Stage Door – 1937
Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this movie. On the one hand, it had a really great cast with some good performances. The sets and costumes were spot-on and believable. The dialogue was quick and witty. But on the other hand, the plot was a little one-note and uninteresting. And finally, the climax of the film was not very realistic. I’ll explain.
First, the good things. How could you go wrong with a cast which included Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick and Andrea Leeds? Not to mention Lucile Ball, Eve Arden and Ann Miller in smaller roles. Hepburn played Terry Randall, a girl from a rich family who sets out on a mission to become a big Broadway star without the consent of her wealthy father. Rogers played the cynical Jean Maitland, an out of work actress with similar dreams of stardom. Menjou actually played a jerk for a change and did quite well. He was Anthony Powell, Broadway producer and cheating womanizer.
Hepburn was simply marvelous, as usual. She had such a unique look and attitude. She really was a great actress. The quick and catty dialogue reminded me of other films like All About Eve or The Women, except that Stage Door came first. Hepburn had her share of it, but Rogers got most of the quick lines and really had to keep her wits about her. She was gorgeous and talented, and a pleasure to watch. Gail Patrick, playing her ex-roommate Linda Shaw, was her main sparring partner.
Then there was the film’s tragic character, Kay Hamilton, played by Leeds. She had once been the toast of Broadway, but is now having just as much trouble finding work as the rest of the women. Leeds was good. She was depressing and difficult to watch, which was exactly what she was supposed to be.
As I mentioned earlier, Menjou’s character was unlike any other role I have seen him play. He is usually a good guy, but here, his character of Anthony Powell had a habit of finding pretty young actresses and giving them work in exchange for sex. He was appropriately slimy and detestable. He would get them drunk and try to make his move. But he would also leave himself an escape hatch. He would tell them he was married so that he would never have to commit to anything, and so that he could conveniently drop any girl with whom he grew tired. Ew!
So, here is the flip side. The plot was, for the most part uninteresting. There is a boarding house full of out of work actresses, though you rarely see any of them actually looking for work. Terry actually makes a point of mentioning it. All except for Kay. She is studying and trying to get a part in a new play that Powell is producing.
But the plot puts more emphasis on Powel and how he basically treats his women like glorified whores. And the girls are so desperate for a meal ticket that they allow it. All except for Terry. She refuses to drink his champagne, and rebuffs his advances. Eventually, because of the interference of her rich father, she gets the part that Kay is desperate to get. That’s about it until the end.
And then there was the climax of the film. Terry, who turns out to be a bad actress, is saved when a delusional Kay commits suicide. Suddenly, because she now has a touch of real grief in her life, she becomes such a great actress that blows away the critics. She is an instant success.
And here, finally, is why I call the ending unrealistic. A profound feeling of guilt and pain does not a great actress make, especially in less than five minutes. A bad actress is a bad actress, whether she is happy or depressed. Sure, Hepburn played the hell out of the part, but the fault was in the script writing. Sudden sadness does not make you talented.
I guess that I didn’t really dislike the movie, but I didn’t find it especially meaningful or profound. The acting was good, and I liked the quick witted dialogue, but the slow plot left me a little ambivalent. Still, it was enjoyable enough to watch. It just wasn’t one of my favorites.