I had thought she was at Paramount, but this was a Warner Bros. production. Wonder if she was at Warner's earlier in her career or just loaned out specifically for this picture. Probably this was a role that only a few actresses could really pull off.
As a rule when you mix genres in a movie you're in trouble. --William Goldman
Stanwyck, throughout her career, never had an exclusive contract with one studio. She had short-term contracts with all the studios at various times (usually 2 or 3 films). She did a lot of early work at Warners though; most of her precodes were made there.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! *sips* Needs more gin.
Hmm, very interesting, thanks!
Any idea why this was the case? Usually the studios tried to lock down their stars to keep their rivals from having success with them.
As a rule when you mix genres in a movie you're in trouble. --William Goldman
I don't know why the studios didn't restrict that sort of freelancing but there were only a few stars who did this (Cary Grant is another one). The only thing I know is they wouldn't pass up a chance to work with a highly regarded star so they'd bend a little if they had to. It was a wise business decision on Stanwyck's part but she mainly did it because she wanted more freedom to choose the roles she wanted to play.
Sweet merciful crap!
It's just tea! *sips* Needs more gin.
Interesting, thanks again! Would Gary Cooper be a third on this list? I don't much associate him with Warner Bros., but see that he made some films there in the 40s.
Seems like Stanwyck probably got herself better choices for parts, but maybe at some cost in salary, at least in the short term.
As a rule when you mix genres in a movie you're in trouble. --William Goldman
Seems like Stanwyck probably got herself better choices for parts, but maybe at some cost in salary, at least in the short term.
Yep, that's why I said short term. Hopping from studio to studio, she wouldn't get the usual raises probably, but each time she hopped she could probably command a big increase.
As a rule when you mix genres in a movie you're in trouble. --William Goldman