Entre bastidores

Thanks to the BBC this finally appears as a long-overdue TV showing in tribute to Kate Hepburn. A stunning cast includes Ginger Rogers, Eve Arden, Lucille Ball and Ann Miller (both looking impossibly young!), Constance Collier (one of the great old troupers), Andrea Leeds, Adolphe Menjou, and in the cast but not credited an hilarious performance from Franklin Pangborn as Menjou's butler, plus appearances from Jack Carson, Grady Sutton, Ralph Forbes. It is a classic film fan's joy even if the plot does creak along on a variation of the 'heiress who wants to act' theme.

Hepburn looks fabulous and that brittle voice was rarely used better than to deliver the sparkling script required. Great role for Ginger too (time off from dancing with Fred, this being around the middle of their legendary partnership). Love it. One to treasure.

A very well acted classic drama with great characters that interact realistically when together, it is also supported by some fine acting. Katharine Hepburn is very strong and natural, and Ginger Rogers matches her, playing a witty and almost cynical character very well. Gail Patrick is great too, yet Andrea Leeds was the only cast member to go on to receive an Academy Award nomination, however she is the best of the bunch, giving life to a frail and emotionally unstable aspiring actress. It is a bit overly talkative, and it has at least one too many subplots going on, however the film presents such an interesting insight into the lives of wannabee actresses that these points hardly matter. It is indeed a little difficult to distinguish each of the supporting characters as individuals, and perhaps they could done with further development, but yet this factor is very much like how all the aspiring actresses in the world are: indistinguishable, until you get to know them - and how actresses get ahead in the world is a lot of what this film is about. The final few minutes of the film could have been chopped out; otherwise this is good viewing all the way through.

Katharine Hepburn takes up residence in a theatrical rooming house in "Stage Door," one of the great examples of ensemble acting in film.

Besides Hepburn, the film features Adolph Menjou, Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Ginger Rogers, Andrea Leeds, Eve Arden, Constance Collier, and Gail Patrick.

Hepburn is a the daughter of a wealthy man who comes to New York to try her hand at acting. She talks a good game, but as we soon learn, she has no emotional understanding or connection to acting at all, approaching everything intellectually.

All of the women are pursuing careers in theater, some with more success than others, and Patrick has a sugar daddy (Menjou). Leeds is the tragic character, a star from the previous season who can't find work but is desperate for the lead in "Enchanted April."

The atmosphere created by director Gregory Lacava perfectly evokes the lively atmosphere of young women living together, sitting in the parlor complaining about food, men, and work or lack of it, as they sing, joke, play piano, strum the ukulele, and talk on the phone - all at once.

The acting is uniformly excellent, with each actress creating a unique character. Lucille Ball gives evidence of the comic timing that would make her one of the greatest TV stars of all time, and there are plenty of ironic one-liners to be had from Eve Arden, and Ginger Rogers matches her in sarcasm.

Ann Miller was supposedly 14 when she made this film; it doesn't seem possible but that was her story and she stuck to it. We do get to see a little bit of her tapping.

Andrea Leeds, bearing such a strong resemblance to Olivia DeHavilland, gives a touching performance as the doomed Kay, who does not have the emotional stability to withstand what can be a devastating career.

It's an extremely melodramatic role and rather than have her play against this, LaCava had her play to it, thus dating what could have stood as a compelling performance even today.

The climactic scenes toward the end are pure '30s, stripping the film of previous lightness and going into tragedy but are effective and real tear-jerkers. By the film's end, though, we've come full circle.

The film is based on the play of the same name which is actually quite different. The whole idea was probably based on the Studio Club in New York City. "Stage Door" is wonderful and the script, acting and direction make it a deeply satisfying experience.

Framed and shot as though a stage play – which it was originally, but much changed for the film – and with a stage play within the staged play, le tout ensemble in this witty farce delivers a virtual non-stop, wise-cracking, virtuoso performance. Timing is everything and in comedy, it's particularly so; and the director, Gregory La Cava – who cut his teeth, in the silent era, as a director beginning in 1916 – doesn't miss a beat with this one.

