Stage Struck

Monogram Pictures was a very prolific small studio that specialized in making B-movies. In general, their output was just fair...entertaining but also filled with cheaply made pictures with mostly second and third-tier actors. "Stage Struck" is pretty much average for the studio.

A hostess in a night club is found murdered and the cops seem baffled and unable to solve the crime. So, the dead woman's sister, on her own, decides to get a job with the agency that places these hostesses in various clubs in the hope she'll be able to dig up incriminating evidence. Unfortunately, she isn't particularly bright and she nearly gets herself killed playing amateur cop.

The acting in this one is purely adequate...and the story really lets you down near the end because the lady investigating seems a bit dim. She makes a lot of silly blunders and instead of being the smart, confident woman the film wants you to believe, she instead seems a bit dippy. A time-passer and nothing more.

This is a film about what you don't see and what they don't say. When one girl claims Nick is going to introduce her to theatrical producers another girl says "So that's what he calls them."

When the cops come to the club unannounced they're swarmed with 4 young ladies all anxious to get to know these total strangers. When the cops make it clear they are not interested in this bevy of beauties, the girls all slink away looking of greener pastures.

The word "talent" is used like a code, maybe for sexual availability: "He said I have a lot of talent," "They're looking for new talent," "that girl didn't have any talent."

I'm not sure what the latin guy is planning but it requires a truckload of friendly young females. We're just left to imaging this orgy.

I'm wouldn't call what's going on here sex trafficking. These women seem free to leave if they want. They don't have a lot of optional occupations in mind. Make a note, if you're a hot girl with no plan B, someone sleazy will have a suggestion.

SMOKING RITUAL

At times, Conrad Nagel is engulfed in a thick cloud of smoke. Imagine how he must have smelled.

Watch the conversation at the bar between the new recruit ("He's going to give me the lead part") as the seasoned escort handles a 4 inch cigarette holder. This trashy/classy accessory is one I've seen only in the movies.

"Stage Struck" is an excellent B crime story, with good script and great cast. It even attempts to provide a moral, especially to naïve young women. But it's in the very last words and I won't give it away here.

On 25 January 2023, TCM took a break from being "woke" and PC -- meaning preachy and racist -- and presented several movies about night clubs and singers and gangsters. All were generally unknown and might not actually be considered "classics," but all were much better than might have been expected.

This one has not only a good story, with many characters, all of whom have at least a moment to shine, but it has a cast of great talent if not a lot of fame.

Kane Richmond is usually considered a hero of thrillers and serials so perhaps that's why his performance here is, to me, extraordinary. It shows, again, just how little justice there ever was in Hollywood, when actors with far less talent got more acclaim and money.

I do recommend "Stage Struck."

Nightclub owner Benny Nordick is arguing with his hostess Helen Howard. They fight over his gun and he shots her dead. Petty criminal Nick Mantee offers to cover it up and dumps the body in the streets. Police Lt. Williams and Sgt. Tom Ramey starts the investigation by interviewing the family. Helen's sister Nancy gets involved. Meanwhile, Nick blackmails Benny over the murder.

The investigation is too slow. The movie spends too much time with the family. Everything about the cops move at about half a step too slow. Even their walking is a slow mosey. The family is bland. Maybe they could streamline it to just Nancy. The movie slows to a crawl when the cops take over the narrative. Nick is the only truly interesting character. The criminals have some fun. It's the saving grace in an otherwise bland crime drama. The cops need to be more compelling.

Nightclub and model agency owner John Gallaudet (Benny) defends himself when an enraged Wanda McKay (Helen Howard) pulls a gun on him in his office. In the ensuing struggle, she is shot dead. The incident is witnessed by nasty employee Kane Richmond (Nick) who uses blackmail to promote his status and become co-owner of both businesses. Gallaudet agrees to the arrangement in return for Kane's silence. The police team of Conrad Nagel (Williams) and Ralph Byrd (Ramey) try to uncover the murderer but when they don't seem to be treating things as urgently as they should be, the murdered girl's sister Audrey Long (Nancy) takes matters into her own hands.

The film is ok. Nagel entertained me the most with his moments of unconvincing acting in the style of Whit Bissell. This is evident when he delivers all the preachy stuff about 100s of girls going missing every day and the classic ending where he pretty much tells all young women to stay at home with their mums. Hilarious. I also learned how not to deliver bad news to people.

Interesting to take note of the scam in this film whereby young girls are fooled into thinking they are signing up for a course that will turn them into movie stars. In reality, they are being groomed to act as hostesses in a gentleman's club. It's your basic escort work. Pretty clever idea for whoever thought of it first. Anyway, this film presumes the murdered McKay was an innocent girl who was obviously wrongly killed. We never know the truth surrounding this and I have to admit to feeling sorry for Gallaudet during this film. He seems alright and he's no fool. Unlike Richmond.