This A&E Biography recalls the earlier Richard Schickel biography of Stanywyck, Fire and Desire, with some of the same movie clips used. However there are a few new details that occasionally make it interesting.
We see Barbara's first husband Frank Fay in a short they made together in 1932, where he appears very fey, and which alludes to the rumors that she was a beard. We see Barbara's 1981 Hononary Oscar speech, and rare footage from movies like Ladies of Leisure, and Annie Oakley, as well as clips and trailers from her milestone films.
We hear anecdotes about how Barbara helped people establish themselves in Hollywood eg William Holden, Aaron Spelling, Nolan Miller, and also Barbara's own voice talking about her life. The best anecdote concerns Barbara's reaction to the director John Farrow being rude to a bit player on the set of California.

海伦·弗格森怀孕了，身无分文，被她的男友史蒂夫·莫利甩了。她借巧替代了在火车事故中丧生的孕妇帕特里斯·哈克尼斯的身份。富有的哈克尼斯公婆和他们的另一个儿子比尔从未见过帕特里斯，所以他们接受了替代者海伦和她刚出生的儿子。然而前男友史蒂夫最终还是找到了她，并开始勒索她。

A bookish historian is married to a steely Southern belle who raises horses, an animal that he doesn't care for. However, the cute young neighbor girl doesn't feel that way about him and makes no bones about letting him know it.

On an ocean voyage, a librarian falls for a married man. After librarian Lulu Smith is accused by her patrons of having Spring fever, she spends her life savings on a cruise to Havana, during which she begins a romance with Bob Grover, a lawyer with political ambitions. After their return, Lulu becomes a clerical assistant for a newspaper, where she is pursued by brash reporter Al Holland. One night, several months into their affair, Bob comes to Lulu's apartment for dinner, bringing two Halloween masks with which they have a marvelous time playing. Their merriment is interrupted by a call from Al, whose proposal to Lulu prompts Bob to confess that he has an invalid wife whom he cannot leave. Lulu protests that she wishes to continue their affair, but Bob refuses to let her waste her life on him. They squabble, and Lulu throws him out without telling him she is pregnant. Time passes and Bob becomes district attorney, while Al becomes city editor of the newspaper. After Bob hires a detective, Marty, to find Lulu, the couple are reunited and Lulu introduces Bob to his daughter Roberta. Later, Lulu and Roberta are waiting to meet Bob, when Al suddenly appears. He is questioning her about Roberta when Bob arrives, and, in order to protect Bob's reputation, Lulu tells Al that the baby is Bob's adopted daughter and that she is her governess. In order to preserve the charade, Bob does adopt Roberta, taking her home the next day to present to his wife Helen, who is returning from a European rest cure. Helen is delighted with the child but questions Lulu's ability to care for her. Lulu runs out of the house, and when Bob follows her, she tries to tell him she is through with him but cannot. Soon after, Lulu goes to Al for a job and becomes the "advice to the lovelorn" columnist for his paper. Al pumps her for information about Bob and Roberta in order to write a story causing Bob's downfall, but Lulu refuses to say anything. As the years pass, Lulu still works for the paper, and Al, now the managing editor, is still pursuing her. Bob has been both a mayor and a congressman, but on the night he wins the nomination for governor, he becomes disheartened, ashamed of the hypocrisy of his double life. Lulu tries to talk him out of confessing the truth and ruining his career, but when it seems that she cannot succeed, she asks Al to marry her, hoping that will make Bob forget about her. On the night of Bob's election, however, Al tells her that he knows all about her, Bob and Roberta, and Lulu kills him to prevent him from publishing the story. A year later, Bob is on his deathbed, and Lulu, whom he had pardoned after a short jail term, comes to visit him. He shows her his new will, which tells the truth and leaves her half of his estate, but after he dies, she tears it up to protect him and Roberta, who is engaged to a socially prominent young man.

T•C• Jeffords是一个自大、冷酷的农场主，他的女儿Vency一直希望代替死去的母亲，获得父亲的爱与权力，直到一天TC带回另一个女人。Vency与父亲决裂，并最终靠自己的力量夺走了农场。

梅根（芭芭拉·斯坦威克 Barbara Stanwyck 饰）和未婚夫琼斯（沃尔特·康诺利 Walter Connolly 饰）即将携手步入婚姻的殿堂。琼斯是一名虔诚的基督教徒，为了传教，梅根跟随琼斯来到了中国。一场意外中，两人在误打误撞之下闯入了军事禁区，就此解释了颜将军（尼尔斯·阿斯瑟 Nils Asther 饰），三人之间结下了深厚的友谊。
随着时间的推移，颜将军渐渐爱上了天真烂漫的梅根，两人之间的距离越来越近。颜将军在事业上受到了重创，导致了众叛亲离的下场，在这危机时刻，梅根选择不离不弃的陪伴在颜将军的身旁。可是，颜将军误以为梅根这么做是为了自己的未婚夫，这误会导致两人的感情产生了裂痕。

