Ladies of Leisure
Encyclopedia
Ladies of Leisure is an American
romantic drama film directed by Frank Capra
, and starring Barbara Stanwyck
and Ralph Graves
. The screenplay by Jo Swerling
is based on the 1924 play Ladies of the Evening by Milton Herbert Gropper.
penthouse apartment and studio. While out driving in the country, Jerry gives self-described "party girl" Kay Arnold (escaping from another party aboard a yacht) a ride back to the city. He sees something in her and offers her a job as his model for a painting titled "Hope". In their first session, Jerry wipes off her makeup to try to bring out her true nature. Perpetual partier and drunkard Standish thinks Kay looks fine just the way she is and invites her on a cruise to Havana
. She declines his offer.
As they get to know each other better, Kay falls in love with Jerry and comes to rue her tawdry past. This is reflected in her face, and she finally achieves a pose Jerry finds inspiring. He paints so late into the night that he offers to let her sleep on his couch.
The next morning, Jerry's father John shows up and demands he dismiss Kay and marry his longtime fiancée Claire. John has found out all about Kay's checkered background; she does not deny the facts. When Jerry refuses, John cuts off all relations with his stubborn son. Kay decides to quit anyway for Jerry's benefit. This forces him to declare he loves her. She suggests running off to Arizona
.
Jerry's mother comes to see Kay. Though Kay convinces her that she genuinely loves Jerry, Mrs. Strong still begs her to give him up for his own good. Kay tearfully agrees and makes plans to go to Havana with Bill. Her roommate and good friend Dot Lamar races to tell Jerry, but by the time she reaches him, the ship has sailed. Despondent, Kay tries to commit suicide by leaping into the water. When she awakens in the hospital, Jerry is waiting at her bedside.
head Harry Cohn
was giving him complete creative control. Cohn assigned the director to adapt Ladies of the Evening, a melodrama
David Belasco
had produced on Broadway
in late 1924, and after Capra completed a first draft screenplay he invited Jo Swerling to work on the script. Swerling initially declined because he thought it was a "putrid piece of gorgonzola
", "inane, vacuous, pompous, unreal, unbelievable - and incredibly dull", but decided to work on it nonetheless. "I went to my hotel, locked myself in my room and for five days pounded out a rewrite story of the plot I'd heard, interrupting the writing only long enough for black coffee, sandwiches and brief snatches of sleep", the screenwriter later recalled. "I was simply writing a newspaper yarn with a longer deadline than usual."
Despite the fact her three previous films had been critical and commercial failures, Cohn was intent on casting Stanwyck as Kay, but the actress was on the verge of returning to her theatrical roots in New York City. She agreed to meet with Capra, but the interview went badly. Her husband, actor Frank Fay
, became furious when Stanwyck returned home crying and called Capra to complain. The director was surprised by her reaction, saying she had acted as if she did not want the part. Fay urged him to screen a film test she had made for The Noose
at Warner Bros.
, and Capra was so impressed by it he urged Cohn to sign her immediately.
Filming began on January 14, 1930, and Capra quickly learned Stanwyck was unlike any actress he previously had directed. In his autobiography The Name Above the Title, he recalled:
Capra previously had worked with cinematographer Joseph Walker
on four silent films. The director was impressed not only with Walker's artistic vision, but his various camera-related inventions as well. He not only ground his own lenses, but he used a different one for each of the actresses he photographed. Many of the elements typical of Capra films - the backlighting of actresses, the transformation of minimal sets into dreamlike images, the delicate night scenes and erotic rain scenes - were suggested to Capra by Walker. The two collaborated on twenty projects between 1928 and 1946.
The film was released in a silent version for theaters not equipped for sound.
of The New York Times
praised the film for "its amusing dialogue, the restrained performances of nearly all the players and a general lightness of handling that commends the direction of Frank Capra" and concluded, "The picture is sufficiently variegated in drama and more amusing moments to be attractive film fare."
TV Guide
rated the film 2½ out of four stars and noted, "Capra kept everyone under tight rein and any tendency to emote was admirably stifled under his firm direction."
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
romantic drama film directed by Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
, and starring Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
and Ralph Graves
Ralph Graves
Ralph Graves was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor who appeared in 93 films between 1918 and 1949....
. The screenplay by Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling
Jo Swerling was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter.Born in Berdichev, Russian Empire, Swerling was a refugee of the Czarist regime who grew up on New York City's lower East Side, where he sold newspapers to help support his family...
is based on the 1924 play Ladies of the Evening by Milton Herbert Gropper.
Plot
Aspiring artist Jerry Strong, the son of a wealthy railroad tycoon, sneaks out of a party he allowed his friend Bill Standish to hold at his New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
penthouse apartment and studio. While out driving in the country, Jerry gives self-described "party girl" Kay Arnold (escaping from another party aboard a yacht) a ride back to the city. He sees something in her and offers her a job as his model for a painting titled "Hope". In their first session, Jerry wipes off her makeup to try to bring out her true nature. Perpetual partier and drunkard Standish thinks Kay looks fine just the way she is and invites her on a cruise to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. She declines his offer.
As they get to know each other better, Kay falls in love with Jerry and comes to rue her tawdry past. This is reflected in her face, and she finally achieves a pose Jerry finds inspiring. He paints so late into the night that he offers to let her sleep on his couch.
The next morning, Jerry's father John shows up and demands he dismiss Kay and marry his longtime fiancée Claire. John has found out all about Kay's checkered background; she does not deny the facts. When Jerry refuses, John cuts off all relations with his stubborn son. Kay decides to quit anyway for Jerry's benefit. This forces him to declare he loves her. She suggests running off to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Jerry's mother comes to see Kay. Though Kay convinces her that she genuinely loves Jerry, Mrs. Strong still begs her to give him up for his own good. Kay tearfully agrees and makes plans to go to Havana with Bill. Her roommate and good friend Dot Lamar races to tell Jerry, but by the time she reaches him, the ship has sailed. Despondent, Kay tries to commit suicide by leaping into the water. When she awakens in the hospital, Jerry is waiting at her bedside.
Cast
- Barbara StanwyckBarbara StanwyckBarbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
as Kay Arnold - Ralph GravesRalph GravesRalph Graves was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor who appeared in 93 films between 1918 and 1949....
as Jerry Strong - Lowell ShermanLowell ShermanLowell Sherman was an American actor and film director....
as Bill Standish - Marie PrevostMarie PrevostMarie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...
as Dot Lamar - Nance O'Neil as Mrs Strong
- George FawcettGeorge FawcettGeorge Fawcett was an American stage and film actor of the silent era. On stage he appeared in such plays as Ghosts with the controversial Mary Shaw, The Squaw Man with William Faversham, The Great John Ganton with an up-and-coming actress Laurette Taylor in the cast and Getting A Polish with...
as John Strong - Juliette ComptonJuliette ComptonJuliette Compton was an American actress whose career began in the silent film era and concluded with That Hamilton Woman in 1941....
as Claire Collins - Johnnie Walker as Charlie
Production
Ladies of Leisure was Frank Capra's fifth sound film, and the first project over which Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
head Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
was giving him complete creative control. Cohn assigned the director to adapt Ladies of the Evening, a melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
David Belasco
David Belasco
David Belasco was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director and playwright.-Biography:Born in San Francisco, California, where his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England, during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs,...
had produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in late 1924, and after Capra completed a first draft screenplay he invited Jo Swerling to work on the script. Swerling initially declined because he thought it was a "putrid piece of gorgonzola
Gorgonzola (cheese)
Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow's and/or goat's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining.- History :...
", "inane, vacuous, pompous, unreal, unbelievable - and incredibly dull", but decided to work on it nonetheless. "I went to my hotel, locked myself in my room and for five days pounded out a rewrite story of the plot I'd heard, interrupting the writing only long enough for black coffee, sandwiches and brief snatches of sleep", the screenwriter later recalled. "I was simply writing a newspaper yarn with a longer deadline than usual."
Despite the fact her three previous films had been critical and commercial failures, Cohn was intent on casting Stanwyck as Kay, but the actress was on the verge of returning to her theatrical roots in New York City. She agreed to meet with Capra, but the interview went badly. