A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940

by Victoria Wilson

  Carl Laemmle Jr. was negotiating: The picture, Remember Last Night?, starred Edward Arnold, Robert Young, and Constance Cummings. James Whale directed. AFI, 1765.

  Lyons and Sam Jaffe were also: Bill of particulars, 3, A & S Lyons Inc. v. Barbara Stanwyck, no. 396667, Superior Court of the State of California.

  The novelist, playwright: February 25, 1935, memo from Jaffe.

  Hollywood Hotel, a variety: Billips and Pierce, Lux Presents Hollywood, 3.

  During 1934, more than 150: Variety, January 1, 1935, 89, 105.

  In attendance, and chatting: Eugene Inge, Los Angeles Evening Herald Examiner, July 10, 1935.

  “still the screen’s mistress”: W. E. Oliver, Los Angeles Evening Herald Examiner, February 15, 1935.

  “waves bye-bye to”: Jerry Hoffman, Los Angeles Examiner, February 15, 1935.

  “I want the name”: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  “We started that way”: Freedonia Gazette (Winter 1981) and (Summer 1982); The Hollywood Greats, BBC-TV, written and produced by Barry Norman.

  “I preferred to sell”: A. J. Liebling, “Fifth Marx Brother Claims Credit for Success of Act,” New York World-Telegram, August 17, 1932, courtesy Shubert Archive.

  “I never felt at home”: Ibid.

  “Chico because if you”: Zeppo Marx to Shirley Eder, tape recording 10, courtesy of John Slotkin.

  It is also said: “Christening the Marx Brothers,” New York Evening Post, December 8, 1928.

  “I wonder what Zeppo”: Percy Hammond, November 10, 1928.

  “handsome, wooden, slightly obtuse”: Groucho Marx, The Groucho Phile (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976).

  “Yes, sir” and: Marx and Anobile, Marx Bros. Scrapbook, 79.

  “It’s not that he”: Stefan Kanfer, Groucho (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000), 186.

  “Nobody could follow”: Marx and Anobile, Marx Bros. Scrapbook, 45; Liebling, “Fifth Marx Brother Claims Credit.”

  “Zeppo off stage was”: Marx and Anobile, Marx Bros. Scrapbook, 44.

  “He was the funniest”: Ibid., 45.

  “completely different from”: Ibid., 25.

  “Zeppo could take an engine”: Groucho Marx, Groucho and Me (New York: Da Capo Press, 1995), 104.

  He had a talent: Michael Taylor to author, June 15, 2003.

  “I’m sick and tired”: The Marx Brothers A Bio-Bibliography, Wes D. Gehring (Greenwood, July 1987), 70.

  There were those who: Tallulah Bankhead, My Autobiography (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004), 82.

  The next live show: Freedonia Gazette (Winter 1981) and (Summer 1982); Hollywood Greats, written and produced by Norman.

  “learned from travelling”: Freedonia Gazette (Winter 1981) and (Summer 1982); Hollywood Greats, written and produced by Norman.

  “He’d carry the harp”: Freedonia Gazette (Winter 1981) and (Summer 1982); Hollywood Greats, written and produced by Norman.

  The Los Angeles police: Michael Taylor to author, June 2003.

  Growing up, Chico had: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  Marion loved clothes: Joan Benny to author, June 22, 2003.

  Each day Zeppo left: Tim Marx to author, August 8, 2003, 8.

  “On screen Barbara is”: Marion Marx, “My Pal Barbara Stanwyck,” as told to James Reid, magazine clipping, n.d.

  “Her eyes lacked luster”: Nanette Kutner, “Her Neighbors—the Taylors,” Modern Screen, December 1939.

  Zeppo met MacMurray: Zeppo Marx to Shirley Eder.

  “Both of them for”: Zeppo Marx to Shirley Eder.

  “one of the most popular”: Andre Sennwald, New York Times, February 9, 1935.

  He looked down from: Anthony Fay to author, June 2002, 7.

  Dion was crying: Banner affidavit, 3.

  Afterward, Barbara told Nellie: Ibid.; Margaret Griffith (niece of Nellie Banner) to author, 9.

  Eight: “Little Sure Shot”

  “[Eddie] called me”: Bernard Drew, Film Comment, March–April 1981, 45.

  It played for the next: McBride, Frank Capra, 309.

  It took Zeppo weeks: Marion Marx, “My Pal Barbara Stanwyck.”

  Groucho got word: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  Columbia was desperate: McBride, Frank Capra, 303–4.

  “Put on a little”: Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy (Spring 2003), 3.

  Barbara signed a contract: Variety, April 24, 1935, 3.

  The Pastry Baker’s Wife: A&S Lyons v. Barbara Stanwyck, no. 396667, Superior Court of the State of California, 3, February 28, 1936.

