Katharine Hepburn is a young actress who comes to New York for fame and fortune in "Morning Glory," also starring Adolphe Menjou, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and C. Aubrey Smith. Eva Lovelace ("my stage name, I can shorten it if you want something else") is eccentric, fast-talking, and has many fantasies about acting and theater. The reality hits hard as at one point, she seems not only starving but homeless. Noting that she is in trouble, an elderly actor, Hedges (Smith) who meets her in producer Louis Easton's (Menjou) office invites her to Easton's opening night party. With no food in her stomach, she gets drunk recites some monologues, and ends up in bed with Easton. She's in love; he never wants to see her again. Meanwhile, Easton's writer Sheridan (Fairbanks) has fallen in love with her.
Dated, melodramatic, predictable - "Morning Glory" is all of that but somehow the theatrical repartee and attitudes ring true - some things never change, including competition between actresses. Hepburn is very young, slim and pretty, and she does an excellent job as a young woman embarking on a new life. Why with Fairbanks Jr. staring her in the face she fell for Menjou I'll never know. Fairbanks is incredibly young here but very effective. Menjou is perfect as an elegant, gracious producer who in the end is all business. C. Aubrey Smith gives a dignified and lovely performance as Hedges.
The ending does leave one asking, is Eva Lovelace to be a morning glory (i.e., flash in the pan) or not? Somehow whatever happens, the film leaves you with the impression that Eva will make it work in her own eccentric way.
Dated, melodramatic, predictable - "Morning Glory" is all of that but somehow the theatrical repartee and attitudes ring true - some things never change, including competition between actresses. Hepburn is very young, slim and pretty, and she does an excellent job as a young woman embarking on a new life. Why with Fairbanks Jr. staring her in the face she fell for Menjou I'll never know. Fairbanks is incredibly young here but very effective. Menjou is perfect as an elegant, gracious producer who in the end is all business. C. Aubrey Smith gives a dignified and lovely performance as Hedges.
The ending does leave one asking, is Eva Lovelace to be a morning glory (i.e., flash in the pan) or not? Somehow whatever happens, the film leaves you with the impression that Eva will make it work in her own eccentric way.