Main Cast: Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Joan Greenwood, Herbert Marshall, Christopher Plummer
Release Year: 1957
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
This remake of Zoe Akins' Morning Glory stars Susan Strasberg as Eva Lovelace, the role that won Katharine Hepburn her first Oscar back in 1933. Fresh from the midwest, the starry-eyed Eva arrives in New York, convinced that she has what it takes to be Broadway's greatest actress. Armed with more chutzpah than talent, Eva proves fascinating to big-time producer Lewis Easton (Henry Fonda) and playwright Joe Sheridan (Christopher Plummer, in his film debut). But the realization of her girl remains just outside of Eva's reach until she replaces temperamental star Rita Vernon (Joan Greenwood) on the opening night of Sheridan's newest play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Considering the fact that its leading lady gives an actively annoying performance, it's surprising that Stage Struck actually turns out to be a moderately entertaining money. Now, it won't be mistaken for a great movie, mind you, especially with a script that is built on a foundation of clichés that threatens to collapse underneath it at any moment. Yet there's something kind of fun in all the clichés, at least enough that most viewers will chortle and roll their eyes rather than reach for the remote. It also helps that director Sidney Lumet and cinematographers Franz Planer and Morris Hartzband have filmed in New York City itself, making Manhattan into a major character; the snowy sequence in Central Park is especially wonderful. Of course, there is that problematic performance of Susan Strasberg to contend with, and some viewers simply will not be able to get past it. It's not just that Strasberg is over the top; the part, after all, is an aspiring actress. It's that (1) we never really believe that this girl has the talent to succeed so smashingly, and (2) we really never believe that the men around her would all, to different degrees, find her so enchanting as to fall in love with her. The rest of the cast, fortunately, makes up for Strasberg's shortcomings, with Henry Fonda getting to play a part that's somewhat offbeat for him, Herbert Marshall wonderful as the experienced older actor and a very young Christopher Plummer very impressive as the playwright. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Kim Edgar Swados - Art Director, Moss Mabry - Costume Designer, William C. Gerrity - First Assistant Director, Sidney Lumet - Director, Stuart Gilmore - Editor, William Dozier - Executive Producer, Alex North - Composer (Music Score), Franz Planer - Cinematographer, Morris Hartzband - Cinematographer, George Justin - Production Manager, Stuart Millar - Producer, Terry Kellum - Sound/Sound Designer, Augustus Goetz - Screenwriter, Ruth Goetz - Screenwriter, Zoë Akins - Play Author
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.
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." [1]
