Barbara Stanwyck gets her due

THE Stanwyck centenary tribute is a perfect example of Hollywood assuaging its guilt by honoring one of its own, giving her the accolades that for some reason it withheld from her for so many years [“She Wasn’t Common,” May 13]. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also tried to make amends for its slight in denying her a “real” Oscar by awarding her a career achievement statuette in 1982. No matter. We who have admired her films know that the early careers of some of the Golden Age’s brightest stars were given impetus by having appeared in support of her -- Bette Davis, Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, to name a few.

In her films, Barbara Stanwyck managed to avoid the mannerisms and nervous tics of Davis, did not possess the mystery of Garbo, nor the classic beauty of Dietrich, nor the glamour of Crawford, nor the hauteur of Hepburn. But none of these actresses could match her range over a versatile career that was, arguably, one of the longest in pictures -- from the 1920s to the 1980s. Well, she’s getting her due with “A Lady to Talk About: The Films of Barbara Stanwyck” and we’re all thinking, “It’s about time.”

JIM PINKSTON

Los Angeles