''Forever Female'' is a 1953 black and white film directed by

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a British Jews, Jewish family in London, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and a stage director on Broadwa ...

. It stars

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

and

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

. It won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

in 1954.

Plot

The reviews are in and a new play starring Beatrice Page and produced by Harry Phillips is a flop. Long divorced but still a team, they need a new project and meet playwright Stanley Krown, who has written one in which the lead roles are a mother and a 19-year-old daughter. Beatrice wants to play the daughter. She can't pass for 19 but believes she can for 29, so wants the play rewritten. She also displays a romantic interest in Stanley. A young actress first calling herself Sally Carver and then Peggy Pruitt wants an audition. Stanley has her do some typing on his rewrite, and a jealous Beatrice finds her an acting job out of town. Stanley's play previews in Washington, D.C., and flops. Sally, now calling herself Claudia Souvain, tries to persuade Stanley that the actress is too old for the role. Seeing the play in a small town with Sally in the lead, now under her real name of Clara Mootz, convinces Stanley that she is right. Beatrice finally concedes that it's time for her to act her age. She agrees to take the mother's part, and on Broadway the play is a huge success.

Cast

as Beatrice Page *

as Stanley Krown * Paul Douglas as E. Harry Phillips * Pat Crowley as Clara Mootz/Sally Carver * James Gleason as Eddie Woods * Jesse White as Willie Wolfe * Marjorie Rambeau as Older Actress at Bar * George Reeves as George Courtland * King Donovan as Playwright * Vic Perrin as Scenic Designer *Russell Gaige as Theatrical Producer * Marion Ross as Patty * Richard Shannon as Stage Manager

Production

The film was originally called ''Rosalind'' then ''Reaching for the Stars''. The role of Clara was meant for

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

. However, she was unavailable and the producer and director were not happy with other girls under contract to Paramount. They saw over 500 actors in New York before settling on Pat Crowley, who made her film debut. At the very end of the film, a clip featuring Pat Crowley is shown with the caption "A future Paramount star". Rogers later wrote in her memoirs that although she liked the script she felt the studio "spent more money publicizing" Crowley "than they did on the entire production." She respected her co stars William Holden and Paul Douglas as actors but said they would go drinking at lunch and form a tight group that excluded her; "they never spoke to me unless I spoke to them." She added that Rapper "was not my type of director. His behaviour was cold and unfeeling. Because of the attitudes on set, I was unhappy I ever became involved with this film." Julius Epstein was going to direct the film but tried directing some tests with actors and did not like it.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{Irving Rapper 1953 films 1953 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films scored by Victor Young American films based on plays Films directed by Irving Rapper 1950s American films English-language comedy films