I watched this movie for one of my classes and everyone was cracking up all throughout the movie. The acting was so ridiculous (except for Barbara Stanwyck). The whole time I was watching it wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a parody or not.
shareThis was pretty much the norm for tear-jerker/heart-rending dramas of the time. Look at some of Joan Crawford's movie titles----would you ever pay a dime to go and see anything this light-weight at the threater these days? It's the old "Girl gets guy, girl loses guy, girl gets guy back", used over and over but back then, it was very successful.
The acting was a little on the overly-dramatic side, even with Barbara~~~her hankie-in-the-teeth thing drives me nuts. But she always knew how and when to turn on the waterworks to rend the heart.
I think what always got me was how film director/producers showed Monied People, the Upper Class. Would YOU want to know any of the spoiled brats that ran around with with tennis rackets and snippy remarks? Even the saintly stepmother was condescending in her own way, remarking about reading between those "pitiful lines" with that "oh, my" look on her lovely face as she gazed fondly up at her conquest---Stephen Dallas, Stella's husband!
I thought Laurel was going to have a cow at the thought of getting to see her birthday cake.
shareGlad I wasn't in your film class then if they can't handle a 75-year old film and its inevitably dated acting.
All my classmates simply laughed at Ed Munn and his bird-cooking shenanigans.
"Scraaaaping at the doooooor!" (Ghost Rider 2)
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Your generation is way different than mine. A generation that sadly, is very disrespectful, and what is wrong with the world today. While this film may be dated, the people depicted are very much the way my aunts and uncles were in their day and time.
I had heard about this film for years but didn't want to get sucked into some kind of soap opera. But I finally tuned in -- from the beginning -- and because the film was so well written and very well acted, I got hooked. It's not as great as "Imitation Of Life," the original tearjerker three years before it in 1934, but it was two hours well spent.
I happened to see this film on TCM the night Cher co-hosted with Robert Osborne. She thought it was terrific. I'm not raving about "Stella Dallas" but I am glad I saw it.
I am watching it now, and I'm struck by how different the maturation process was back when my parents were growing up. Childhood was longer, and adolescence was very short before adult responsibilities had to be assumed. Now childhood is much shorter, and adolescence seems to go on forever for many people, at least in prosperous countries.
Get me a bromide! And put some gin in it!
You're absolutely correct, hodie! Especially in this movie, where Laurel seems to be a little girl for quite some time, always protected and tenderly guided around, by all the adults, but then---boom! She's married at 20, at least I think that's probably how old she was when she married Mr. Grosvenor.
shareTypical reaction from clueless college-kid film class students. But at least they stayed for the movie. In my school's film history class, as soon as the lights were turned out for a film to start, everybody but me (age 36 at the time) and one other grownup would grab their skateboards and bolt out the door. I think they were actually terrified at the prospect of watching a black-and-white movie.
shareTo the first three posters:
I can't understand how narrow-minded some young people are. Seriously, do you think that every era before the current one is deserving of ridicule? Just wait. Before you know it, kids will be laughing at everything you consider to be so "cool" now.
A lot of King Vidor's non-silent films have collected a "cringe" consensus. Judging by their boards/reviews, "Duel In The Sun", "The Fountainhead" and "Ruby Gentry" all seem to cause more unintentional laughs than the average film of their generations (and all are more recent than "Stella Dallas").
Someone finding the acting in this film over the top (or even hilarious) doesn't mean they'd respond to all 30's films in the same way... I can't imagine this is Manyone's introduction to the era. There's plenty of 30's films that nigh-on never inspire a "so over the top it's funny" thread.
I'd be curious to know what grade this class is and what are the ages of the students?
this film is nearly 80 years old. The acting style is naturally going to seem a bit dated. I can't believe that anyone would believe that this could be anything but a drama at the time.
Parody? Ridiculous!