Sunday with Barbara Stanwyck

“Ladies They Talk About” crackles and charms

For an enjoyably fresh and surprising women’s prison picture, pre-Hollywood production code Ladies They Talk About hits the spot. Here, Barbara Stanwyck plays Nan, a bank robbery gang’s bait. She gets caught, obviously. There’s more to it and it’s well done.

Stanwyck’s Nan is also a deacon’s daughter. When a religious radio evangelist (Preston Foster) with whom she was acquainted in her youth resurfaces during the sentencing phase, the wisecracking dame’s spun into a dilemma that neither of them can easily sort through. Complicating matters are the gang members, a political district attorney and the cop who foils Nan’s schemes. While Nan keeps going and staying bad—“too much deaconing took all of the sweetness out of me,” she explains when they’re reunited—the reformist preacher on the airwaves keeps trying to save her soul. Or does he want (not completely) naughty Nan for himself?

Ambiguity laces Ladies They Talk About, a solid B-movie with the necessary snap, sizzle and sentiment to e…