Quick recap: Charlotte Vale is a Crazy Cat Lady without any cats. On the verge of a mental breakdown because her mother is basically the worst, her doctor at a sanatarium  helps her come out of her shell. While on a voyage, Charlotte meets Jerry Durrance who is handsome, sweet and also married. The two have a very heavy affair and at the end of the trip, decide to part ways. As anyone who has ever been in love can testify, that’s easier said than done.

You can never go wrong with a makeover montage! Too bad they weren’t around when this movie was made.

Fun (?) fact: People went nuts after seeing Paul Henreid’s act of lighting two cigarettes. He couldn’t go out in public without someone asking him to light one for them.

Cancer is sexy as hell

My thoughts: Makeover scenes in movies generally make me cringe, but Now, Voyager takes it to a whole other level. I couldn’t decide which one was the worst: When a niece of Charlotte ridicules her during her nervous breakdown, or when the doctor breaks her glasses because she doesn’t need them now that she is ‘normal’ or when Charlotte shows Jerry a younger picture of herself to which he calls her the ‘fat lady with the heavy brows and all the hair’. But I guess women were cool with stuff like that back then because she fell in love with him shortly after. Damn, girl.

So, I’m torn with how I feel about Charlotte. Good for her for gaining all that confidence although the only thing that really did any good was getting a man. Later on in the film she breaks off an engagement to a guy because she isn’t feeling it, which is awesome, except that she still in love with Jerry, who is still married. I came around a little when Charlotte checked herself into the sanatorium when she feared another breakdown, until it became apparent she was only there to get close to Jerry’s depressed daughter, Tina. Damn ,girl.

different Tina

I guess the love Jerry and Charlotte had was cute, but the thing with Tina kind of ruined it for me. When she initially saw the girl at the sanitarium and befriended her, I thought that was kind of sweet, especially seeing as how the two had a lot in common. I was even into the scene where Charlotte helps Tina call her father because she missed him so much and I admired her for not jumping on the phone and declaring her love for him. But then that night, Tina had a nightmare and Charlotte went in and cuddled her. Still a little sweet until that voiceover when she spells out that she had her lover’s daughter in her arms. I cringed even more when Charlotte had the girl call her the pet name Jerry gave her on the voyage and then at the end when she admitted to Jerry that keeping the girl felt like she was raising ‘their’ child. Damn, girl.

Final review: 2/5

Up next: Duck Soup

Quick recap: Stella marries Stephen Dallas, a former millionaire. They have a daughter together, but shortly afterwards, everything falls apart and the two separate. Stella devotes her life to Laurel, her daughter, and is willing to do anything for her happiness, even if it means giving her up and never seeing her again.

Throughout the movie, all I could think about was how much Bette Midler looks like Barbara Stanwyck. Come to find out, Midler later starred in an adaptation of this movie!

Fun (?) fact: The movie later became a radio serial that lasted for 18 years.

Our kind of serial is a bit different than what people in the 30s wanted.

My thoughts: I think the most remarkable thing about Stella Dallas is that it was as hokey and sentimental as you can get, and yet I didn’t feel the need to roll my eyes at all. I don’t know, maybe I’m getting soft. I think part of this amazing feat is due to the fact that the acting was so well done, except for John Boles who basically just had to smoke his pipe and smirk at the camera. The character of Stella Dallas wasn’t my favorite, but I did love Barbara Stanwyck and her ability to make my heart break into pieces. Laurel Dallas, played by Anne Shirley also did a phenomenal job and went well above her role as ‘sad teen with a heart of gold’.

Stella Dallas was also more complicated of a story than I thought it would be. On one side, you have Stella, who hunts Stephen down and marries him, only to realize they had different goals. The synopsis I read said that Stephen tried to make Stella into someone glamorous, but considering that she sought him out after finding out that he was a former millionaire, I think this was the lifestyle she wanted. Stephen, on the other hand, wanted a family and quiet life. It was interesting how the two separated because it wasn’t some big event; they just drifted apart. I might have misunderstood some of the scenes, but it seemed to me to be a balanced view of the ending of a relationship.

I felt sorry for Stella’s character moreso than any other one in the film. She started out in a very strict household, only to move on to a man who didn’t stick around for very long. She had a great relationship with her daughter, but it was also extremely sad to see that her choices hurt Laurel. There were many sad scenes for me, but the worst was when Stella and Laurel were at the resort, and all the teens were badmouthing Stella while Laurel was within earshot. When the truth finally came out, it was devastating and led to Stella making Laurel go live with her father so she would have a better life. Her own life was a hot mess in every sense of the word and although it seems extreme by today’s standards, it really was for the best back then.

Final review: 4/5

Up next: The Big Sleep