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Stella Dallas (1937)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 1/25

1/25: I'm disappointed with Stella Dallas.

It's the most conflict-free film I can recall seeing in years. So...what exactly is the issue driving the mother and daughter apart? The former has no fashion sense one day, and that's it? It's ridiculous. If she was an alcoholic or a drug addict, okay...I could see why. Then, the mother decides to give her daughter away, so she can live the fabulous life? That doesn't make the latter likeable the least bit.

At any rate, the performances are fine, being the reason why the film has energetic pace. As good as Barbara Stanwyck can be despite the Harpo Marx wig, she isn't believable as the mother of an 18-year-old girl. She would have to be twelve when the daughter was conceived, and we know it didn't happen that way.

As the father, John Boles tries his best, but he's lifeless, rendering the film one-dimensional. And there's Alan Hale as Ed Munn. He's quite not enough. There should be more people involved in Stella Dallas' life in order for the conflict to come across on screen. Incidentally, whatever happened to her parents and brother after she was married? They disappeared without further ado. Anyway, yeah...that's him as the daughter's boyfriend-turned-husband: Tim Holt of The Magnificent Ambersons.

All in all, don't be fooled by the praise doled out for Stella Dallas; it's an average film that tries to make a statement about class division.

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