Barbara Stanwyck (1907-90).

August 27, 2017 Alan Royle 8

  BARBARA STANWYCK                        Barbara Stanwyck was one of those actresses whose performances ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. From brilliant to lousy. Admittedly, most performers have roles they are extremely proud of and others that make them cringe, […]

A couple of film noirs.

February 4, 2017 Alan Royle 0

  DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)                    I suppose most fans of old movies have their personal favourite film noir. Mine is without doubt Double Indemnity (1944), which surprises even me because I have never been overly keen on any of the three stars – Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson. […]

Four memorable lady movie villains.

July 23, 2016 Alan Royle 2

  The history of movies is literally riddled with iconic male villains, but not so many women have been fortunate enough to sink their teeth into a genuinely meaty, nasty role. One of the first (and best) appeared in Hitchcock’s 1940 classic Rebecca. Dame Judith Anderson positively oozed malevolence as […]