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An incisive biography explores the life of actress Barbara Stanwyck, her rise to stardom, her marriages, and her part the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. Reprint. ** ### From Publishers Weekly Madsen ( Chanel ) picks a tough subject in movie legend Barbara Stanwyck, who was born in Brooklyn in 1907 and orphaned at age three. She scrambled up through the Broadway chorus line and, by the time she reached Hollywood, was such a hard worker that Madsen has to struggle to avoid recounting endless lists of movies, memorable and otherwise. On the orders of MGM, Stanwyck married leading man Robert Taylor. We hear a lot about their troubled relationship, which Madsen portrays as a "lavender" marriage to conceal Taylor's homosexuality. Yet the meat here lies in the detailed descriptions of Stanwyck's movies, which include such classics as Stella Dall a s, The Lady Eve, Ball of Fire and Billy Wilder's spectacular Double Indemnity . The overall impression we're left with is of a talented woman who cared mainly for her career. Stardom and riches failed to buy her serenity in a youth-obsessed Hollywood, where Stanwyck died alone at the age of 84. Madsen's bio breathes intimacy on every page and avoids a gossipy tone. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Library Journal Barbara Stanwyck was one of this century's finest film actresses. She received three Academy AwardR nominations and won an honorary Oscar, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, and three Emmys. Author of the excellent William Wyler: The Authorized Biography (Crowell, 1973), Madsen would appear to be an appropriate biographer for such a star. Unfortunately, his results this time are less impressive. He has no penetrating insights to impart, and some questionable statements and infelicities of style detract. Madsen's Stanwyck is about on a par with the identically titled book by Jane Ellen Wayne (LJ 12/85)-which is to say, average. The definitive book on Stanwyck's films is Ella Smith's Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck (LJ 1/15/74; Crown, 1985. rev. ed.); the definitive book on Stanwyck's life has yet to be written. *John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.* Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.