- Morning Glory (1933 film)
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Morning Glory 
theatrical release posterDirected by Lowell Sherman Produced by Pandro S. Berman Written by Howard J. Green
Zoe Akins (play)Starring Katharine Hepburn
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Adolphe MenjouMusic by Max Steiner Cinematography Bert Glennon Editing by William Hamilton Studio RKO Radio Pictures Release date(s) August 18, 1933 Country United States Language English Morning Glory is a 1933 pre-Code American drama film which tells the story of an eager but naive would-be actress and her journey to stardom. It stars Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Adolphe Menjou. The movie was adapted by Howard J. Green from the play by Zoe Akins, and was directed by Lowell Sherman. Katharine Hepburn won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for this movie.
Morning Glory was remade in 1958 under the title Stage Struck.
Contents
Plot
Eva Lovelace (Hepburn) is a small town theater performer who hopes to make it big in Broadway. She goes to auditions and tries to get a role in an upcoming play that would help her make it to the big time. While there, several other actresses auditioning make the cut and they cast them and not her, since they have a lot more experience on stage than she. A theater coach (C Aubrey Smith), whom she meets while auditioning, agrees to give her acting and theater coach lessons.
She later meets Joseph Sheridan (Fairbanks), who later agrees to give her a small part in an upcoming Broadway play. Later in the film, just as the play is about to begin, the star of the show Rita Vernon (Mary Duncan), a blond theater star, starts making demands for certain amounts of money in a contract she wants and when they can't meet her demands for a contract and more money, she storms off the set and the show is without a star. The production crew frantically tries to find a replacement. As a last resort, they choose Eva Lovelace to play the star of the show, she gets her big break. She quickly rehearses her lines and makes an excellent debut as a star.
Cast
- Katharine Hepburn as Eva Lovelace
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as Joseph Sheridan
- Adolphe Menjou as Louis Easton
- Mary Duncan as Rita Vernon
- C. Aubrey Smith as Robert Harley "Bob" Hedges
- Don Alvarado as Pepi Velez
- Fred Santley as Will Seymour, Easton's assistant
- Richard Carle as Henry Lawrence, theatrical critic
- Tyler Brooke as Charley Van Duesen
- Geneva Mitchell as Gwendoline Hall
- Helen Ware as Nellie Navarre, wardrobe woman
- Robert Adair as Roberts, Easton's Butler (uncredited)
- Mildred Washington as Emma, Rita Vernon's dresser (uncredited)
- Cast notes
- John Carradine has an uncredited bit part in the film.
Radio adaptation
In October, 1942, Lux Radio Theatre broadcast a radio adaptation of the film, starring Judy Garland as Eva Lovelace and Adolphe Menjou reprising his role of Louis Easton. Garland performed the song "I'll Remember April" on the broadcast.
In 1949, a second radio adaptation was aired on the radio, this time with Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role of Eva Lovelace.
External links
- Morning Glory (1933 film) at the Internet Movie Database
- Morning Glory (1933 film) at the TCM Movie Database
- Morning Glory (1933 film) at AllRovi
Katharine Hepburn Filmography 1930sA Bill of Divorcement (1932) • Christopher Strong (1933) • Morning Glory (1933) • Little Women (1933) • Spitfire (1934) • The Little Minister (1934) • Break of Hearts (1935) • Alice Adams (1935) • Sylvia Scarlett (1935) • Mary of Scotland (1936) • A Woman Rebels (1936) • Quality Street (1937) • Stage Door (1937) • Bringing Up Baby (1938) • Holiday (1938)1940sThe Philadelphia Story (1940) • Woman of the Year (1942) • Keeper of the Flame (1942) • Stage Door Canteen (1943) • Dragon Seed (1944) • Without Love (1945) • Undercurrent (1946) • The Sea of Grass (1947) • Song of Love (1947) • State of the Union (1948) • Adam's Rib (1949)1950sThe African Queen (1951) • Pat and Mike (1952) • Summertime (1955) • The Rainmaker (1956) • The Iron Petticoat (1956) • Desk Set (1957) • Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)1960sLong Day's Journey Into Night (1962) • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) • The Lion in Winter (1968) • The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)1970sThe Trojan Women (1971) • A Delicate Balance (1973) • The Glass Menagerie (1973) • Love Among the Ruins (1975) • Rooster Cogburn (1975) • Olly, Olly, Oxen Free (1978) • The Corn Is Green (1979)1980sOn Golden Pond (1981) • Grace Quigley (1985) • Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986) • Laura Lansing Slept Here (1988)1990sThe Man Upstairs (1992) • This Can't Be Love (1994) • Love Affair (1994) • One Christmas (1994)
Related articles Awards and nominations • Coco • Houghton family • The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center • Katharine Houghton • Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn • The Lake • Spencer TracyCategories:- American films
- English-language films
- 1933 films
- 1930s drama films
- Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award winning performance
- Black-and-white films
- RKO Pictures films
- Films directed by Lowell Sherman
- Films made before the MPAA Production Code
- 1930s drama film stubs
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