From a play by Edna Ferber (of Giant fame) and George S. Kaufman, the film tells the story of what happens to a group of aspiring actresses who happen to board at a place called the Floodlights Club in New York City, supposedly. Of course, there are minor players, as in all plays – Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller and most of the men, the exception being Adolphe Menjou as a caricature (almost) of the Big Bad Producer of those days. The majors, Katharine Hepburn (as Terry), Ginger Rogers (Jean), Gail Patrick (Linda) and Andrea Leeds (Kay) form the core about which this story revolves.

Which, when all is said and done, is about the ascendancy of Terry as an actress and the decline of Kay as another: out with the old, in with the new, if you will. That would tend to make for a somewhat pedestrian story if it were simply that. Happily, what sets this apart from, say, the almost maudlin characterization by Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933) in a similar situation (for which, however, she did receive a Best Actress award in 1934), is, first, the scintillating dialog. Which means the viewer must really listen: it goes so quickly between characters that you'll miss the one-liners and sight gags if you take a chomp on a sandwich or sip of coffee, or whatever. So, be prepared.

What's left? Well, of course, the great acting by Hepburn, Rogers, Ball, Miller, Menjou, Arden, Patrick and Leeds, the latter getting a Best Supporting nomination for her somewhat overly tearful acting; so much so, she reminded me of Olivia de Havilland, in looks and style.

The direction, already mentioned, is in the hands of an old hand and it shows, explicitly. Add to that the camera work that included almost manic cuts up and down stairs, superb face-on tracking shots and perfect timing while up to a dozen people would mill about in the frame concurrently – and with dialog. Confusing? Perhaps to some. Just concentrate on the majors.

What's more interesting for me, however, is the sub-text of this comedy. Made just before USA finally shook free of the Great Depression, as you listen, you'll hear many references to the hard times: at the Floodlights, everybody is down, but not out; rich and unscrupulous producers just want to use and abuse actresses; the women are all scraping for even the lowliest acting or dancing job at the meanest of wages; despondency and depression are endemic. Despite all of that, the women 'soldier' on, pushing themselves to their emotional and physical limits.

Women in the audience at that time must have felt the pull: don't deny your dreams of self-fulfillment, despite what chauvinistic clods of men might say and do, even powerful men. It's a stirring message, albeit idealistic, but it sets the tone for the larger section of a country that was about to engage in the world war which, in a very real sense, changed the role of women as never before. So, some may die, yes, but the show must go on...

There have been a number of introspective and self-referential films about the acting business, Morning Glory being the earliest I've seen. Others include A Star is Born (made and remade many times), All About Eve (1950) – arguably the best, I think – The Dresser (1983), The Player (1992), and others, but all heavy dramas. So, it's refreshing to find a gem that's prepared to treat the matter lightly, more rather than less.

A final thought: it must have been fun for the actors to act at being actors; it's even more fun to know that the director used much of the banter between the women off-camera to actually use in the film – much to the playwrights' displeasure, so I understand.

Recommended for all.

With a fine cast and an interesting, worthwhile story, "Stage Door" is one of the best films of the late 1930's. It provides good comedy - at least if you can keep up with the fast-paced, many-sided dialogues - and some interesting drama in the lives of its characters. The characters are well-developed, even the minor ones, and this makes the dramatic developments that much more meaningful. The atmosphere is a convincing and very interesting look at life in the theater, neither overly glamourized nor overly sordid.

There is a great deal of talent in the cast, led by Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, whose characters clash in interesting ways. Adolphe Menjou is an ideal choice to play this kind of genial cad. Gail Patrick also is perfect as an elegant but venomous young performer. Constance Collier is amusing as the would-be mentor for the younger actresses. Andrea Leeds is very sympathetic in her role. Most of the other characters in the boarding house get only small stretches of screen time, but they all make good use of it. It's also enjoyable just to see the likes of Ann Miller, Lucille Ball, and Eve Arden in some of their earlier roles.

The cast is the most obvious of its strengths, but the writing is also quite good, and Gregory La Cava's direction is very good, maintaining a good pace without rushing anything, and keeping a good balance between the amusing and the serious sides of the story. Everything works very well, making for an enjoyable and thoughtful picture.