''When Ladies Meet'' (television broadcast title: ''Strange Skirts'') is a 1941 American

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...

, Robert Taylor,

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

, and

Spring Byington Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of '' December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...

in a story about a novelist in love with her publisher. The screenplay by S.K. Lauren and

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

was based upon a 1932 play by

Rachel Crothers Rachel Crothers (December 12, 1878 – July 5, 1958) was an American playwright and theater director known for her well-crafted plays that often dealt with feminist themes. Among theater historians, she is generally recognized as "the most succes ...

. The film was directed by

Robert Z. Leonard Robert Zigler Leonard (October 7, 1889 – August 27, 1968) was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. Biography He was born in Chicago, Illinois. At one time, he was married to silent star Mae Murray with the two formin ...

, who also co-produced the film (with Orville O. Dull). The film was a remake of the 1933

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 ...

film of the same name, which starred

Ann Harding Ann Harding (born Dorothy Walton Gatley; August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was ...

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...

, Robert Montgomery, and

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous sound ...

in the roles played by Garson, Crawford, Taylor and Marshall.

Cast

as Mary 'Minnie' Howard * Robert Taylor as Jimmy Lee *

as Mrs. Clare Woodruf *

as Rogers Woodruf *

as Bridget 'Bridgie' Drake *

Rafael Storm Rafael Storm (1889–1951) was an American film actor.Blottner p.34 Selected filmography * '' It Happened in New York'' (1935) * '' The Plot Thickens'' (1935) * ''Under the Pampas Moon'' (1935) * '' The Fighting Pilot'' (1935) * '' Lady Tubbs'' ...

as Walter Del Canto *

Mona Barrie Mona Barrie (born Mona Barlee Smith; 18 December 1909 – 27 June 1964) was an English-born actress, active on stage in Australia before establishing a career in the US, and in Hollywood films. Career Born Mona Barlee Smith in London to comedi ...

as Mabel Guiness *

Max Willenz Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

as Pierre, Bridget's Summer House Handyman * Florence Shirley as Janet Hopper *

Leslie Francis Leslie Pickering Francis is an American philosopher, currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Professor of Law at University of Utah. Francis holds joint appointments as Alfred C. Emery professor of law and professor of p ...

as Homer Hopper

Reception

Howard Barnes of the '' New York Herald Tribune'' wrote, "Even when rawfordis wearing spectacles, she is not particularly convincing in the part."Quirk, Lawrence J.. ''The Films of Joan Crawford''. The Citadel Press, 1968.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,162,000 in the US and Canada and $684,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $607,000.

Awards and nominations

The film earned an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for art directors

Cedric Gibbons Austin Cedric Gibbons (March 23, 1890 – July 26, 1960) was an Irish-American art director for the film industry. He also made a significant contribution to motion picture theater architecture from the 1930s to 1950s. Gibbons designed the ...

Randall Duell Randall Duell (July 14, 1903 – November 28, 1992) was an American architect and motion picture art director. He designed Magic Mountain theme park in Santa Clarita, California, the original Universal Studio Tours in California, Six Fla ...

and Edwin B. Willis.

Home media

''When Ladies Meet'' was released on Region 1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on March 23, 2009 from the online Warner Bros. Archive Collection.

References

External links

* * * * {{Anita Loos 1941 films American romantic comedy films 1941 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert Z. Leonard Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American films based on plays Films with screenplays by Anita Loos 1940s English-language films 1940s American films