Stage Door

Stage Door
Stage Door theatrical poster
Directed byGregory La Cava
Screenplay byMorrie Ryskind
Anthony Veiller
Based onStage Door (play)
by Edna Ferber
George S. Kaufman
Produced byPandro S. Berman
StarringKatharine Hepburn
Ginger Rogers
Adolphe Menjou
CinematographyRobert De Grasse
Edited byWilliam Hamilton
Music byRoy Webb
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures (US)
Radio Pictures Ltd. (UK)
Release dates
  • October 8, 1937 (1937-10-08) (US)
  • December 31, 1937 (1937-12-31) (UK[1])
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$952,000[2]
Box office$1,762,000[2]

Stage Door is a 1937 American tragicomedy film directed by Gregory La Cava. Adapted from the 1936 play of the same name, it tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier, Andrea Leeds, Samuel S. Hinds and Lucille Ball. It was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. Eve Arden and Ann Miller, who became notable in later films, play minor characters.

The film was adapted by Morrie Ryskind and Anthony Veiller from the play by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, but the play's storyline and the characters' names were almost completely changed for the movie, so much so in fact that Kaufman joked the film should be called "Screen Door".

  1. ^ The Times digital archive: First advertisement for the film on December 31, 1937 (showing at the Regal), followed by review on January 3, 1938.
  2. ^ a b Jewel, Richard (1994). "RKO Film Grosses, 1931-1951: the C. J. Telvin ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 14 (1): 56. doi:10.1080/01439689400260031.