  “The pictures I was”: Gussow, Don’t Say Yes Until I Finish Talking, 60.

  The newly merged 20th: “Twentieth Century Fox,” Fortune, December 1935, 138.

  “woman of the ages”: Helen Harrison, “Famous, but Human,” Movie Classic, April 1935, 39, 53.

  “I have to work”: BS to Rex Reed. April 13, 1981.

  The U.S. government: Bank of America v. Frank Fay, Barbara Stanwyck Fay, Corporation of America, John Doe Co., Richard Roe Co., Henry Poe Co., February 20, 1939, 5.

  Barbara was in negotiations: Variety, April 24, 1935, 3.

  She notified RKO and now Fox: BS to studio, April 18, 1935.

  She asked for: A&S Lyons v. Barbara Stanwyck, no. 396667, Superior Court of the State of California, February 28, 1936, 3.

  “Shooting is a splendid exercise”: “Annie Oakley Known by Gun,” New York Times, November 14, 1926.

  “We’re not fashionable”: “Annie Oakley Dies,” New York Times, November 5, 1926.

  “She wasn’t born”: Martha Kerr, Modern Screen, February 1936, 78.

  “but it didn’t turn”: Ibid.

  “to become a part”: Buck Rainey, Sweethearts of the Stage, with a foreword by Barbara Stanwyck (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1992), vii.

  The script had been: Joseph I. Breen to B. B. Kahane, August 5, 1935, and July 15, 1935, Margaret Herrick Library, AMPAS.

  Afterward, the three went: Jim Burton, Modern Screen, July 1951, 98.

  To make the picture: “Fred Stone to Issue Annie Oakley History,” New York Times, November 24, 1926.

  Barbara drove off: Anthony Fay to author, July 2002.

  Nine: Practical Policies

  “I’m only brave”: Screenland, March 1964.

  Fay had helped Gene: Gene Vaslett to author. June 1997.

  Maud agreed and later: Vaslett to author, October 1996.

  to Dion, the Marxes: Anthony Fay to author, June 2003.

  “You pay a price”: Vivian Cosby, Screenland, June 1942, 76.

  Firsthand reminiscences were: Annie Oakley press book, “F.”

  In 1860, Thunderbird’s father: Letter from Chief Thunderbird of the Cheyennes, Herrick Library.

  Hepburn was paid $55,000: Alice Adams budget estimate, May 13, 1935, courtesy Herrick Library.

  He had traveled to: J. R. Silke, “George Stevens Talks About Movies,” Cinema, January, 19.

  Stevens liked the women: George Stevens III to author, December 11, 2003.

  “seeing ‘Little Sure Shot’ ”: Annie Oakley press book.

  For the spectacular re-creations: Barbara Stanwyck, interview with Susan Winslow, September 24, 1981, Herrick Library.

  “kind, gracious, patient”: Ibid.

  Nellie was to bring: Nellie Banner, affidavit, January 10, 1938, 6.

  In late August, Fay: Warner daily production and progress report, August 29, 30, 1935, courtesy of Ned Comstock, USC.

  Zeppo had arranged: Maxwell Arnow to Roy Obringer, memo, August 30, 1935.

  Albert Warner couldn’t even: to Jack Warner, memo, June 9, 1936, Warner Bros. Archives.

  Warner was to get: Roy Obringer to Morris Ebenstein, memo, August 23, 1935, Warner Bros. Archives.

  Bette Davis, Franchot: Hard Luck Dame was released as Dangerous.

  when they first met: Interview with Olivia de Havilland: October 5, 2006, 13, Academy of Achievement.

  After two days of work: Daily pro
duction report, August 29–30, 1935, Warner Bros. Archives.

  It would have taken: Samuel Richard Mook, “Barbara Lets Go,” Picture Play, September 1936, 84.

  “personal affronts”: Raymond Moley, After Seven Years (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939), 391.

  “We put those payroll”: Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 132–33.

  Fay believed that anyone: Jesse White to author, February 1997.

  “I’m scared stiff”: Los Angeles Evening Herald Examiner, September 11, 1935.

  “I’m only brave”: Article by BS, n.d.

  Barbara didn’t pay attention: David Chierichetti to author, May 1998.

  With Hollis (Holly) Barnes: David Chierichetti to author.

  Rogers’s hair was so curly: Ibid.

  Holly, like Fay, could: John Miehle to author, December 27, 1996, 13, 6.

  Soon Barbara was confiding: Chierichetti to author, May 1998.

  “the youngest important director”: James Agee, Time, August 26, 1935.

  “butting in . . . I can”: BS to Larry Kleno to author.

  Her work was admired: Carol Frink, Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 8, 1935.

  “an invalid in pictures”: Clark Rodenback, Chicago Daily News, December 6, 1935, 36.

