... 240 APPENDIX D ......................................................................................................................................... 241 5 List of Illustrations Cover: Stanwyck’s entrance as Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (Paramount 1944) Figure 1: Advertisements from Photoplay for LUX Soap and Max Factor ..................................... 32-33 Figure 2: Advertisements from Variety for MGM and Columbia ......................................................... 37 Figure 3: Advertisements from Variety and The Miracle Woman press book ...............................