ksf-2 In the very first scene, we see Margaret Dumont teaching a "movement" class. now.. anyone who has EVER seen a Marx Brothers film knows Dumont as the foil for the various Marx boys. I kept waiting for her to start joking around. Many big hollywood names in here -- Paulette Goddard, Lana Turner (at 17 !) , Henry Stephenson, Gale Sondergaard, Erik Rhodes. The usual antics of students learning their trade in school... in this case, drama. The girls play tricks on each other, but sometimes they backfire. SO many little subplots going on, and each of these great actors all seem to be the star in their own story. It really is an ensemble group, similar to an episode of Seinfeld. It's quite good, but I think they should have concentrated more on just one of the storylines. "Louise" (Luise Rainer) is acting, and over-acting all the way through; her character is always making up stories for appearance, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Some similarities to "Stage Door", with k. hepburn, but this one has far less tragedy... Directed by Robert Sinclair. This was one of the first films he did. Many years later, Sinclair would be murdered by a prowler on his own property. Hopefully they will show this one more frequently on Turner Classics; has some great names from early hollwood in here. It's pretty good!

mark.waltz If you can believe Dr. Kildare's receptionist (and Grandma Addams), Charlie Chaplin's protégée and Andy Hardy's girlfriend as Parisian thespians, then you can also place a bid on a certain tower in the city of lights as well. Of course, with Luise Rainer as the lead, there is some realism there, but very little. Of these stars attempting to be anything other than the artificial "Stage Door". Rainer shines as does Gale Sondergaard in a believable storyline that has the resentful older Sondergaard (as a drama teacher and professional actress) resenting Rainer's youth and potential for greater stardom. Paulette Goddard, Ann Rutherford, Lana Turner, Virginia Grey and Marie Blake just don't pass muster as French damsels no matter how much suspended dramatic belief you try to obtain. As talented as they are (with some of them believable in foreign settings in other movies), in a large group, it just doesn't work.The main plot has Goddard plotting revenge on the hard-working Rainer who tells a white lie about meeting a French nobleman while she's really working all night in a factory. The prank she plays along with Rutherford and Turner is mean-spirited and ridiculous in nature. Sondergaard attempting to play Juliet here while teaching her class only ridicules MGM's 1936 version with the far too old Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard, but Rainer really is striking as Joan of Arc in a brief audition sequence. Don't expect to be easily able to recognize Turner who gets no memorable material and has darker hair that hides the beauty she would explode with when dyed platinum. Margaret Dumont has a nice small role as the teacher who warns Sondergaard not to be too intensely jealous towards the promising Rainer.

blanche-2 Unlike other posters, I found this film delightful and entertaining. But what was most fun was seeing all these stars as incredibly young people: Lana Turner, Paulette Goddard, Virginia Grey, Hans Conried. Luise Rainer was at her luminescent best with her big, soulful eyes, gorgeous bone structure, and beautiful speaking voice.The story takes place in France, with those dissolves that translate French into English right away. It concerns a young dramatic school student whose fantasies become real due to a series of happy accidents. The end is particularly delightful.I don't understand the backlash against Luise Rainer. She was a beautiful, principled actress who was discovered by Max Reinhardt, escaped Hitler, and came afoul of another dictator, Louis B. Mayer, who would not give her roles befitting the status of an actress who had won two Oscars. After an unhappy marriage to Clifford Odets, she found happiness in a marriage and left the U.S. She's still alive and works occasionally. You can't say that about many people born in 1910 or anyone in this film, including Ann Rutherford, who is still with us.

whitedudekickin (Sorry for any misspellings or grammar problems, I wrote this fast.)I saw this film last night on Turner Classics. I was very touched by the film's romantic sensibility. Yes, the film has a B movie feel. Yes, the performances are typically surface in a 1930s outdated style. Yes, at times it was obvious this was not Paris but a studio sound stage. But I forgive all of those things because that's what one does in film and theater: suspend disbelief to experience the characters' journey.Here, the characters are all drama students who are either utterly disenchanted (Paulette Goddard) or romantically idealistic (Luise Rainer). All of the characters share the dreams of stardom and I find that element a universal and timeless trait: To be a successful STAR.I was captivated by Rainer. She's no different than how Marilyn Monroe (or any great artist) must have felt on her way up. Rainer is magical, almost like a silent screen star with her exagerated facial expressions. And also like Garbo with her dark, European voice. I think that Rainer is the film's heroine in the traditional sense of Heroism. She overcomes poverty, social criticism, and artistic limitations by just living through her own perspective and by her own rules. Also, she's a very young woman, a student. And young people do make mistakes like the ones she makes in the films. Yes, I felt she was a real character.In all fairness, I am not used to the exagerated style of her acting. I much more related to the fast talking Lana Turner or Paulette Goddard. But that's because they are very American and so am I: I like fast-talking broads. However, Rainer's romantic quality is rooted in her unknowable otherworldliness and I love her for that. I was swept off my feet into her idealistic heart. She took me there. Exactly like how I felt when I watched Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina. Pure fantasy, and I love this film because of that.Not to sound elitist but a true gem for any closet sophisticate and old-school romantic.