Career Girl

This is a rather underrated little movie that bares more than a passing resemblance to Stage Door.

Despite its lack of truly famous faces, it is beautifully acted by all concerned. Frances Langford, the female lead in this, had a long and highly successful career in the media, especially in radio and later on TV and as a live performer as well as occasional appearances in movies.

She belonged to an age when talent abounded and the competition was pretty fierce, and though not exactly a marquee name in movies, she did have her moments, and definitely deserved to have had a bigger career in movies. This little movie is an excellent vehicle for her. She was a striking beauty and had a fine singing voice. The only weak part of this movie is probably the dance scene at the end. But that aside this movie is well worth watching.

Frances Langford tries to makea hit on Broadway, but it hits back. She moves into a girl's boarding house, filled with other longtime hopefuls. When they find out that she can sing like Frances Langford, they try to help her out, but producers leave during her auditions. Iris Adrian comes up with the brainstorm of incorporating her: $25 a week and free housing and they look to make a killing.

It's an okay PRC musical. Miss Langford sings five songs, and there are occasional bouts of tap-dancing, along with the usual romantic comedy plot. Despite her obvious talent and fresh-faced beauty, Miss Langford never became a movie star. Singing on Bob Hope's radio show, bickering with Don Ameche, selling a lot of records, starring in PRC musicals and appearing occasionally in an A picture as a specialty were the limits. It was a good career, far beyond what most Americans of the era could attain, but the peculiarities of the movie business never gave her the final push over the top to true stardom.

Back in the 1940s, PRC was perhaps the worst small studio in Hollywood. Compared to their films, Republic and Monogram seemed like MGM and Fox! So, when I saw this Frances Langford film was from PRC, I pretty much assumed it would second-rate...which it was.

Joan (Langford) has been trying to get discovered for some time. All that has done was deplete her money and her self-image. However, even in the face of rejection after rejection, Joan's friends and fellow struggling artists have faith in her. In fact, when Joan has decided to pack it in and just marry her old boyfriend, these friends jump in and form a corporation to fund her until she is discovered. As for the boyfriend, you soon learn he's a jerk and wants to see her fail! What's next? See the film.

While IMDB says the film is a remake of "Stage Door", I see it more as a reworking of the basic idea and the two films, while similar, are different enough to merit your seeing them both, or, just see the better of the two, "Stage Door". My gripes with the movie were too much singing and some characters who seemed shallow and poorly written. Overall, watchable but not much more.

"Career Girl" had just the right setup to be a good movie, especially during the war years. An all-girl boarding house of would-be starlets in New York had real potential. The plot was just right, and the two love interests were OK. The script was shaky but the movie still had potential. Then came the time for people to perform and it fell flat. Where was the talent in song and dance? Others commented about this, and the lack of much talent did this film in as a musical. Even Frances Langford's numbers were not up to her usual caliber.

This movie may indeed have been for another time. Look closely at the check Frances receives from the hotel clerk in the opening scene. The letter acknowledged the closing of her account by the Midwest National Bank of Kansas City, KS. She received a check for $110 plus, and the date clearly shown on the check is March 10, 1845. That's right – 1845. Someone had fun with that prop, because the camera stays on the letter and check long enough for a theater audience to see the date clearly. Of course, with DVDs today, we can stop right on a scene and savor little goofs like this.

PRC...I love the way that logo looks on screen. A group of people without a lot of money putting out movies. It wasn't MGM, it didn't try to be. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. This one works. This is really a showcase for the remarkable talents of Miss Frances Langford. Beautiful to look at, delightful to hear. Forgettable songs? Nothing that Frances Langford sang is forgettable. Oh how I wish she had gotten that big movie that she had hoped for! A lavish MGM musical! Sadly, that never happened. In the hands, or should I say the vocal cords, of Frances Langford these songs are most memorable. One of them was written by Morey Amsterdam, brilliant comedian and mainstay of the Dick Van Dyke show. The plot concerns Joan Terry (Frances Langford) sweet country girl in the big city trying to break into show business and torn between pursuing her dream or returning home to marry her boyfriend. I'll not go any further with the plot, I'm sure you can guess the outcome. What is so wonderful about this movie, aside from the gorgeous singing of Frances, is the tight ensemble. The way the cast interacts with each other raising a rather ordinary story into a comedy/drama you can really get into. OK, the big dance number at the end is not always in sync but who cares when you have Frances Langford to see and listen to. Iris Adrian is her delightful, cynical self sticking her nose into everything. Edward Norris, a sophisticated if naive friend/suitor of Joan Terry. Craig Woods a stuffed shirt of a boyfriend from back home. Excellent cameos by Charles Judels and Charles Williams as eccentric Broadway producers. Ariel Heath as the star struck stage struck aspiring actress and others too numerous to mention. Career Girl is what it is...a delightful 1940's musical that entertains. I guarantee that the voice and beauty of Frances Langford will remain with you after seeing this film and that you will return to see it over and over again.