Stage Door (1937)

A boardinghouse full of aspiring actresses and their ambitions, dreams and disappointments.

Director:

Gregory La Cava

Writers:

Morrie Ryskind (screen play), Anthony Veiller (screen play),

Stars:

Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Katharine Hepburn	...	Terry Randall
Ginger Rogers	...	Jean Maitland
Adolphe Menjou	...	Anthony Powell
Gail Patrick	...	Linda Shaw
Constance Collier	...	Miss Luther
Andrea Leeds	...	Kay Hamilton
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Henry Sims
Lucille Ball	...	Judith
Franklin Pangborn	...	Harcourt
William Corson	...	Bill
Pierre Watkin	...	Carmichael
Grady Sutton	...	Butch
Frank Reicher	...	Stage Director
Jack Carson	...	Mr. Milbanks
Phyllis Kennedy	...	Hattie

Storyline

Terry Randall, rich society beauty, has decided to see if she can break into the Broadway theatre scene without her family connections. She goes to live in a theatrical boarding house and finds her life caught up with those of the other inmates and the ever-present disappointment that theatrical hopefuls must live with. Her smart-mouth roommate, Jean, is approached by a powerful producer for more than just a role. And Terry's father has decided to give her career the shove by backing a production for her to star in, in which she's sure to flop. But his machinations hurt more than just Terry.

---

Plot Keywords:

producer | roommate | ambition | nylons | stage play | 

---

Taglines:

GREAT STARS! GREAT STORY! GREAT PICTURE! (original print ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pension d'artistes

Box Office

Budget:

$952,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 83 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Katharine Hepburn was in discussions to star in the original Broadway stage production of "Stage Door", but Broadway producer Leland Hayward, reportedly jealous of her deepening friendship with noted film director John Ford, cast his then-girlfriend Margaret Sullavan in the leading role. Hayward and Sullavan married one month after the stage play opened. Margaret Sullavan was considered for the film version but became pregnant with their first child, and the part went to Katharine Hepburn.

---

Goofs

In the scene between Terry and Tony Powell, where there is discussion about being 'framed', Powell is initially opposite Terry across the shelf with the photos, whereas in the next shot he has moved to being at right angles to her on her left side.

---

Quotes

Eve: [after a dinner where Terry Randall has evidently spoken very eloquently about Shakespeare] Well, I don't like to gossip, but that new gal seems to have an awful crush on Shakespeare!
Susan: [jokingly] I wouldn't be surprised if they get married!
Mary Lou: [with genuine naiveté] Oh, you're foolin'! Shakespeare's dead!
Susan: [Feigning surprise, playing along to entertain the others] No!
Mary Lou: Well, if he's the same one that wrote "Hamlet", he is!
Eve: [playing along, too] Never heard of it.
Mary Lou: Well, certainly you must have heard of "...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in I Love Lucy: Lucy's Italian Movie (1956)

---

Soundtracks

"Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)"
(1850) (uncredited)
from "Lohengrin"
Written by Richard Wagner
Sung by the women as Judith leaves to get married

User Reviews

Utterly perfect example of movie entertainment, 30s style

Director Gregory LaCava apparently liked to hit the bottle and so had a spotty career, but Stage Door is his masterpiece. Not in some personal, auteurist way, but in having achieved an almost ideal example of Depression-era movie entertainment. Its venue is the Footlights Club, a theatrical boarding house near Broadway, where lamb stew and broken dreams are the nightly staples. Among the gals with stiletto tongues but hearts of gold are Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller, Gail Patrick and formidable Constance Collier ("Could you see an older woman in the part?"). But the movie centers on the rivalry between roommates Katherine Hepburn, as a spoiled rich kid who tries acting as a lark, and Ginger Rogers, as a plucky thespian waiting for her break. Believe it or no, those diametrical opposites (aristocratic, ethereal Kate and tough, pragmatic Ginger) work like a dream together. The script negotiates a delicate path between pathos and bathos, and somehow keeps its balance, even when one of the troupers loses her grip on reality and...Well, enough said. Best of all: this is the movie in which Hepburn gets to elocute: "The calla lilies are in bloom again...." Sheerest heaven.