It's Ginger Rogers They Come to See, Part II

I guess I'd better thank Turner Classic Movies for making Ginger Rogers their March Star of the Month! This, my own miserable corner of the bloggosphere, has received maybe four times the amount of visitors--and spammers--since Ginger's movies started being shown on Wednesdays. As mentioned before, the most popular search term is "Ginger Rogers [sans clothing]", with "Gloria Grahame [sans clothing]" hanging on to second place; they won't find that stuf here, though, this is a family-friendly blog. Star of Midnight (our April, 2009 review has new screen caps--take a look), a delightful Thin Man-esque mystery starring Ginger and William Powell, also gets searched a lot, and of course Ginger Rogers Swing Time Dress, which has been lifted from here more than any other photo that *I've* nipped from other sites!

I'm thrilled that Ginger still wows 'em! I like to think that she's gaining legions of new fans with every re-airing of Swing Time, and that some drably-attired "T-Shirt and Jeans Girl" will discover the glamour that is the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Scenes I Love: The Thin Man (1934)

In The Thin Man, there's a wonderful scene that takes place during Nick and Nora's Christmas party and where Nora (Myrna Loy) sports that gorgeous, I-wish-women-today-dressed-up dress. The sequence has Mrs. Charles entering the bedroom of their swank NYC hotel and finding husband Nick (William Powell) and the comely young Dorothy Wynant (Maureen O'Sullivan) arrives to see Nick and admit to shooting Julia Wolf. The young lady falls into Nick's arms and as our favorite gentleman detective consoles her, who but Nora would enter the room and see her husband embracing another woman. Nick responds in his typically playful way:



So how does Mrs. Charles react to this? Well, seeing as their relationship is among the best ever depicted on film, the ever-cool Nora responds with her usual panache:

I love that! Using no dialogue whatsoever, our two stars convey everything about their successful marriage. Nora knows darn well that Nick wouldn't stray, and Nick knows he's playing up the suavity for which he's known. He knows that she knows that there's no hanky panky going on but she still gives him "heck" for being in such a position.

One would be hard pressed to think of many films that depict a loving, playful, and vibrant relationship at its peak. Most movies depict the beginning or twilight of a married couple but Nick and Nora are among the elite couples that are enjoying themselves in the middle of their relationship. Once again, The Thin Man gives yet another reason why it's my all-time favorite film. By the way, I believe I "nicked" this blog post concept from Ginger Ingenue over at Asleep in New York, so credit and royalties all go to her...

Katharine Hepburn: Morning Glory (1933)

If Katharine Hepburn hadn’t won her first Oscar for Morning Glory, the film wouldn't even merit being the answer to a trivia question; it’s just not a memorable movie. It’s a underdeveloped blend of What Price Hollywood (1932) and A Star is Born (1937) while lacking the superior writing and direction of those films. Morning Glory attempts to inject “cautionary fame” dialogue but it’s only dumped in at the end. The performance by Hepburn could be considered a warmup of sorts to Hepburn’s Alice Adams character, as her Eva Lovelace is just as naïve and foolishly romantic as Alice Adams was, only without the emotional power and sympathy.

Morning Glory is the story of Eva Lovelace, a naïve ingénue who has romantic aspirations in the world of the theatre. She arrives at the office of Lewis Easton (Adolphe Menjou) and playwright Joseph Sheridan (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) hoping for her big break. She ends up being defiled, dumped, and dismissed by Easton after a drunken fling at a party, but not before we see what a talent Eva is when she does a drunken rendition of Hamlet, moving Sheridan to tears! Eva winds up doing vaudeville shtick until the play’s greedy leading lady bows out of Easton’s play and Eva must step in at the last minute to save the day and achieve the fame she seeks.

Despite being a pre-Code film—there's some innuendo and women in undergarments that warrant one’s notice—Morning Glory is a half-baked drama that never makes its move. We never feel for Eva Lovelace like we would Alice Adams. The film does boast a top-notch cast: Adolphe Menjou, playing another stage producer like he would in Stage Door, only without the wit; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., as the playwright, spends the duration of the movie with a pipe stuck in his mug (because writers always smoke pipes) when he's not half-heartedly fawning over Hepburn; C. Aubrey Smith, who’s charming and not his usual blustery, "Pip-Pip" self but he's woefully underused. An interesting thing to notice about the actors here is that the men are all quite naturalistic in their performances while the women (save Kate) play their parts with over-the-top gusto.

As for Hepburn’s performance, she’s fine but her character is surprisingly one note and woefully underdeveloped, with little script and helpful direction to flesh out her character. Director Lowell Sherman is no George Cukor or George Stevens, that’s for sure. One laments what those two directors could’ve done with this material. The film is a brief 73 minutes but the first twenty is spent in a static scene in Menjou’s office where he and Dougie, Jr. are trying to cast the latter’s play. This is where the film does its cast a disservice. Morning Glory could’ve packed more character study into its lean running time instead of flailing away at a plot that’s even leaner. Hepburn's not even on screen as much as she should be! Besides that, the narrative lets her character down, as we don't get to see her trials in her quest to be a great actress; they're mentioned in an offhand way to no dramatic effect.

The Bottom Line: Morning Glory is notable only for being Katharine Hepburn’s first Oscar winner—she beat out May Robson in Lady for a Day and Diana Wynyard in Cavalcade. After seeing Morning Glory it only makes me wish that Kate had lost the Oscar and instead won it for Alice Adams or The Philadelphia Story instead of for this forgettable effort.

Katharine Hepburn: Stage Door (1937)

When I first saw Stage Door in 2006 it was because of my newfound interest in Ginger Rogers. Ginger was the comedic backbone of the movie and I became an admirer of hers from that day forward. However, the other major star in the movie, Katharine Hepburn, was already a longtime favorite of mine but her performance in Stage Door didn’t involve many of the comedic bits despite her great rivalry with Rogers’ character. In the many times I’ve watched the film since then, I’ve realized what a fine performance Hepburn gives. In fact, she’s the central dramatic focus of this already quite impressive ensemble cast of wisecracking dames.

The Plot: Hepburn is Terry Randall, the daughter of a business tycoon who has recently decided to become an actress. Terry figures that there’s nothing to acting—one just goes up on stage and speaks the lines. However, Terry wishes to succeed in theatre without her father’s powerful influence. Mr. Randall backs the production and makes a deal with producer Anthony Powell (Adolphe Menjou; who gives a delightful performance and gets some great lines) to get Terry the lead so she can fail miserably and get show biz out of her system. Terry’s wealthy background and shallow pursuit of stardom rubs the other girls of the Footlights Club boardinghouse the wrong way and she develops an instant rival in Ginger’s Jean Maitland character. The two have wonderful scenes together, trading caustic barbs in a see-saw battle of acid wits. However, Terry’s getting the lead over another roommate, the emotional fragile and creepy Kaye, leads to tragedy and Terry finally understands that being an actress involves more than merely reading the lines; one must feel the same things as the person they're playing.

Stage Door is best known as the movie with Kate’s line about the Calla Lilies being in bloom again. It’s often mentioned with amusement. In fact, the line is amusing when Kate speaks the words in rehearsal while oblivious to their meaning and then those same words take on a poignant, tragic meaning when she says them again during the performance of the play within the movie. Ginger Rogers may have gotten the bulk of comic lines but Hepburn gets more to do with the heavy dramatic scenes. Her scene in the dressing room just before curtain is Kate’s powerhouse moment. She’s sympathetic and devastated at the news of a tragedy concerning…no spoilers here, folks! The play begins and Terry’s previous ignorance of her character’s reading of the “Calla Lilies are in bloom” line has a poignancy and emotional impact that brings the Terry Randall character full circle.

Stage Door turned out to be something of a comeback for Katharine Hepburn, who was recovering from that ridiculous “Box Office Poison” label that dogged her during the mid-‘30s after a series of less-than-stellar films. When the issue of star billing arose, Hepburn was initially to be placed second under Ginger Rogers. RKO producer Pandro S. Berman reportedly told Hepburn that "she was lucky to have the 7th role in a star picture." Stage Door ended up a big box office hit and for Katharine Hepburn, was a first step back towards the top. Stage Door went on to receive Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Supporting Actress (Andrea Leeds; ironically the weak link among the cast).


Where Hepburn’s performance in Stage Door ranks among her career best is unclear. It's a fine effort, especially when one considers that she reportedly didn’t "get a handle" on her character until quite late in the shooting is testament to her ability, as Terry Randall is the one multi-layered character in the film. Hepburn also gets overshadowed by one of Ginger Rogers’ best comedic performances, and I never fail to be impressed at how she goes toe-to-toe with The Great Kate. Couple that with the energetic ensemble cast (which includes Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Gail Patrick, and Eve Arden), Hepburn still emerges with another fine role in her 1930s filmography.

Poised for a Comeback: Stage Door was a solid effort in The Great Kate's career.