What Killed Hollywood's Golden Age

I believe the broken handbag strap was merely a device to show that despite Stanwyck's character appearing to be the cool, calm, collected "lady", Ava had obviously rattled her, a fact reinforced shortly thereafter by her reply to Heflin's query as to how her "sick friend" was: "Stronger than I thought."

Studio disintegration is what ended the so-called "Golden Age." That and the smell of rigid unguents issuing forth from the tubules of pontifical happenstance most likely.

Nothing is more beautiful than nothing.

Diss this film all you want-it's still better than 99% of films made today.

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Even during the "Golden Age" there were plenty of bad films. This is not the worst of this era, which still contained some considerable luster.

As for Barbara's hair, those matronly short styles were the fashion and almost NOBODY looked good sporting them. Even the beautiful Gardner and striking Miss Charisse looked older and less glamorous during that period.

I love this film. It is by no mean a "stinkeroo." It deals with emotional tension rather than pyrotechnics, and I'll take this kind of drama any day of the week compared to the loud, brash and colorful films of today that make hundreds of millions of dollars without offering a single genuine human moment.

"Stinkeroo" is kind of harsh. The picture is done in something of a formula way, and it never seems to make up its mind whether Stanwyck and Mason are supposed to be 40-ish or, as some scenes suggest about 10 years younger. Gale Sondergaard is far too young (and looks far too young) to be playing Stanwyck's mother and her saying she's 55 is just confusing. She supposedly retired from acting when Stanwyck was born, so she would have quit the stage at what, 17?

The problem is made worse by casting 28 year old Nancy Davis as Stanwyck's protective friend; generally in high society 40 year olds and 28 year olds don't hang out together all that much.

And Stanwyck didn't have to look 40, but they put her in those "Mamie Eisenhower" cocktail dresses and suits and dressing gowns, plus that unflattering mid-length hairdo next to the chic and glamorous (and younger) Ava Gardner and Cyd Charisse.

The real story here, and I think the central story in the original novel, is the love story between Stanwyck and Heflin, but that's completely flat in the movie. There could have been an interesting conflict there, Stanwyck finding herself increasingly attracted to Heflin, getting into a few clinches, but always putting her duty to her husband first. Instead they just drive around Manhattan all day long, pointing out houses where each of them used to live.

In a sense, then, this picture is symptomatic of what did kill the Golden Age: an excellent cast, top-notch production values and what apparently was a very interesting and complex source novel, sunk by a by-the-numbers script and listless direction. You get the feeling nobody at the studio really cared whether this picture was any good or not because the star names and luxe production would be enough to get bookings.

Gladys Cooper could have played the mother, or Marjorie Rambeau.

World War II was a lot of the reason. People went through a lot, traveled all over the world, saw a lot of things. There was the Cold War and the possibility of blowing up the whole world. The old MGM musical seemed way too frivolous. As always occurs, tastes changed. Post-1945 they changed more quickly than usual.