Stage Door

Released Sep 15, 1937

1 hr. 32 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

96%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A boardinghouse for female theater actresses gets a new arrival in the form of Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn), an upper-class woman pursuing her dreams against her wealthy father's wishes. At first, her status makes her unpopular with the other boarders, particularly her roommate, Jean (Ginger Rogers). As Terry becomes better acquainted with the other girls and their shared ambitions, rivalry -- both professional and romantic -- explodes among them.

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Audience Member

Director Gregory LaCava apparently liked to hit the bottle and so had a spotty career, but Stage Door is his masterpiece. Not in some personal, auteurist way, but in having achieved an almost ideal example of Depression-era movie entertainment. Its venue is the Footlights Club, a theatrical boarding house near Broadway, where lamb stew and broken dreams are the nightly staples. Among the gals with stiletto tongues but hearts of gold are Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Ann Miller, Gail Patrick and formidable Constance Collier ("Could you see an older woman in the part?"). But the movie centers on the rivalry between roommates Katherine Hepburn, as a spoiled rich kid who tries acting as a lark, and Ginger Rogers, as a plucky thespian waiting for her break. Believe it or no, those diametrical opposites (aristocratic, ethereal Kate and tough, pragmatic Ginger) work like a dream together. The script negotiates a delicate path between pathos and bathos, and somehow keeps its balance, even when one of the troupers loses her grip on reality and...Well, enough said. Best of all: this is the movie in which Hepburn gets to elocute: "The calla lilies are in bloom again...." Sheerest heaven.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not mentioned enough for the classic it is. Adore Katherine Hepburn in everything I've ever seen her in but this might be the best of them all. The dialogue in particular is so fast and so sharp, while the film in general is charming, funny and even very emotional towards the end.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

william d

The wisecracks are not funny and the story of Hepburn's character's rise to stardom is implausible. Still, I enjoyed the movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

ionut m

Sadly, not much has changed in the world of theater since this film was made, that why it's easy for it to stand the test of time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

steve d

In a film of legends it is Andrea Leeds who steels the show.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

david l

Stage Door is tonally uneven and too short, but it offers an always relevant look into the Hollywood industry and just how difficult it is to become an actor. It also depicts the toxic rivalry between women brutally honestly. It's fun film bolstered by terrific dialogue and tremendous performances from its stellar cast with Andrea Leeds being particularly phenomenal in such a powerful role.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Gregory La Cava

Director

Katharine Hepburn

Terry Randall

Ginger Rogers

Jean Maitland

Adolphe Menjou

Anthony Powell

Andrea Leeds

Kay Hamilton

Gail Patrick

Linda Shaw

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Melissa Anderson

Artforum

Stage Door crackles with zingers ad-libbed by a cast that includes Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Eve Arden, and Lucille Ball.

Feb 12, 2015

Full Review

Don Druker

Chicago Reader

While it sometimes lapses into pure corn, it nevertheless manages to capture the manic-depressive dormitory atmosphere of young actresses trying to make it in New York.

Feb 10, 2012

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

It is funny in spots, emotionally effective occasionally, and generally brisk and entertaining.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)

Esquire Magazine

Incidentally, the stage play was thrown away for the photoplay; they kept the name and locale. Great improvement. Ginger Rogers steals the show.

Apr 17, 2020

Full Review

Ann Ross

Maclean's Magazine

The result is a remarkably fine film, with at least three performances so outstanding that it is hard to say whether Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn steal the picture from each other, or the newcomer, Andrea Leeds, steals it from both.

Jul 23, 2019

Full Review

Donald J. Levit

ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The entire cast is stellar, including little knowns Lucille Ball -- "my big break"-- Eve Arden, "real discovery" Andrea Leeds, Jack Carson, and a 14-year-old Ann Miller who lied about her age.

Feb 27, 2015

Full Review

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Synopsis

A boardinghouse for female theater actresses gets a new arrival in the form of Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn), an upper-class woman pursuing her dreams against her wealthy father's wishes. At first, her status makes her unpopular with the other boarders, particularly her roommate, Jean (Ginger Rogers). As Terry becomes better acquainted with the other girls and their shared ambitions, rivalry -- both professional and romantic -- explodes among them.

Director: Gregory La Cava
Screenwriter: Morrie Ryskind, Anthony Veiller
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co: RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 1937, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2014

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