Photographer Focus: Elmer Fryer — Barbara Stanwyck, detail of a January, 1931 publicity photo from one of her first sessions after signing with Warner Brothers in the fall of 1930. (Thread)

Full image and another take from Barbara’s early work with Fryer. Studio publicity described the pose in the left photo as “typically Stanwyck-esque.” Though taken in early 1931, the photos were later used to promote Ladies They Talk About (1933).

Another great photo of Barbara from the session originally produced for Barbara’s first Warner Brothers film: Illicit (1931). Trivia: the film was based on a play of the same name co-written by the soon-to-be-famous Frank Capra collaborator, screenwriter Robert Riskin.

Barbara’s follow up to Ladies They Talk About was the raucously risqué hit Babyface (1933), the classic and controversial film that helped usher in the Hayes Production Code as well as help make her a breakout star. Two more shots from the Fryer photoshoot in 1931.

Another great shot by Fryer — same setting but different outfit. You can see where the studio was going with these early photos: Barbara as a seriously sultry but confident and assertive female comfortable in her own skin (as well as wherever she happens to be reclining).

And yes, two more great photos of Barbara by Fryer from their 1931 session. It’s notable that none of the photos from this session show her smiling (at least that I’ve found).

Barbara in a still from Ladies (L) and an unintentionally hilarious publicity shot for the film. I don’t know whose body that is under Barbara’s face but it’s definitely not hers. Any guesses?

Apparently, the idea of putting Barbara’s head on another person’s body for the film’s publicity was getting to be something of a trend. Hat tip @NitrateDiva for finding this gem: https://twitter.com/nitratediva/status/627222507846828032

Trivia: Louise’s only WB film — God’s Gift to Women — was also released in 1931 and starred Barbara’s husband at the time: Frank Fay, an abusive, racist and anti-Semitic egomaniac who was generally loathed in Hollywood. They divorced in 1935 after seven years of marriage.

And lastly — and since you’ve made it this far — any discussion of Ms. Stanwyck in Ladies They Talk About (1933) requires a posting of this classic response: