my favorite actors

the time has come. i know my legions of loyal fans have been chomping at the bit wanting to know who exactly my favorite actors are /j. well, here's what i eventually hope will by a relatively comprehensive list. i'll work through creating it slowly over the coming weeks.
i would like to note that thought i love to see these actors at work, some of them did things which i find reprehensible and do not agree with whether 'of their time' or not. my admiration for the performances these actors give could never equate to actual knowledge about their real lives and i make a clear distinction between a fruitful career of performing skill and whatever they were pulling irl.

barbara stanwyck, 1907-1990.

a young white woman with a long bob wearing a short sleeve blouse standing in a gym. she's wearing boxing gloves and looking determinedly offscreen
speaking of brilliant performances and questionable beliefs, lets talk barbara stanwyck. from her early flapper days to her time as a pre-code girlboss and then iconic femme fatale, stanwyck's fruitful career was brought on by her performing skill and determination to raise herself up to the top. she has a realism to her performance which, dare i say it, was ahead of her time, and she really embodies all of the characters she plays. a favourite of my favourite director frank capra, she specialised in witty, strong women who arent afraid to use whatever they've got to get what they want. she can play anything from malicious schemer to endearing everygirl with a sincerity and tenacity that can't help but suck you in.

stanwyck was born to poor parents, and by the age of four they'd both left her life. raised by her elder sister and then in numerous foster homes, she dropped out of school at 14 thanks to poor grades and a need to work full time to support herself. thanks to a combination of hard work and luck (this will become important later) she was able to achieve her dream of getting into the ziegfield follies and her showbiz career bloomed from there until she became one of the most renowned actors of her time.

stanwyck's difficult upbringing influenced her politics in ways you wouldn't expect. convinced that her rise was thanks purely to her personal strength and dedication, she looked down on those living in poverty who weren't able to lift themselves up as she had, considering this a personal failing on their part. she was a staunch republican and massive ayn rand fan, even writing to her to express her admiration for 'atlas shrugged'.

despite the massive issues i have with these politics, i'm still an enormous barbara stanwyck fan simply because she was one of the best to ever do it. her performances are engaging and real and she manages to build a character successfully in every film of her's i've seen. my personal favourites are

  • ball of fire (1941), a really lovely romcom with stanwyck as the wordly girlfriend of a gangster who finds unexpected love with a goofy young academic when she hides from the cops in his house
  • double indemnity (1944), a defining noir with stanwyck as the epitome of the femme fatale ready to kill to get what she wants
  • remember the night (1940) a poignant and emotionally devastating christmas film where her character finds love for the first time with the man who's prosecuting her for shoplifting.

i haven't seen meet john doe (1941) yet but i suspect it will also be on this list. one actor down!
22/12/24

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Pub: 22 Dec 2024 10:50 UTC

Edit: 22 Dec 2024 10:58 UTC

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