Stage Door (1937)

[8]

Katharine Hepburn leads an ensemble cast including Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball in this witty but moving comedy/drama about aspiring Broadway actresses living together in a boarding house. Hepburn’s character comes from money and wants to find out whether she has what it takes to become an actor. When she arrives at the boarding house, called The Footlight Club, she meets women both more experienced and more naive. Most of them are less privileged, but all of them are struggling to land the next big gig.

Ginger Rogers is indelible as Hepburn’s tough-talking roommate. Their scenes trading barbs with one another are my favorites in the film. One of my favorite exchanges begins with Hepburn defending her good manners to Rogers. “I use the right fork and knife. I hope you don’t mind.” To that, Rogers replies, “All you need’s the knife.” Their relationship is thorny throughout the film, especially when a powerful theater mogul (Adolphe Menjou) preys on their ambitions to secure romantic dates.

The women are more complex in Stage Door than they are in many other films from the era. I expected one or two characters to be overly virtuous and the rest to remain catty bitches. But the cattiness doesn’t define the characters — it’s just a tactic in their social engagement. No one is genuinely hurt by it. You can tell it’s just a defense mechanism — and probably a good one to have in a world that promises so much and gives so little. It’s great to see characters begin to trust each other and let down their defenses — especially Hepburn and Rogers.

Andrea Leeds was Oscar-nominated for her performance as a woman who received rave reviews in her stage debut, but has been unable to secure another job since. As she struggles to pay the rent and watches other women succeed ahead of her, you get the feeling she might be headed for tragedy. Her subplot is the most sentimental thing about Stage Door and feels somewhat at odds with a story that is otherwise fairly progressive in its depiction of strong-willed women.

Even if the film gets a tad melodramatic near the end, it gives Hepburn and many of the cast an opportunity to show their acting chops. Stage Door is fast-talking, unpredictable, and quite a bit of fun. With Gail Patrick and Constance Collier.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Director (Gregory La Cava), Original Screenplay, Supporting Actress (Leeds)