  “light society flim flams”: Carol Frink, Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 8, 1935.

  “bring [Barbara] back”: Harriet Parsons, Hollywood Studio Magazine, n.d., 24.

  “bother anyone. There’s nothing”: George Stevens, Photoplay, June 1936, 25, 90.

  The ranch owner’s little: Anthony Fay to author, June 2003.

  Byron loved the beach: Judith Stevens to author, June 2, 1999.

  “More than beauty”: Faith Service, Modern Screen, October 1936.

  It “ate away” at Barbara: BS to Judith Stevens; Stevens to author, October 1998.

  “the only safe test”: Faith Service, Modern Screen, October 1936.

  The first picture, Volcano: Variety, October 2, 1935.

  Ten: Scar Tissue

  An early version: William K. Everson, The Theodore Huff Memorial Film Society.

  “grievous mental suffering”: Complaint, November 8, 1935.

  The court date was set: Summons to Frank Fay, November 12, 1935.

  Before Fay went to: Paget Lloyd (housekeeper for Fay), affidavit, January 10, 1938, 1–3.

  Dion could be made: Nellie Banner, affidavit, January 10, 1938, 6.

  Fay wasn’t satisfied: Lloyd affidavit, 1–3.

  The Spanish minister in Washington: AFI, 1369.

  (“His loveable villainy”): “Lieut. Rowan’s Mission,” New York Times, May 16, 1898.

  “close cropped hair, bull neck”: Zanuck, story conference notes, August 17, 1935, 2.

  Zanuck’s idea was for the clash: Ibid., 3.

  “You can’t tell nothing”: Interview Joel McCrea with Peter McCrea.

  “too American in appearance”: Darryl Zanuck to Ben Kahane (RKO Studios), January 20, 1935, RKO legal files, Turner Archives.

  “When you’re in a”: Mook, “Barbara Lets Go,” 84.

  The government had slapped: govt. case 1938.

  “one of the weirdest”: Andre Sennwald, New York Times, September 30, 1935.

  In New Orleans, picketers: Variety, December 10, 1935, 7.

  President Roosevelt was fishing off: Variety, October 2, 1935, 4.

  “Authentic atmosphere”: Preview cards, October 31, 1935.

  “A picture worthy of her”: Carol Frink, Chicago Herald and Examiner, December 8, 1935.

  “If the picture misses”: Variety, December 25, 1935.

  The studio relied heavily: Variety, January 1, 1936, 4.

  “To kill the time”: Motion Picture, March 1936.

  Ford was going to make: Variety, November 26, 1935, 3.

  thank her for flowers: Alexander Woollcott to BS, December 22, 1935.

  only if Lloyd: Albert Lloyd, affidavit, January 10, 1938.

  “have the right to visit”: Interlocutory judgment of divorce, no. D 137906.

  “When it comes to men”: Gladys Hall, newspaper clipping, 1935, Gladys Hall Collection, AMPAS, 1–6.

  Eleven: High Schemes and Misdemeanors

  “I know I have reached”: Gladys Hall, newspaper clipping, 1935, Gladys Hall Collection, AMPAS, 1–6.

  Marion’s attitude about life: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  It mattered to her: Maxine Marx to author, June 22, 2003.

  “I don’t see how”: New York Telegram, May 22, no year, courtesy Shubert Archive.

  “the longest in town”: “Thank God I’ll Never Be Thirty Again,” Pageant, May 1967.

  Marion Marx, like Barbara: New York Telegram, May 22, no year, courtesy Shubert Archive.

  The former Marion Bimberg Benda: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  Barbara had taken over: Marion Marx, “My Pal Barbara Stanwyck.”

  The plant manager went along: Michael Taylor, New York Times, March 29, 1914, 1.

  When he got out: Maxine Marx to author, July 8, 2003.

  Her brother, Alan, followed: Tim Marx to author, October 18, 2003.

  “I can’t stand to sleep”: Ibid.

  And, like Barbara: Tim Marx to author, August 8, 2003.

  Fay kept company: Gene Vaslett to author, June 25, 2000.

  Fay went home and got: Albert Lloyd, affidavit, January 10, 1938.

  In the midst of her dog: Elizabeth Wilson, “Barbara Stanwyck,” Silver Screen, December 1936, 26.

  “to see what it’s all”: Jerry Lane, Motion Picture, November 1936, 31.

  “There’s such romance”: Hall, “Barbara Stanwyck’s Advice to Girls in Love,” 6.

  She gave him money: Brian Stevens to author, June 16, 1998.

  Barbara came home one: Judith Stevens to author, June 1999.

  “I’m not married to you”: Judith Stevens to author, June 22, 1998, 1.

  But Barbara begged him: Ibid., 3.

  The next day she changed: Barbara Stanwyck Fay, affidavit, January 10, 1938, 11.

  “She was flying”: Lyn Tornabene, Long Live the King (New York: Putnam, 1976), chap. 28.

  “she could say ‘fuck’ ”: Judith Stevens to author, 1999, 13.

  “the profane angel”: Chierichetti, Mitchell Leisen, Hollywood Director (Photoventures Press, 1995), 96.

  Lombard was hosting: Variety, January 29, 1936, 57.

  Judge Charles Bogue listened: Judgement Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, no. 396,667, February 28, 1936.

  “It is a yeoman’s task”: Variety, April 22, 1936, 42.

  Royal Gelatin was pleased: Variety, May 27, 1936, 34.

  He was convinced there: Albert Lloyd affidavit, January 10, 1938.

  Twelve: This Side of the Sphinx

  Robert Taylor circa 1935: E. A. Kral: “Robert Taylor: A Golden Era Hollywood Movie King from Nebraska,” Beatrice (Nebr.) Daily Sun, October 8, 1993.

  “felt the strength”: Evening Mail, August 20, 1937.

  Bob had been voted: Screen Guide, n.d., 1936.

  When Bob asked what Barbara: Elizabeth Wilson, “Barbara Stanwyck,” 66.

  “The real clincher”: “Robert Taylor,” Film Fan Monthly.

  “the warm mixed odors”: E. A. Kral, “Robert Taylor: A Golden Era Hollywood Movie King from Nebraska,” supplement to Beatrice (Neb.) Daily Sun, October 8, 1993.

  Filley was a crossroads: B. R. Crisler, “Robert Taylor,” New York Times, June 7, 1936.

  The Brugh family: Kral, “Robert Taylor,” Beatrice (Nebr.) Daily Sun, October 8, 1993.

  Thirteen: The Making of a Man

  “how to invest your”: Jane Ellen Wayne, Robert Taylor (St. Martin’s, 1973, 1987) 39.

  To some, Metro was: “Conversations: Marc Connelly,” Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy (Spring 2008), 3.

  “He was my exhibit A”: Robert Taylor, as told to Ben Maddox, Screenland, September 1937.

  Mayer (Lazar Meir) was f
rom: Edwin H. Knopf, “Over My Shoulder,” unpublished manuscript, 41, courtesy of Wendy Cooper.

  “God gave me two lovely”: Wayne, Robert Taylor, 46.

  Taylor didn’t get the raise: MGM memo, January 6, 1935.

  “Money isn’t everything”: Knopf, “Over My Shoulder,” 43, 47.

  “Maybe you can’t act”: Wayne, Robert Taylor, 51.

  Koverman, who’d worked for: E. J. Fleming, The Fixers (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005), 31.

  “roll down to Santa Monica”: BS 1947.

  “The biggest set doesn’t”: James Reid, Modern Screen, June 1937, 74.

  Bob and Barbara were: Los Angeles Evening Herald Examiner, July 3, 1936.

  the new airship Hindenburg: World Almanac and Book of Facts 1936, 146.

  “It is unfortunate”: Harrison Carroll, Los Angeles Evening Herald Examiner, May 1, 1936.

  “You’d better hang on”: Good Housekeeping, April 1983.

  Sometimes Bob played: Jerry Lane, Motion Picture, November 1936, 70.

  People watching Taylor: Gladys Hall, “Barbara Stanwyck’s True Life Story,” Modern Screen, November 1937.

  “We amused each other”: “Dinner for One, Please Johns,” Photoplay, June 1936.

  At family holidays: Kral, “Robert Taylor.”

  “There were not many”: Ibid.

  “I was almost always”: Ibid.

  “I’ve always taken it”: Ibid.

  The two Spangler A. Brughs: Kral, “Robert Taylor,” Beatrice (Nebr.) Daily Sun, October 8, 1993.

  “enjoyed her illness”: Ibid.

  Ruth Brugh with her son: Kral, “Robert Taylor,” Beatrice (Nebr.) Daily Sun, October 8, 1993.

  Ruth Brugh saw sex: Wayne, Robert Taylor, 42.

  There were times when: Ibid.

  “His sense of values”: Walter Ramsey, Photoplay, April 1937.

  “If you want to stay”: Nancy Cole, Picture Play, November 1938.

  “Why couldn’t I make”: Robert Taylor, Ladies’ Home Journal, September 1936, 93.

  “exquisite, graceful”: Daily Mail, August 20, 1937.

  “I’ve been in Hollywood”: Margaret Chute, “The New Valentino This Man Robert Taylor,” Evening News, August 18, 1937.

  “approached the responsibility”: “Robert Taylor,” Film Fan Monthly.

  Bob’s greatest influence: Ibid.

  She not only gave Bob: Screen Book, September 1937, 32.

  Bob believed that there: “Robert Taylor,” Film Fan Monthly.