Theatre in Film Series: Stage Door (1937) : PerformerStuff More Good Stuff

Theatre in Film Series: Stage Door (1937)

Written by Ashleigh Gardner

May 10, 2016

I’ve been in love with theatre for my entire life, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to truly appreciate film as its own art form. This series features films that display theatre and the lives of actors, directors, writers, and dancers who inhabit the stage. So if you’re itching to watch a film that knows your life in theatre, check out Stage Door, our second film, featured below.

Stage Door (1937)

Director: Gregory La Cava
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball, Adolphe Menjou

What happens:

Terry (Katharine Hepburn) goes to New York to try her hand at acting, but she doesn’t expect to be cast as the lead in a new play. When another girl, a friend of Terry’s who thought she had the part, finds out and commits suicide, Terry must continue with the show and give an honest performance through her grief.

Why it matters:

Though the synopsis makes this film sound incredibly depressing, the overall tone of the movie is humorous, especially with the realistic dialogue. The film’s writers studied the banter between the female costars off-set and incorporated this type of dialogue into the final script. One of my favorite aspects of the film is a clear parallel between the theatre and family. The girls living at the boarding house are familiar enough with one another that their conversations are oftentimes sarcastic, but marked by a warmness that can’t be reproduced in conversation with a stranger. There are family-style dinners; the girls visit their producer together; they support one another and attend Terry’s performance in Enchanted April (although it’s more to see what they consider a train wreck).

Framing in the film also mimics a proscenium stage: in scenes that feature a large number of characters, almost all of them are included in the frame. The first shot of the stage on which Terry performs Enchanted April is a wide shot, revealing the entire frame of the proscenium.

In the final moments of the film, an new girl arrives at the boarding house looking for a room and a chance to audition for the next big show. Moments like this (also seen in All About Eve) reinforce the cyclical nature of theatre: we audition, we get the role, we act, we close a show, and we pass on those same experiences to a new (and oftentimes younger) group of actors.

This film is featured in Part I of “Theatre in Film”. See below for the others in Part I.

Ashleigh Gardner received her AA in Theatre/Drama/Dramatic Arts from Valencia College and her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright and an actor.