Stella Dallas

This melodrama has a lot going for it: time-tested tearjerker material in the tale of a mother’s love and sacrifice, more than competent direction from veteran King Vidor, a fascinating time-capsule of Depression-era class attitudes, some of the most hideous costumes ever to adorn a Hollywood star, and of course the star herself in Barbara Stanwyck’s career-defining role (despite the diverse impact she made in The Lady Eve and Double Indemnity and many others.) She’s quite a dame. Both a presence and an actress. A millgirl in “Millhampton, Massachusetts,” she manages to latch on to Steve Dallas, son of a ruined millionaire, now reduced to office work. They soon separate, mostly due to class difference, but remain attached through a daughter (played very well as she grows up by Anne Shirley, in what could have been a cloying role.) The hubby hooks up again with the nice, rich young widow to whom he was engaged till his father’s suicide, and the new couple can offer the delightfully blossoming Laurel advantages her embarassing though beloved mother can’t. Cue the strings for maternal sacrifice, smiling bravely through the tears. (1937, TCM/T, n.) *7*