Far more than George Cukor's vitriolic femme-extravaganza, "The Women", this 1937 ensemble dramedy shows how vital women were during Hollywood's golden era, especially when they are not relegated to stoic wife roles or placed purely in adversarial positions. Following up on his 1936 screwball classic, "My Man Godfrey", director Gregory LaCava guides a Grade-A cast made up primarily of fresh-faced actresses, many of whom went on to create legendary careers of their own. Speaking the laser-sharp dialogue provided by Morrie Ryskind and Anthony Veiller (fluidly adapting the original play by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman), the ensemble fills in the distinctive characters with intelligence and enthusiasm. Even though the storyline creaks a little seventy years later, this still holds up as a genuine cinematic classic.
Mostly set in a ramshackle boarding house one could assume was modeled after Manhattan's Barbizon Hotel for Women, the story focuses on the women living there, all aspiring actresses who bond amid failed auditions and non-existent callbacks. It's an unacknowledged sorority house with a den mother and an assortment of theatrical archetypes milling about. At the outset, the alpha female is Jean Maitland, a dancer whose cynical wisecracks mask an unflagging pride in her talent and integrity. Complications ensue when she is made to room with the new girl, Terry Randall, a self-confident debutante whose patrician airs alienate almost everyone around her. Terry is determined to make it on her own as an actress, but once word gets to producer Anthony Powell that she is the daughter of a wealthy investor, she gets cast in the starring role of a drawing room weepie called "Enchanted April". Unfortunately, that's the role desperately desired by Kay Hamilton, another actress in the house. Kay impressed critics a year prior, but she hasn't had any luck in replicating that success. Of course, once Terry lands the part, she is disastrous in rehearsals until a tragedy occurs. The last part of the movie is played out as pure melodrama, but it works in deepening our affections for the characters involved.
As Jean, an Astaire-less Ginger Rogers expertly zings with abandon and grounds the film with her no-nonsense manner. Katharine Hepburn, although playing a blueblood variation of the same actress she played in "Morning Glory", has the comparatively tougher role as Terry since her character's priggishness must give away to a revelation of humanism. She manages the conversion expertly and parries gleefully with the always-ready Rogers in the movie's best scenes. Adolphe Menjou has the right gruff spirit as the pompous Powell, though he seems a bit weathered to get away with his ladies'-man shenanigans. In very early roles, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden and Ann Miller show off the unique talents that would soon bloom. Arden, in particular, delivers her scabrous lines with devastating wit. In roles that perfectly reflected their screen personas, Gail Patrick plays the nasty Linda with the same venom she spewed as Carole Lombard's talon-bearing sister in "My Man Godfrey", while Constance Collier brings out all the vainglorious pomp in Terry's aging mentor.
The standout at the time was Andrea Leeds' poignant turn as Kay. A sharp actress who would retire within a few years of this film, Leeds is the only one who doesn't get any funny lines and consequently is made to come across as an oversensitive albeit beloved wet rag. However, she makes the most of her last scene to powerful effect. The 2005 DVD has a reasonable though not outstanding print of the aged film. Other than the theatrical trailer, there are just two extras. The first is a silly, twenty-minute musical short from 1937 called "Ups and Downs" about an enterprising elevator operator who tap dances. It stars a bleached blonde, baby-faced June Allyson in her film debut and features an almost-as-young Phil Silvers as a manic tailor. The more interesting extra is a condensed radio production of "Stage Door" with Rogers and Menjou repeating their roles and Rosalind Russell taking over for Hepburn and Arden taking over for Patrick.
Mostly set in a ramshackle boarding house one could assume was modeled after Manhattan's Barbizon Hotel for Women, the story focuses on the women living there, all aspiring actresses who bond amid failed auditions and non-existent callbacks. It's an unacknowledged sorority house with a den mother and an assortment of theatrical archetypes milling about. At the outset, the alpha female is Jean Maitland, a dancer whose cynical wisecracks mask an unflagging pride in her talent and integrity. Complications ensue when she is made to room with the new girl, Terry Randall, a self-confident debutante whose patrician airs alienate almost everyone around her. Terry is determined to make it on her own as an actress, but once word gets to producer Anthony Powell that she is the daughter of a wealthy investor, she gets cast in the starring role of a drawing room weepie called "Enchanted April". Unfortunately, that's the role desperately desired by Kay Hamilton, another actress in the house. Kay impressed critics a year prior, but she hasn't had any luck in replicating that success. Of course, once Terry lands the part, she is disastrous in rehearsals until a tragedy occurs. The last part of the movie is played out as pure melodrama, but it works in deepening our affections for the characters involved.
As Jean, an Astaire-less Ginger Rogers expertly zings with abandon and grounds the film with her no-nonsense manner. Katharine Hepburn, although playing a blueblood variation of the same actress she played in "Morning Glory", has the comparatively tougher role as Terry since her character's priggishness must give away to a revelation of humanism. She manages the conversion expertly and parries gleefully with the always-ready Rogers in the movie's best scenes. Adolphe Menjou has the right gruff spirit as the pompous Powell, though he seems a bit weathered to get away with his ladies'-man shenanigans. In very early roles, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden and Ann Miller show off the unique talents that would soon bloom. Arden, in particular, delivers her scabrous lines with devastating wit. In roles that perfectly reflected their screen personas, Gail Patrick plays the nasty Linda with the same venom she spewed as Carole Lombard's talon-bearing sister in "My Man Godfrey", while Constance Collier brings out all the vainglorious pomp in Terry's aging mentor.
The standout at the time was Andrea Leeds' poignant turn as Kay. A sharp actress who would retire within a few years of this film, Leeds is the only one who doesn't get any funny lines and consequently is made to come across as an oversensitive albeit beloved wet rag. However, she makes the most of her last scene to powerful effect. The 2005 DVD has a reasonable though not outstanding print of the aged film. Other than the theatrical trailer, there are just two extras. The first is a silly, twenty-minute musical short from 1937 called "Ups and Downs" about an enterprising elevator operator who tap dances. It stars a bleached blonde, baby-faced June Allyson in her film debut and features an almost-as-young Phil Silvers as a manic tailor. The more interesting extra is a condensed radio production of "Stage Door" with Rogers and Menjou repeating their roles and Rosalind Russell taking over for Hepburn and Arden taking over for Patrick.