Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent’s movies cover more than a decade of Classic Hollywood during a particularly interesting time. The two first worked together in 1932, during the period when Hollywood was producing hard-edged, pre-Code films, and then again in the 1940s for more lush, polished melodramas. This alone makes this Old Hollywood duo interesting, at the very least.
This interest eventually leads to the watching of five intriguing films that, if they haven’t stood the test of time completely, are still must-watches for any Stanwyck and Brent fan.
Stanwyck and Brent made five films together: So Big! and The Purchase Price in 1932, Baby Face in 1933, The Gay Sisters in 1942, and My Reputation in 1946. Their onscreen chemistry resulted in an offscreen friendship. Later in life, Brent even said that Stanwyck was his favorite co-star, stating, “She was the most human, the most unassuming person in the world.”
Here are Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movies, ranked from weakest to absolute best. Plots are described below, yet avoid major spoilers.
5. The Gay Sisters (1942)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Directed by: Irving Rapper
Nearly a decade after their stunning turn in Baby Face, Stanwyck and Brent reunited for a Warner Bros. melodrama in 1942. The Gay Sisters follows Fiona Gaylord (Stanwyck) and her sisters as they find themselves locked in a prolonged fight to preserve their Manhattan family property. Real estate developer Charles Barclay (Brent) has an interest in the land… and a history with Fiona.
The Gay Sisters isn’t a bad movie, per se. Stanwyck and Brent fans will surely find something to enjoy, even if the film doesn’t work in some aspects — and even though it is a bit overlong. This duo has been given better material to work with in the past (and in the future), and this 1942 movie just doesn’t compare to some of their greater work.
While Stanwyck does shine in her role as the fiercely protective eldest Gaylord sister — and while this film is worthwhile for those digging through Stanwyck’s filmography — among the five Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movies, it is easy to rank this one last.
Best for fans of family dramas and old Warner Bros. melodramas.
4. So Big! (1932)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Dickie Moore
Directed by: William A. Wellman
So Big! was the first Stanwyck-Brent movie to hit the theaters. Adapted from Edna Ferber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this 1932 romantic drama follows Selina Peake (Stanwyck), whose life takes her from financial uncertainty to teaching in a Dutch farming community near Chicago. Eventually, she’s running a farm herself.
Interestingly, Brent doesn’t play Stanwyck’s conventional romantic co-lead here, as he does in the rest of their pictures. Instead, he’s Roelf Pool (Brent), a young man Selina encourages who later becomes an accomplished sculptor. As a result, we don’t get the Stanwyck-Brent chemistry we get in all the other films, but their dynamic here is intriguing nonetheless.
So Big! is very much a Stanwyck showcase, following her Selina throughout the decades of her life. Brent has a very small supporting role — he doesn’t show up until near the end of the film — but he plays such a vitally important role in Selina’s life that he’s hard to forget when the credits roll.
Once again, this is yet another riveting Stanwyck movie… but as a Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movie, they have better collaborations that make better use of both of them.
Best for viewers who enjoy generational dramas and resilient heroines.
3. The Purchase Price (1932)
Genre: Dramedy
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Lyle Talbot
Directed by: William A. Wellman
The Purchase Price is perhaps one of the strangest movies in both Stanwyck and Brent’s careers. However, for those who like intriguing pre-code films, it’s not a bad watch.
The Purchase Price follows nightclub singer Joan Gordon (Stanwyck) who wants out of a relationship with a gangster. These circumstances eventually lead Joan to pose as a mail-order bride. She travels to North Dakota, where she marries struggling farmer James Gilson (Brent). The movie then takes off, moving back and forth from romance to rural melodramas.
The plotting is odd, to say the least. Stanwyck, as she always does, manages to make it work to a certain extent. The Purchase Price is also rather messy and very clearly a pre-Code film. However, thanks to the amount we get to see Stanwyck and Brent play off of each other, it remains a must-watch.
Best for fans who love brisk pre-Code romances and fish-out-of-water stories.
2. My Reputation (1946)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Warner Anderson
Directed by: Curtis Bernhardt
Stanwyck and Brent’s final film together also happens to be their most mature romance. My Reputation tells the story of Jessica Drummond (Stanwyck), a recently widowed society woman who is doing her best to rebuild her life, all while dealing with the expectations of her family, friends, and children.
While on a trip at Lake Tahoe, Jessica meets Army officer Major Scott Landis (Brent), and their growing romance quickly gives her more conservative social circle something to gossip about!
Though My Reputation was originally filmed during World War II, Warner Bros. held it for release until 1946, after the war was over. Though not as emotionally explosive as their pre-code movies, Stanwyck and Brent are rather enchanting to watch here in this more emotionally grounded material.
For fans looking through Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movies specifically for their onscreen romantic chemistry, My Reputation is one of their absolute best.
Best for viewers who enjoy mature romances and social drama.
1. Baby Face (1933)
Genre: Romantic Drama
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook
Directed by: Alfred E. Green
No other Stanwyck-Brent collaboration will ever carry the historical weight of Baby Face. Nor will any of their other collaborations suddenly age so well that they will be better than this 1933 pre-code movie.
In Baby Face, Lily Powers (Stanwyck) escapes an abusive upbringing and decides to head to New York. Deliberately, she uses the desires of powerful men to advance through the ranks of a bank company. However, when she encounters Courtland Trenholm (Brent), a wealthy executive, he proves to be more significant than all the other men before him.
Baby Face is one of the defining movies of the pre-code era in Hollywood. Even before the Hays Code became strict, Baby Face created serious censorship problems thanks to its cynicism, sexuality, and Stanwyck’s unapologetically ambitious heroine. It remains a notorious melodrama even to this day.
However, this romantic drama isn’t just remembered because of how frank it was for 1933 movies. Baby Face also happens to be a very good — and highly watchable — movie, even today. Stanwyck’s Lily is a stunning combination of anger, calculation, and survival instinct in a cruel world that uses women. Though Brent has a small supporting role here — he arrives later in the picture yet again — his character is vital to the entire story.
Of all five Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movies, Baby Face is the essential one that everyone should watch.
Best for fans of morally complex heroines and pre-Code drama.
Related: The Top 10 Best George Brent Movies of All Time
Watch the Best Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent Movies Today
The 5 best Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movies offer a compelling look at how two stars evolved in two very different eras of Hollywood. Viewers first watching this pairing should start with Baby Face, in our opinion!
However, regardless of which title you start with, these five movies remain a great glimpse of how two major Old Hollywood stars worked together across almost 15 years of film history.
Which Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent movie would you rank in the No. 1 spot? Let us know in the comments! We’d love to know what you think! Plus, return to Soapy Tea daily for the latest classic Hollywood features.
FEATURED IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/CANVA EDIT
