Was anyone as feisty as ole Babs Stanwyck? She sunk her teeth into even her mediocre roles. Who could forget her in Stella Dallas, the ultimate old time weepy. Clark Gable as a hood/chauffeur is the voice of menace here, with Barbara, the only voice of reason. Seems as if the people she works for would rather booze it up and watch kids starve to death than give a hoot about the world. The way Stanwyck scoffs at and berates these people is priceless. If you like William Wellman movies, this one is a gas just to see how it unfolds. (Check out Yellow Sky, too, a sort of existential western, and of course his masterpiece: Public Enemy, where James Cagney gets tough with a grapefruit). A short seldom slow time frame will keep you from being too bored.
Review of Night Nurse
