Stage Door

A boarding house in New York. Only actresses live there; all of them are looking for parts, none of them is earning, and the table is crowded at dinner. Terry arrives new; she is from a wealthy family and tells nobody. Her roommate Jean is a dancer and has been there for years. The women needle each other constantly. There is also Kaye, a good actress who has not been cast in a long time and is coming apart. Then a part comes up, and who gets it changes everything. Gregory La Cava directs. Katharine Hepburn plays Terry, Ginger Rogers plays Jean and Andrea Leeds plays Kaye, with Lucille Ball and Eve Arden in the cast. It was adapted from a stage play and the script was almost entirely rewritten; La Cava listened to the actresses spending time together in the house and carried their talk into the screenplay. Its strongest side is the dialogue; the lines are fast, they overlap, and the women cut across each other without pause. The narrative builds no success story; that there is no connection between talent and getting work is shown throughout. Andrea Leeds was nominated for the Oscar for supporting actress for the part. Katharine Hepburn was in a difficult commercial period at the time and the film counted as a return for her. Who it is for: viewers who like classic Hollywood comedy and films with large casts. Who it is not for: there are many characters, the pace is tiring, and the ending slides into melodrama.