Barbara Stanwyck's early film career serves as a prime example of the dislocation that scores of actors and actresses were experiencing throughout cinema's transition from silent to sound movies. Studio executives quickly discovered scores of silent movie veterans were incapable of conversing while acting in front of microphones. Thus, Hollywood began a campaign to seek new talent of those who were comfortable talking and acting both on a live stage and on a film set-not an easy thing to do.
Stanwyck, 21, was already a seasoned stage performer on Broadway when sound was introduced to cinema. She drew plaudits in the press for her 1927 appearance in 'Burlesque.' Theater producer Arthur Hopkins called her "The greatest natural actress of our time." A newly-wedded spouse to stand-up comedian and emcee host Frank Fay, Stanwyck moved to California with him after he received an offer with Warner Brothers. With an impressive New York City and Broadway resume in hand, the actress was highly sought after as soon as she arrived in Los Angeles. She secured her first substantial role in film, making her talkie debut in November 1929's "The Locked Door."
In retrospect, the actress harbored no fond memories of her initial performance in front of the camera. "They should've never unlocked the darn thing," said Stanwyck on the Joseph Schenck/Joseph Kennedy produced movie based on the 1919 Channing Pollock play 'The Sign on the Door.' Coming off the live stage onto a movie stage set was an entirely new experience for Stanwyck. "Nobody trained me for the movies," said the actress. "In the theatre I had to reach the guys in the balcony. But on a small movie set my voice was shrill and my walk was awkward. I was lost. Who the hell was going to teach me the ropes in this dizzy town?"
Despite what she said about her performance and the lack of box office success of "The Locked Door," that didn't stop other film directors from appreciating her acting skills and from reaching out to secure her services. The list included Frank Capra, who was intrigued by her screen presence, even though she was planning to chuck everything in Hollywood to return back East after viewing her first screen effort.
Stanwyck's life to this point was a rags-to-riches story rare in acting circles. Born in 1907 as Ruby Catherine Stevens in Brooklyn, New York, she was an orphan after her mother died miscarrying from a streetcar accident. Her father soon left her for a job to dig at the Panama Canal, and she never heard from him again. Her older sister, Mildred, tried to raise her and her brother, but when she became a showgirl, the kids went off to foster homes. Ruby constantly ran away from the homes, until at 12 she began to tour with Mildred during the summers. She dropped out of school at 14 and took several jobs to support her ambition to go into showbiz. At 16, she finally got her chance as a dancer at a nightclub, soon elevating to the Ziegfeld Follies. Ruby was cast as a chorus girl in 1926's Broadway's "The Noose," where her role was expanded in the highly-successful play. Its producer suggested a name change. Ruby spotted an old poster of the play 'Barbara Frietchie,' starring Jane Stanwyck. The young actress combined both names and adopted it for her own. Soon, she earned the lead in the 1927 play 'Burlesque,' blazing her new name on the theatre's marquee.
"The Locked Door" is noteworthy for two other actors appearing in it. ZaSu Pitts, the actress who played the dramatic heavy in 1924's "Greed," saw her roles turn more comedic. Typical of her later parts was her characters as the Telephone Girl, a ditzy hotel operator quizzed by the police after a murder. Also, actor William 'Stage" Boyd plays Stanwyck's husband. Boyd, taking the middle nickname 'Stage' to emphasize his experience in live plays to secure movie roles, was caught by police with alcohol and drug possession during the Prohibition. Not only was his career ruined by the courts' convictions, but another actor with his same name, William Boyd, was listed by confused newspapers as the one whom committed all the illegal acts. RKO studio severed his contract as well.