Barbara Stanwyck: Signature Collection

Brooklyn native Barbara Stanwyck, one of Hollywood's most enduring leading ladies, was more working-class heroine than glamorous screen goddess. Here, she's showcased to good advantage in a representative collection of certified classics, worthy star vehicles, and career rarities. The set's two best known films are George Stevens' Annie Oakley (1935), in which Stanwyck hits the bull's-eye as the backwoods gal who joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and Robert Wise's Executive Suite (1954), a somewhat slow-moving drama about a corporate power play that takes place after the untimely death of a company president (Stanwyck has a diminished, but pivotal, role as the late president's mistress). This collection's unearthed gem is My Reputation (1946), a sappy, soapy melodrama starring Stanwyck as a widow who scandalizes both her family and their tony Lake Forest, IL community when she falls for soldier George Brent. The 1949 film noir East Side, West Side is character actor heaven, featuring a cast that includes James Mason, Ava Gardner, Cyd Charisse, William “Fred Mertz” Frawley, William “Cannon” Conrad, and Nancy Davis (the future Mrs. Ronald Reagan), in a tale of infidelity (Mason's, not Stanwyck's) and murder. A double-feature disc contains To Please a Lady (1950), with Stanwyck as a celebrated columnist trying to expose ruthless racecar driver Clark Gable, and Jeopardy (1953), a race-against-time thriller with Stanwyck as a wife who runs into fugitive killer Ralph Meeker while she's trying to save her husband—trapped during an incoming tide—while vacationing in Mexico. Kudos to Warner for the extra features that help replicate an old-fashioned night at the movies, including vintage cartoons, comedy shorts, and musical “soundies.” Executive Suite also boasts a commentary track by Wall Street director Oliver Stone. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)