吉姆（理查德·贝斯哈特 Richard Basehart 饰）是议员的儿子，亦是家里万贯财产的继承人。早年间，他和一个名叫桑德拉（芭芭拉·斯坦威克 Barbara Stanwyck 饰）的神秘女人结了婚，如今，桑德拉成为了吉姆唯一的财产继承人。为了交涉遗产事宜，桑德拉来到了吉姆家中，见到了吉姆的弟弟马克（埃罗尔·弗林 Errol Flynn 饰），这个行为怪异鬼鬼祟祟的男人带给了桑德拉极为深刻的印象。
吉姆的妹妹朱莉（杰拉尔丁·布鲁克斯 Geraldine Brooks 饰）对自己的哥哥也没有好话，这更加深了桑德拉对马克的怀疑，不久之后朱莉意外身亡，这更令桑德拉坚信，这个家庭里发生的一连串的悲剧都和马克有着千丝万缕的关联。

Florence Fallon (Barbara Stanwyck) is outraged when her minister father is fired after many years of selfless service to make way for a younger man. She tells the congregation what she thinks of their ingratitude. Her bitter, impassioned speech impresses Bob Hornsby (Sam Hardy), who convinces her to become a phony preacher for the donations they can squeeze out of gullible believers. She builds up a devoted national following. Then she meets a blind John Carson (David Manners), falls in love, and the sham comes tumbling down.

1910年，一位任性的母亲再次造访她遗弃的家庭。

格里夫·邦内尔（Sullivan）和他的兄弟们到达亚利桑那州的一个小镇。他是美国元帅，打算逮捕霍华德·斯温（Chuck Roberson），恰巧是地主杰西卡·德拉蒙德（Sessny Drummond）的40支枪之一。布洛克（Brockie）和他的男孩正对该镇进行恐怖袭击和破坏。他是个狂妄自大的醉汉，但是当他向格里夫的老友枪杀时，他和他的兄弟们介入了。
格里夫（Griff）有目的地大步迈向这一行动，而毫不关心这场混乱。布罗基的好友认出了那个律师，并逃走了，但是喝醉了的布罗基并不知道或不在乎。富勒反复在格里夫的眼睛和布罗基的枪之间来回切换，直到格里夫最终到达洛基并用拳打他昏迷的高潮。格里夫（Griff）和杰西卡（Jessica）不可避免地走过了道路，他们的关系起初是对立的，但最终发展成一段浪漫。

芭芭拉·斯坦威克（在她最后的戏剧功能）恒星谁是由重复关于她的嫉妒，盲人丈夫谁理应烧死在最近很火的梦想恐吓一个富有的女人。她试图说服她的律师罗伯特·泰勒（斯坦威克的现实生活中的前夫）扮演的恶梦是真实的。开发威廉国王城堡生产和罗伯特·布洛克（“惊魂记”）剧本指导。撰稿alfiehitchie

《神女生涯原是梦》是由爱德华·迪麦特雷克执导的电影，由Nelson Algren担任编剧，由劳伦斯·哈维、卡普西尼主演。

曼顿（芭芭拉·斯坦威克 Barbara Stanwyck 饰）是衔着金汤匙出生的千金大小姐，个性聪慧而又独立。一天，曼顿正在街上遛狗，忽然发现一个熟人慌慌张张的从一栋房子里跑出来。在好奇心的趋势之下，曼顿进入了房子一探究竟，没想到等着自己的竟然是一具尸体。慌张之中，曼顿报了警，然而，警察赶来之后走进房子，里面的尸体不翼而飞。
警察斥责了曼顿，觉得这一切都是这个大小姐的消遣而已，不仅如此，得知此事的报社编辑皮特（亨利·方达 Henry Fonda 饰）还将此事写成了新闻报道登上报纸，公开谴责曼顿的轻浮。为了证明自己的清白，曼顿决定调查案件背后的真相。

一次偶然中，史黛拉（芭芭拉·斯坦威克 Barbara Stanwyck 饰）邂逅了英俊的男子史蒂芬（约翰·博尔斯 John Boles 饰），相互吸引的两人最终走到了一起，携手步入了婚姻的殿堂，很快，可爱的小女儿劳拉（安妮·雪莉 Anne Shirley 饰）呱呱坠地。随着时间的推移，史黛拉乖僻的个性渐渐显形，斯蒂芬受不了妻子的粗俗和毫无教养，这段婚姻不可避免的走向了破裂。
离婚后，史蒂芬娶了一位名叫海伦（芭芭拉·欧内尔 Barbara O'Neil 饰）的寡妇，这让史黛拉大受刺激。没有了家庭的寄托，史黛拉将自己的所有期望都投射到了劳拉的身上。史黛拉希望劳拉能够不收任何伤害，不走任何弯路的长大成人。

三个童年好友，玛莎、沃尔特和山姆，分享着一个可怕的秘密。随着时间的推移，野心勃勃的玛莎和懦弱的沃尔特结了婚。她是一个冷酷的商业女性；他是地方检察官：这是一个完美的组合，可以随心所欲地控制腐败的伊弗斯敦市。但山姆多年的离开意外地打乱了这对奇怪夫妇的生活。

电影讲述，乔波拿马拥有过人的音乐天赋，他的父亲希望他在这方面能有所建树，但乔自己却希望能成为一名拳击手。为此他说服濒临破产的拳击经纪人汤姆穆迪给他一个机会。在汤姆穆迪专业的指导下乔迅速上升，不久就成为著名拳手。但是“打假拳”的问题开始困扰乔，黄金男孩该何去何从呢。

一组编纂字典的专家想知道真实的人们是怎样说话的，结果他们遇到了一位美丽的歌女……