Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Those blokes who like their woman to come equipped with her own set of razor sharp metaphorical fangs need look no further than Stanwyck. As the archetypal ice queen in Double Indemnity, she’s got a faint whiff of the dominatrix about her – cleverly disguised under that angelic ‘do. Do not approach in a dark alley.

Dumb Blonde: Not in the slightest – Stanwyck’s double-crossing femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson has ‘smart’ tattooed in invisible ink on her forehead. Here, blonde morphs into steely resolve and impenetrable intellect. Not bad for a blonde.