''Morning Glory'' is a 1933 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

which tells the story of an eager would-be actress and her journey to stardom, and her gains and losses. The picture stars Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

, was adapted by Howard J. Green from a then-unproduced stage play of the same nameAFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Morning Glory''
Linked 2013-11-02 by

Zoë Akins Zoe Byrd Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author. She won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for drama for '' The Old Maid''. Early life Zoe Byrd Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, second of three ...

, and was directed by

Lowell Sherman Lowell J. Sherman (October 11, 1888 – December 28, 1934) was an American actor and film director. In an unusual practice for the time, he served as both actor and director on several films in the early 1930s. He later turned exclusively to d ...

. Hepburn won her first

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

for this movie. ''Morning Glory'' was remade in 1958 under the title '' Stage Struck''.

Plot

Eva Lovelace ( Katharine Hepburn) is a small-town performer who has dreamed since childhood of making it big on Broadway. She has gone to many auditions, but no one has given her a break yet. At the management office of the Easton Theatre, star Rita Vernon (

Mary Duncan Mary Duncan (August 13, 1894 – May 9, 1993) was an American stage and film actress. She is best known for her performances in F.W. Murnau's '' City Girl'' (1930) and ''Morning Glory'' (1933). Early years Duncan was born in Luttrellville ...

) breezes in to see the middle-aged theater owner and producer, Louis Easton (

), who is well aware of his prestige in the theater world. Rita is a diva, high-handed and self-absorbed, with an alcohol problem as well, but she's under verbal contract to Easton. She shamelessly flirts as she negotiates a deal; she'll accept a small role (which she doesn't want) in the upcoming play, for one big concession: her pick of roles in the next production. The principals are taking a risk that she'll contain her artistic temperament and lay off the bottle. Even so, her name and fame will help launch the play, a new comedy by Joseph Sheridan ( Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) Meanwhile, Eva meets and impresses Robert Hedges (

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

), an experienced character actor also under contract to Easton. Delighted with her childlike ebullience, Hedges agrees to help her. He takes Eva into the office and introduces her as his protegee. Sheridan, there to cast his upcoming comedy production, is also immediately struck by Eva's vivacious and eccentric personality, A non-stop talker, Eva bubbles over with intensity about her small-town New England background and her belief in non-conformity and self-realization. She declares that after a long and successful career, she'll kill herself onstage as a dramatic farewell to her fans. Sheridan is entranced, but Easton is not. Months pass. Hedges has lost touch with Eva. She frequently moves due to poor finances and hasn't been cast in meaningful roles. Hedges finds her struggling and hungry. Eva expresses regret that Easton gave her a small role in one of his lesser plays, which flopped. She bravely declares she won't take any more offers, unless the role truly suits her abilities. Realizing her situation, Hodges escorts her to a celebrity party at Easton's apartment. Eva quickly downs two glasses of champagne on an empty stomach. Inebriated, Eva sits on the arm of Easton's chair, stroking his face and vowing to prove her dramatic talents to him. She makes a spectacle of herself before the bemused party guests. Then unexpectedly she gives two Shakespearean orations, Hamlet's well-known monologue ("to be or not to be") followed by Juliet's balcony scene. The difference in the roles demonstrates her art; she gets a polite ovation from the guests and further impresses Sheridan. She lays her head on Easton's lap and promptly falls asleep. His butler put her to bed in his own bedroom. The next morning, Easton asks Sheridan for help. Easton gave in to temptation and explains the encounter through innuendo. He's remorseful at taking advantage of a girl's innocence and can't face her. Sheridan is devastated to learn the overnight guest was Eva. Easton apologizes and leaves. A radiant Eva comes downstairs and sees Sheridan whom she regards as "just a friend". Happily, she tells him everything. To her, the night with Easton is the beginning of a long commitment. Sheridan can't bring himself to break her heart. He lets her leave without explaining. More months pass. Eva has tried numerous times to see Easton. Unwilling to face her, Easton has simply ignored her. Sheridan keeps his own love a secret. Easton's theater company is ready to showcase Sheridan's new dramatic masterpiece. The play will star Rita Vernon. Sheridan approves of her performance in rehearsals. Backstage on opening night, Rita calls Easton into her dressing room. Heretofore she and Easton have had only verbal agreements. Aware of the power she holds at this late hour, Rita now has demands. She wants a written contract with a huge salary increase and half the profits from the entire run of the play. Easton thinks he has no choice but to comply. Sheridan draws him and urges him to let Rita go. Instead, they can bring in a special understudy, one he's kept secret until now -- Eva Lovelace. Easton reluctantly agrees and Rita storms off the set. Eva and Joseph end up together in the star's dressing room. Faced with this sudden opportunity, Eva seems overcome with doubt and fear. She can't perform with Easton in the audience; they haven't spoken since their night together. She feels unsure of her talents and feels doomed to failure. Sheridan reassures her that she can handle whatever is thrown at her. She's strong and beautiful, a born actress who can now prove it. Eva rallies, gathers her self-confidence, and resolves to conquer the role. As Sheridan predicted, Eva is a complete success. Backstage, Easton reconciles with Eva, offering her his professional friendship and aid. When he goes, Sheridan gathers the courage to declare his love for Eva. She hushes him and makes no requitement. Now she's there with only her dresser, an elegant elderly lady who was herself once a brief star or "morning glory". The dresser comforts Eva, assuring her that she has the talent to succeed in show business and life; but really only one thing matters, true love. She knows that because she once spurned the love she was offered, choosing fame instead, at the beginning of her all too brief career. Renewed, Eva readies herself to forge down the rocky road to stardom ahead of her. The film ends with some uncertainty, but on an upbeat note. Once again self-confident, dramatic to the heart, Eva declares to her dresser, "I'm not afraid...to be a morning glory. I am not afraid!"

