''Stage Struck'' is a 1958 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Sidney Lumet and starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

, Susan Strasberg and

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

in his film debut. The screenplay, by Augustus and

Ruth Goetz Ruth Goetz (January 12, 1912 — October 12, 2001) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and translator along with her husband and collaborator Augustus Goetz. Biography Early life Ruth Goetz was born Ruth Goodman on January 12, 1912 ...

, is based on the stage play ''Morning Glory'' by

Zoë Akins Zoe Byrd Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author. She won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for drama for '' The Old Maid''. Early life Zoe Byrd Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, second of three ...

, which also served as the basis for the 1933 film ''Morning Glory'' starring Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

in corresponding roles.

Plot

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

er Eva Lovelace, an ingenue intent on conquering the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

-like, leading lady Rita Vernon.

Cast

as Lewis Easton * Susan Strasberg as Eva Lovelace *

as Joe Sheridan *

Joan Greenwood Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'', and also app ...

as Rita Vernon *

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

as Robert Harley Hedges * Pat Harrington as Benny *

Frank Campanella Frank Campanella (March 12, 1919 – December 30, 2006) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, as well as a few films and Broadway productions. Early life and career Campanella was born in New York City, the son of P ...

as Victor *

John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Adrian *

Jack Weston Jack Weston (born Morris Weinstein; August 21, 1924 – May 3, 1996) was an American actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1976 and a Tony Award in 1981. Career Weston, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, usually played comic roles in fi ...

as Frank

Production

Filmed entirely on location in New York City, the film was produced by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

and distributed by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

' then new distribution arm Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., Inc. which replaced RKO as Disney's distributor.

Critical reception

In his review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 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."

References

External links