Stage Door (1937)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Gregory La Cava

Writers:

Morrie Ryskind (screenplay) and
Anthony Veiller (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

8 lokakuu 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Brilliant In Cast And Story

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Broadway | Ambition | Roommate | Boarding House | Producer

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

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
Eve Arden	...	Eve
Ann Miller	...	Annie
Margaret Early	...	Mary Lou
Jean Rouverol	...	Dizzy
Elizabeth Dunne	...	Mrs. Orcutt
Norma Drury Boleslavsky	...	Olga (as Norma Drury)
Betty Jane Rhodes	...	Ann (as Jane Rhodes)
Peggy O'Donnell	...	Susan
Jan Wiley	...	Madeline (as Harriett Brandon)
Katharine Alexander	...	Cast of Stage Play (as Katherine Alexander)
Ralph Forbes	...	Cast of Stage Play
Mary Forbes	...	Cast of Stage Play
Huntley Gordon	...	Cast of Stage Play
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pamela Blake	...	Actress (uncredited)
Mary Bovard	...	Bobby (uncredited)
Lynton Brent	...	Powell's Aide (uncredited)
Hillary Brooke	...	Photograph of 'Mrs. Powell' (uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Alison Craig	...	Actress (uncredited)
Laurie Douglas	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Lynn Gabriel	...	Tony (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Script Clerk (uncredited)
Jack Gargan	...	Dancing Instructor (uncredited)
Diana Gibson	...	Actress (uncredited)
Frances Gifford	...	Mary McGuire (uncredited)
Lynda Grey	...	Actress (uncredited)
Ben Hendricks Jr.	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Vicki Joyce	...	Actress (uncredited)
Julie Kingdon	...	Bernice Neimeyer, Dancing Instructor (uncredited)
Theodore Kosloff	...	Dancing Instructor (uncredited)
Ada Leonard	...	Actress (uncredited)
Marie Marks	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Gerda Mora	...	Dancing Instructor (uncredited)
Philip Morris	...	Announcer (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Actor in Powell's Waiting Room (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Marie Osborne	...	Extra (uncredited)
Bob Perry	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
Florence Reed	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Frances Reid	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Playwright (uncredited)
Jack Richardson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Fred Santley	...	Dunkenfield (uncredited)
Mary Jane Shower	...	Actress (uncredited)
Mary Louise Smith	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Theater Patron (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Mary Stewart	...	Dancer / Singer (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Theodore von Eltz	...	Ellsworth (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Baggage Man (uncredited)
Crawford Weaver	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Cynthia Westlake	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Josephine Whittell	...	Miss Arden, Powell's Secretary (uncredited)

Directed by
Gregory La Cava		(as Gregory LaCava)

Writing credits
Morrie Ryskind		(screenplay) and
Anthony Veiller		(screenplay)
Edna Ferber		(play) and
George S. Kaufman		(play)

Produced by
Pandro S. Berman	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert De Grasse		(photographed by) (as Robert deGrasse)

Film Editing by
William Hamilton

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Muriel King		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James H. Anderson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Carroll Clark	....	associate art director
Darrell Silvera	....	set dresser

Sound Department
John L. Cass	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
John Miehle	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Roy Webb	....	musical director

Other crew
Patricia Doyle	....	stand-in: Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)
Hermes Pan	....	choreographer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Films (1938) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Trabert and Hoeffer  jewelry

Runtime:

92 min | West Germany:83 min (TV)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #3486) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | France:U

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The screenplay was considerably altered from the hit stage play. Director Gregory La Cava was particularly gifted working with actresses. For two weeks prior to filming, he had his cast improvise in the boarding house set as if they were actually rooming together, and had a script girl take down all their interchanges. Most of the dialog you hear in the boarding house is extemporaneous ad-libs by the actresses during rehearsals.

Quotes:

Linda Shaw: If you were a little more considerate of your elders, maybe Mr. Powell would send his car for you someday. Of course, he would probably take one look at you and send you right back again, but then you have to expect that.
Jean Maitland: Is that so?
Linda Shaw: Do you know, I think I could fix you up with Mr. Powell's chauffeur. The chauffeur has a very nice car too.
Jean Maitland: Yes, but I understand Mr. Powell's chauffeur doesn't go as far in his car as Mr. Powell does.
Linda Shaw: Even a chauffer has to have an incentive!
Jean Maitland: Well, you should know!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Operation Double 007 (#6.8)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Put Your Heart Into Your Feet and Dance

What happened to the great movies like this one?

Something very sinister happened to movies between 1937 and the 1950s that made this kind of film impossible to make. It's a terrific example of ensemble acting, with no one taking a back seat to anyone else. Ginger Rogers is absolutely amazing, especially after seeing some of the fluffy stuff she did with Astaire. It's hard to believe this is the same actress.

The dialogue zips along with lighting speed including some great laugh-out-loud one-liners. What a wonderful script! Very much like "Grand Hotel" in its structure and shockingly adult themes.

The relationships between all the women are so complex it's hard to believe it was actually made when it was. It makes men look very bad - at best we're imbeciles, at worst, Svengalis. And it has the same kind of uneasiness and disillusionment with the theater that "Sunset Boulevard" had with the movies. I wish there were more like it.