★★★ Stage Door

[Gino:3.0]

[Watched in two parts on the train.] Caveat: The 3 stars is probably inflated by one star due to my inexperience in rating old movies, compared with modern ones. For some reason, I was expecting this to be a song-and-dance musical. It is not at all. I watched it because it starred the likes of Katherine Hepburn and Lucille Ball. (Turns out Lucille Ball had a fairly small part -- probably 1937 is too early in her career?). This was the first movie I have seen with Ginger Rogers, and she was likeable. The plot was nothing gripping, but this was an enjoyable enough film. The film starts with a cat fight over stockings. It revolves around a boarding house full of out-of-work actresses and how they must deal with the whims of powerful Broadway producers and poor nutrition. This is a depression-era picture. As a result, prepare to be inundated with constant sarcastic zingers and one-liners. Which is not a bad thing, but consider yourself warned.