Barbara Stanwyck is one of the “Ladies of Leisure”

Ladies of Leisure (1930) is a American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ralph Graves. Other members of the cast include Lowell Sherman and Marie Prevost.

Jerry Strong (Graves) the heir to a railroad tycoon and aspiring artist, sneaks out of a party thrown by his friend Bill Standish (Sherman) and meets a self-described “party girl” Kay Arnold (Stanwyck) who is also leaving a party aboard a yacht.

Jerry sees something special in Kay and hires her as the model for his painting “Hope.” As the two get to know each other Kay falls in love with Jerry. She regrets her past, knowing that his family will never approve of her.

Will Kay be able to live up to Jerry’s family’s expectations for their son or will Kay have to give him up and go back to her old life?

Barbara Stanwyck, Lowell Sherman, and Ralph Graves

Frank Capra (1897 - 1991) was an American film director, producer, and writer. During the 1930s and 1940s, Capra’s films were among the most popular and awarded films. By 1938, Capra has won three Best Director Academy Awards. Born in Italy, Capra immigrated to the United States with his family when he was five years old. By sheer determination and his self-described cockiness, Capra talked his way into the movie business. He found a great home at “Poverty Row” studio, Columbia Pictures. At Columbia he had a major success with It Happened One Night (1934), which swept all the major categories at the Academy Awards that year. This helped turn Columbia Pictures from a Poverty Row studio into a major one. Other Capra successes include You Can’t Take It with You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).

Barbara Stanwyck (1907 – 1990) was an American film star who got her acting start with a supporting role on Broadway in a play called The Noose (1926). The next year she had the lead in another Broadway production, Burlesque which was a huge hit. She eventually made it to Hollywood where her success was not immediate. Director Frank Capra saw something in Stanwyck and he educated her in filmmaking and film acting and the rest is history. Stanwyck was nominated four times for the Best Actress Oscar—Stella Dallas (1937), Ball of Fire (1941), Double Indemnity (1945), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)—and remains one of the most beloved movie stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Barbara Stanwyck and Marie Prevost

Ladies of Leisure trivia

• This was the first time Frank Capra directed Barbara Stanwyck.
• Stanwyck made several movies, all unsuccessful, and she was considering going back to Broadway but the film was a hit and it made her a star.
• Columbia studio head Harry Cohn gave Capra complete artistic control.
• This was Capra’s fifth talking picture although it was also released as a silent film for those theatres that hadn’t yet converted to sound. All-talking pictures had only become a reality a year before.
• Capra and Stanwyck would go on to work together on four more films including The Miracle Woman (1931) and Meet John Doe (1941).

 

Click HERE to watch the film on YouTube

Click HEREHERE for to join the online discussion on July 1, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

I discovered a vital technical lack – one that shook us all up: Stanwyck gave her all the first time she tried a scene ... All subsequent repetitions, in rehearsals or retakes, were pale copies of her original performance. This was a new phenomenon – and a new challenge, not only to me, but to the actors and the crews. I had to rehearse the cast without her. The actors grumbled. Not fair to them, they said. Who ever heard of an actress not rehearsing? ... On the set I never let Stanwyck utter one word of the scene until the cameras were rolling. Before that I talked to her in her dressing room, told her the meaning of the scene, the points of emphasis, the pauses ... I talked softly, not wanting to fan the smoldering fires that lurked beneath that somber silence. She remembered every word I said – and she never blew a line.*

Discussion questions

1. This was a breakthrough film for Stanwyck. What did you think of her performance?
2. Could you see the potential in Stanwyck to be the star/actress she would become?
3. As an early talking picture, does it hold up in 2024?
4. Does this feel like your “typical” Capra movie?
5. Did anything about the film surprise you?

 

*Capra, Frank (1971). The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography. New York: Macmillan. pp 113-15.