The Stork Club (1945)

A hat-check girl at the Stork Club (Hutton) saves the life of a drowning man (Fitzgerald). A rich man, he decides to repay her by anonymously giving her a bank account, a luxury apartment ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Buddy G. DeSylva (screenplay) (as B.G. DeSylva), Jack McGowan (screenplay) (as John McGowan)

Stars:

Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betty Hutton	...	Judy Peabody
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Jerry B. 'J.B.' / 'Pop' Bates
Don DeFore	...	Sgt. Danny Wilton
Robert Benchley	...	Tom P. Curtis
Bill Goodwin	...	Sherman Billingsley
Iris Adrian	...	Gwen
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Mr. Coretti
Mary Young	...	Mrs. Edith Bates
Andy Russell	...	Jim Jones

Storyline

A hat-check girl at the Stork Club (Hutton) saves the life of a drowning man (Fitzgerald). A rich man, he decides to repay her by anonymously giving her a bank account, a luxury apartment and a charge account at a department store. When her boyfriend (DeFore) returns from overseas, he thinks she is a kept woman.

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Plot Keywords:

hat check girl | department store | benefactor | two in a phone booth | uso | 

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Taglines:

Don can't give Betty anything but love ... Barry can't give her anything but millions! They'll give you the time of your life at New York's capital of Glamour, Gaiety, Love, Laughter and Music!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stork Club

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

B.G. DeSylva Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the week of March 2, 1946, Betty Hutton's jovial, racing rendition of "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" (music by Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster), via Capitol Records, sprinted to first place on the "Billboard" singles chart. Mr. Carmichael produced two best-selling takes on this number, one side in 1945 for the short-lived ARA label (1944-1946), plus a second waxing in 1946 on Decca.

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Quotes

Judy Peabody: You know I think he's a bit screwy, he thinks a girl named Ruby Stevens is Barbara Stanwyck!

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Connections

Edited into Moments in Music (1950)

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Soundtracks

I'm a Square in the Social Circle
(1945) (uncredited)
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Betty Hutton

User Reviews

Where The Real Elite Met

After the days of Prohibition where Sherman Billingsley made his money, he founded The Stork Club which was in New York what the Cocoanut Grove was in Los Angeles, where the elite meet to eat as Duffy's Tavern used to advertise. It was only natural that sooner or later one of the studios would make a film centered on the famous night spot and Paramount was the one that finally did it.

The nightclub serves as a backdrop for the story of one of the hatcheck girls in this case Betty Hutton. When she sees Barry Fitzgerald falling in a lake and starting to drown, Betty remembers her Girl Scout training and jumps in and saves him. Barry doesn't tell her, but he's a multimillionaire who then becomes her secret benefactor, much like Magwitch was to Pip in Great Expectations. Of course it all turns out a lot happier in the end for this cast.

Barry's presence leads returning serviceman boyfriend Don DeFore to suspect the worst that Betty's found herself a rich sugar daddy. It doesn't sit too well with Mrs. Fitzgerald played by Mary Young.

Fitzgerald was in the publicity gathered by his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Going My Way. For the next few years Barry received more screen time and in this case, co-star billing with Betty Hutton.

As for Betty she and the cast get songs from a variety of sources. The best known number is the famous Hoagy Carmichael-Paul Francis Webster song, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief which Hutton sings with her usual gusto. Betty's fine, but the really primo version of this song was done by it's composer who was a pretty fair entertainer as well.

Owner Sherman Billingsley was played by actor/radio announcer Bill Goodwin. In real life Billingsley was hardly as genial a person as Goodwin plays him.

Still the film is a must for Betty Hutton fans and for those who want to celebrate the past era of gaudy, yet tasteful nightspots.