Main cast

* Katharine Hepburn as Eva Lovelace * Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Joseph Sheridan *

as Louis Easton *

as Rita Vernon *

as Robert Harley "Bob" Hedges *

Don Alvarado Don Alvarado (born José Ray Paige, November 4, 1904 – March 31, 1967) was an American actor, assistant director and film production manager. Life and career Born Jose Paige in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Alvarado first studied agriculture on ...

as Pepi Velez * Fredric Santley as Will Seymour, Easton's assistant *

Richard Carle Richard Carle (born Charles Nicholas Carleton, July 7, 1871 – June 28, 1941) was an American stage and film actor as well as a playwright and stage director. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1941. Carle was born in Som ...

as Henry Lawrence, theatrical critic *

Tyler Brooke Tyler Brooke (born Victor Hugo de Bierre, June 6, 1886 – March 2, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1915 and 1943. He was born in New York, New York and died in Los Angeles, California by committi ...

as Charley Van Duesen * Geneva Mitchell as Gwendoline Hall *

Helen Ware Helen Ware ( Remer; October 15, 1877 – January 25, 1939) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Born to John August Remer and Elinor Maria (née Ware), Ware adopted her mother's maiden name as her professional name. She had ...

as Nellie Navarre, dresser (wardrobe woman) and herself a former star

Production

In pre-production, the script had been tailored to fit the talents of

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...

, then

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

's biggest attraction. However, when newcomer Katharine Hepburn read the script, she convinced producer

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...

that she was born to play the part, and she was given the role over the more popular Bennett, who was thereupon reassigned to '' Bed of Roses'' (1933). When RKO bought the rights to the play from

, it still hadn't been produced on stage. It eventually saw a limited stage run in 1939. The director Lowell Sherman managed to get the RKO bosses to agree that he was given a week of rehearsal with the actors before the shooting began, in return for promising a shooting schedule of only 18 days (April 21 - May 12, 1933). Unlike most feature films, ''Morning Glory'' was shot in the same sequence as the script. Katharine Hepburn was paid $2,500 per week for her work on the picture, for which she eventually won her first

Reception

After cinema circuits deducted their exhibition share of boxoffice ticket sales this production earned a profit of $115,000.

Radio adaptations

On September 19, 1938 ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' broadcast a one-hour radio adaptation of the film, starring Barbara Stanwyck,

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

and

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

. On October 12, 1942 a second ''

'' adaptation was aired, this time starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

as Eva Lovelace, with

reprising his role of Louis Easton. Garland performed the song " I'll Remember April" on the broadcast. On April 7, 1949 a half-hour radio adaptation was aired on ''

Hallmark Playhouse ''Hallmark Playhouse'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology series. It was broadcast on CBS from June 10, 1948 until February 1, 1953, and was described by one author as "a program that consistently produced the highest levels of prod ...

'' with Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role of Eva Lovelace.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1933 films 1933 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films Films scored by Max Steiner Films about actors Films about theatre American films based on plays Films directed by Lowell Sherman Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films set in New York City RKO Pictures films Films adapted into radio programs 1930s English-language films 1930s American films