She has the unique distinction of being the girl (the "world's only
singing cowgirl", no less) on whose success rested the fate of an
entire movie studio. Grand National Pictures signed her as a desperate
gimmick after its chief,
Edward L. Alperson suffered a serious lapse of judgment
and green-lighted production of a
James Cagney vehicle,
Something to Sing About (1937), which
bombed and left the neophyte studio in dire financial straits (Alperson
owned the rights to "Angels With Dirty Faces" which, despite the
pleading of his line producers, he set aside). Alperson scrambled for
cash flow - producing a shrinking number of ever-cheaper features right
up until his resignation on February 25, 1939. A handful of these
starred Ms. Page. She deserved better, but with the nominal 'name'
stars and technicians jumping the rapidly sinking Grand National ship,
her final features, all westerns, were shoddy, even by Gower Gulch
standards. She generated no enthusiasm from either the public or the
exhibitors and soon retired from acting.
