My Reputation (1946)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Excellent but underrated film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I have never been a Barbara Stanwyck fan, I have tried watching her highest rated films. I caught some of My Reputation last Sunday, and was interested in it. I'm at the end of watching it on TCM On Demand. It's now one of my favorite films.I suggest you watch it if it is available. Today is the last day for my cable system's on demand feature,

Barbara Stanwyck, sometimes underrated as an actress (four Oscar nominations and no wins) and always undervalued as a star, shows why she lasted so long - she could do anything. Usually cast as a mobster's tough tart or a hard-luck dame and everything in between, here she plays a first-class lady, a widowed mother of two, a fine upstanding citizen who lives in that Never-Never Land called the Upper Middle Class laughingly depicted by Hollywood as a place where women belong to country clubs, constantly appear dressed in mink and evening gowns, are constantly making grand entrances and exits and are forever worrying what the neighbors will think. Joan Crawford fit right into this nonsensical neighborhood once she joined Warner Bros. and may well have been offered this script but thankfully Stanwyck took the part and created from the ground up another unforgettable performance in a forgettable (but very popular in its day) film. The story is nothing special but oh! how Barbara dominates every scene she's in, and does it without really trying (or so it seems). While Davis and Crawford had a tendency to remind audiences that they were acting, Stanwyck just rolled up her sleeves and got the job done. Such truth in her work! Watching her is an electric experience, she connects with an audience like few stars had or have before or since. Splendid!

Let's here it for Barbara Stanwyck! The former Stella Dallas gets her grove back as Jessica Drummond in this war era women's picture about a lovely widow who wakes up to discover that she still has it. Having been dominated by her old school mama (Lucille Watson) and pampered by her late husband, she has to wake up and smell the martinis, which she admits, like anchovies, are an acquired taste. All of a sudden after a liberating skiing trip with pal Eve Arden and her husband (John Ridgely), she meets Army officer George Brent on the slopes. Bashful with eyes avoiding the bedroom, Stanwyck slowly wakes up, after spending the holidays with Brent and friends until pesky Watson interrupts. Stanwyck must discover herself in spite of the regulation of her café society past and stand up for what she really wants while keeping her self-respect, if not her old reputation.Stanwyck was at the height of her leading lady status when she made this in 1944 (held back for two years, although it was shown to men in the military) and the highest paid woman in America. This is also one of her most subtle performances, sweet yet honest about herself, devoted to her two sons, and tired of all the B.S. of society. Brent, a frequent Stanwyck leading man, goes well with her like butter does with bread, and is, as always, likable even if pain in the butt mother Watson thinks he's of the devil. The highlight of the film are the scenes between Stanwyck and Arden (their only film together!) which really shows what a real female friendship should be about. A bedroom scene with Arden and Ridgely (no double beds for this one) somehow slipped past the censors and features some amusing pillow talk. It's not just the bitter old ladies like Watson and her uppity friend Cecil Cunningham who gossip, but Stanwyck's supposed friends as well, which results in a scene with the strong Stanwyck we all have come to expect to finally explode. The conclusion between Stanwyck and her sons is appropriate for the time of war, if not satisfactorily in the romantic sense, it still holds promise and hope, and considering America was still at war when this was made, that is conclusion enough.

Perhaps it's because of the presence of George Brent, but in some ways this reminds me of a Bette Davis vehicle. Perhaps not as strong as some of Davis' pics, but in the same vein. But as I watched the film, I realized that Davis would not have been quite right -- Barbara Stanwyck, however, was perfect.There really is some excellent acting here, even aside from Stanwyck. George Brent is a somewhat forgotten actor, but he turns in strong performances in the vast majority of the films he was in, and this movie is no exception. Lucile Watson is a noted character actress, and I always enjoy her performances, even when -- as here -- she's not playing in a totally sympathetic role. The two other performances of note here are Eve Arden as the friend...a bit subdued here...but very good. And, young Scotty Beckett as the younger son. Beckett may very well have been the most talented of the child actors of that era, but unfortunately died at 38 after living an adult life that was quite tragic.It's difficult to find anything not to like in this film. The story is not as suggestive as the title makes it sound. Stanwyck's husband has died and eventually she falls in love with George Brent...a little too soon for everyone else's taste...including her own sons. But, she becomes a bit liberated, and at the end of the film there is promise that her relationship with Brent will lead to marriage. Enjoy! This is a good one!