In the first of four ‘Melodramas’ this season, we present King Vidor’s 1937 classic where a working-class woman is willing to do whatever it takes to give her daughter a socially promising future.
When working-class Stella Martin (Barbara Stanwyck) meets and marries the wealthy Stephen Dallas (John Boles), they quickly have a daughter named Laurel (Anne Shirley). Stella and Stephen struggle to stay happy as their class differences become a problem, and when they inevitably separate, Laurel is caught in the middle of the divorce. To give Lauren the best chance in life, Stella must make a huge and very painful sacrifice. This is a fascinating character portrait of a woman striving to improve her place in the world and making some poor choices along the way. Many critics are convinced that Stanwyck should have earned an Oscar for what is arguably her finest performance.
USA 1937 King Vidor 106m
