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Memorable, crazy movie

As Good As It Gets

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Stage Door is very much the poverty row version of MGM's The Women. It features only one big box office star, another who had become box office poison and a supporting cast who would later go on to play notable prominent roles in later films (Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Eve Arden).Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn where the two big rivals at RKO pictures with Rodger's career on the up and Hepburn's career on the down yet you can feel their mutual respect for each other as the film progresses (in the fictional realm at least). Stage Door follows a group of actresses living in a drab theatrical boarding house trying to make it in the world of show business. Right of the bat the movie is emotionally investing as the cast of street smarts constantly spew one liners and witty remarks in an effort to try and deal with their lack of success amidst the depression ridden 30's; the film succeeds in evoking both laughter and sadness simultaneously with its barrage of highly relatable human emotion - The lightning fast dialogue alone makes Stage Door worthy of multiple viewings. Supposedly the filming of Stage Door began without a completed script resulting in much of the film's dialogue being improvised. The interactions between the female cast feels real; the acting present in the movie doesn't feel like acting, almost like I'm getting a voyeuristic insight into these character's lives. Likewise the film even has an early appearance by Jack Carson as an over giddy lumberjack on an arranged date with Jean Maitland (Ginger Rogers); always a great screen presence no matter how brief his appearance is. I find Stage Door a one of a kind film; it has a raw quality, one that can't be created intentionally making it a rare treat in many respects. The cast and dialogue is just too good that I really become attached to these characters and almost wish the film could be a bit longer. Katharine Hepburn's Terry Randall is another instance of Hepburn playing the odd one out. I do love Terry Randall, she's the one character in the boarding house of whom clearly comes from an upper class background and she is only one who achieves stage success by landing the lead in a play despite her lack of acting experience. With her go getter attitude Terry is the embodiment of the individual as summed up in one line: "You talk as if the world owed you a living. Maybe if you tried to do something for the theatre, the theatre would do something for you". I get the impression Stage Door purports the idea that one who comes from a lower class background will find it harder to overcome these ties and find success. In one dialogue exchange Terry asks the other women "do you have to just sit around and do nothing about it?" and the character played by Lucille Ball replies "maybe it's in the blood, my grandfather sat around until he was 80". Terry is clearly more dedicated to her craft than the other woman in boarding house, discussing Shakespeare and other aspects of theatrical arts, while the other conformist woman poke fun and shun her for it. This does make me question what they are doing there in the first place; I guess they have just been beaten down by the system that bad. One thing Terry is not however is a snob. She doesn't look down on the girls from a high and mighty position and even makes the effort to learn their slang. When I doubt I will ask myself, what would Terry Randall do?

There were plenty of egos abound in this film version of the Edna Ferber/George S. Kaufman stage play surrounding the lives of the women who live in a boarding house for actresses. The women range from pretentious Katherine Hepburn, a society girl determined to make it on her own away from the influence of her wealthy family to wise-cracking tough girl Ginger Rogers to cat-wearing Eve Arden. There's also tap-dancing Ann Miller (who wore flats so she wouldn't be too tall to dance with her idol, Ginger), husband seeking Lucille Ball, sensitive Andrea Leeds (nominated for an Oscar for her tragic part), bitchy social climber Gail Patrick and eccentric Constance Collier, the hammy character actress in the group.Unlike the later women ensemble film ("The Women", also based upon a popular play), men are involved in the plot, the major male character being Adolph Menjou's David Belasco type theater producer who takes individual interest in several of the girls he sets out to make stars. Leeds, it turns out, was once the most promising new actress in the theater, but hasn't had a job since her first big break. Hepburn storms into Menjou's office to tell him off for not giving Leeds a pivotal role she'd be perfect for, and before you know it, Menjou is escorting her around town and has cast her in the lead. The other residents of the boarding house are horrified by her getting the role Leeds pined for, and after realizing how horrible she is, Kate takes on aid from the unselfish young girl whose emotional distress just gets worse and worse, resulting in tragedy. This just might be the spark to make Kate shine, and Kate shows it utilizing a line from her infamous Broadway flop, "The Lake", where she says "The Calalilies are in bloom again", a line burlesqued many times since she first said it.In their only film appearance together, Hepburn and Rogers exchange wisecracks from the moment they meet, especially when Hepburn becomes Rogers' new roommate. The scene between them discussing Hepburn's audacious trunk has become a comedy classic. While their bitchy rapport is biting, it isn't as caustic as that between Rogers and Patrick who has a nasty comment for every statement Rogers makes. While "The Women" has gone on to become more of a cult favorite, "Stage Door" is equally as classic for its look at how women often bring out the worst in each other rather than the best. Of course, every archetype is here, and you can see a little bit of each character from each play when you compare the two. While "The Women" has been revived several times on Broadway, "Stage Door" has been strangely overlooked even though the movie is considered a classic.

It would be easy to condemn the Theater Arts in practice because of casting couches, backbiting competition, or the perfidy of the stage. "Stage Door" details all of those attributes, yet, above all else, it is a loving tribute to the theater.Blessed with a wonderful script, the film portrays the lives of young actresses who live together in a boardinghouse. The women form a family of sorts, behaving like sisters in arms. They bicker, they encourage, they compete. In the end, they are bound by their love for the theater and for each other.A delightful cast gets to read that wonderful script. So many young talents sharing scenes! It's a film buff's dream to pick them out of the remarkable ensemble. And Ginger Rogers shining as always!Franklin Pangborn does what he does as an obsequious manservant. It would be easy to overlook his comic genius. But he nearly steals every scene he appears in.This is a wonderful comedy/drama that delivers some clever cracks and some tender tears.

. . . and I LOVE LUCY, too. Whether they're flopping off the roof or eloping with Seattle lumbermen, the actresses boarding at The Footlights Club in STAGE DOOR always keep you guessing. Ginger Rogers gets a chance to dance with another girl several times, while Katharine Hepburn learns that "common sense" is NOT enough to make a Wheat King's daughter comfortable in Sarah Bernhardt's chair. Alfred Hitchcock, a reputed film buff, apparently never saw STAGE DOOR, or he would have realized that it was pointless to throw fake-looking dummies from bell towers when his actual actress could have won an Oscar by merely walking up the steps, as Andrea Leeds does here in STAGE DOOR. This show biz drama is well cast, nicely paced, and truly entertaining. Also, it shows what happens when someone forgets to cheer on an actress by saying "Break a leg!"