The Revolt of Mamie Stover (1956)

Set in the early '40s, a San Francisco prostitute is run out of town just as the second World War has begun to intensify. Mamie settles down in Hawaii, hoping to start a new life. Though ... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Sydney Boehm, William Bradford Huie (novel)

Stars:

Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jane Russell	...	Mamie Stover
Richard Egan	...	Jim Blair
Joan Leslie	...	Annalee Johnson
Agnes Moorehead	...	Bertha Parchman
Jorja Curtright	...	Jackie
Michael Pate	...	Harry Adkins
Richard Coogan	...	Capt. Eldon Sumac
Alan Reed	...	Capt. Gorecki
Eddie Firestone	...	Tarzan
Jean Willes	...	Gladys
Leon Lontoc	...	Aki
Kathy Marlowe	...	Zelda
Margia Dean	...	Peaches
Jack Mather	...	Bartender
John Halloran	...	Henry

Storyline

Set in the early '40s, a San Francisco prostitute is run out of town just as the second World War has begun to intensify. Mamie settles down in Hawaii, hoping to start a new life. Though her prospects look good when she falls in love with a science-fiction writer who treats her with the respect she deserves, the dawning war and the fallacies of her previous lifestyle complicate their budding romance. Mamie cannot fully remove herself from her former profession, and provides some of her old services to the sailors stationed in town. Searching for another means of financial security, Mamie invests in several pieces of real estate and becomes quite wealthy, though her bad reputation has not been forgotten by the locals.

---

Plot Keywords:

real estate | sailor | reputation | hawaii | writer | 

---

Taglines:

Why Did Mamie Stover Have to Leave San Francisco?

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1956 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Bungalow der Frauen

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 89 min (FMC Library Print)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fox publicity materials claim that Jane Russell's hula number, "Keep Your Eyes on the Hands", was not originally in the film. Crew members reputedly heard it sung at a Honolulu nightclub while there to film exteriors, and found it so "perfect" for Russell that it was incorporated into the film.

---

Goofs

Although the story takes place in 1941-1942, all the women's fashion styles are from 1956.

---

Connections

Referenced in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996)

---

Soundtracks

"Keep Your Eyes on the Hands"
Music by Tony Todaro
Lyrics by Mary Johnston
Sung by Jane Russell with a Hula Girl Chorus

User Reviews

not bad, for the time..although

The double standard is still rampant, the character of Mamie Stover makes an attempt to achieve material success in a man's world.

Richard Egan is believable as the writer with a house on a hilltop, and all the accoutrement Mamie Stover will beg borrow or steal to get. She does make a point when she says when he discusses money he ..."is only slumming, while I'm just plain scared"...

The problem in these days is women were not encouraged to use their minds, and her pronounced figure is blatantly used in many scenes to underline this point.

Some good scenes with Agnes Moorehead as brothel owner, and lush sets on the beaches and mountains of Oahu. Worth a viewing as a commentary on women's issues at the time, a curiosity in that one wonders how close the Stover character was to Russel's own life, and what she had to do to get ahead in Hollywood of the 1940's-1950's.