Stage Struck (film)

:"This page is about the film. For Rory Gallagher's album of the same name, see Stage Struck"

Infobox Film
name = Stage Struck

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caption = Original film poster
director = Sidney Lumet
producer = Stuart Millar
writer = Augustus Goetz
Ruth Goetz
Zoe Akins (play)
starring = Henry Fonda
Susan Strasberg
music = Alex North
cinematography = Maurice Hartzband
Franz Planer
editing = Stuart Gilmore
distributor = Buena Vista Pictures
released = flagicon|USA 22 April 1958
runtime = 95 min
country = USA
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0052235

"Stage Struck" is a 1958 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Augustus and Ruth Goetz is based on a play by Zoe Akins, which served as the basis for the 1933 film "Morning Glory" starring Katharine Hepburn.

New Englander Eva Lovelace, an ingenue intent on conquering the Broadway stage, is willing to sacrifice everything, including her love for suave producer Lewis Easton, to achieve her goal. Her trials and tribulations ultimately lead to a moment of triumph when she successfully steps in for temperamental, Tallulah Bankhead-like leading lady Rita Vernon.

The RKO Radio release was filmed entirely on location in New York City.

Principal cast

*Henry Fonda ..... Lewis Easton
*Susan Strasberg ..... Eva Lovelace
*Joan Greenwood ..... Rita Vernon
*Herbert Marshall ..... Robert Harley Hedges
*Christopher Plummer ..... Joe Sheridan
*Pat Harrington Jr. ..... Benny
*Frank Campanella ..... Benny
*Jack Weston ..... Frank

Principal production credits

*Executive Producer ..... William Dozier
*Original Music ..... Alex North
*Cinematography ..... Maurice Hartzband, Franz Planer
*Production Design ..... Kim Swados
*Costume Design ..... Moss Mabry

Critical reception

In his review in the "New York Times", A.H. Weiler opined, "the moviemakers . . . obviously are devoted people, whose emotions, unfortunately, rarely move a viewer . . . The fact is that the bare bones of the plot . . . do not constitute a great revelation in a sophisticated age . . . Susan Strasberg . . . is competent as the determined Eva Lovelace. She is petite and fragile and sometimes expressive but strangely pallid in a role that would seem to call for fire, not mere smoldering . . . Christopher Plummer . . . is restrained but effective. Joan Greenwood . . . is explosively emotional . . . and Herbert Marshall does well . . . It makes a nice show even if it is not stirring." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A03E0DC1E39EF3BBC4B51DFB2668383649EDE "New York Times" review] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052235/ "Stage Struck" at the Internet Movie Database]
* [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=79834&mainArticleId=178922 "Stage Struck" at Turner Classic Movies]