Bingo night at the Bijou. A Stanwyck retrospective featuring plot summaries (in chronological order) of every film (there are something like 83) starting with the 1927 release of Broadway Nights, including great forgettables like Ten Cents a Dance (during production director Lionel Barrymore couldn't keep from dozing off), disasters like Scan O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars (Barbara played Nora Clitheroe) -- all given equal space and attention. Rarely is there any critical judgment here -- even when Smith concedes such schlocks as A Message to Garcia, Barbara herself seems to have been never less than great and wonderful, praise affirmed with testimonials by everybody from Cecil B. DeMille right down to the studio go-fors. This is one of those film books currently being pushed through with about as much care and class as a Hollywood B during the heyday of the studio system -- and there's still Lassie and the other dog flicks to look forward to.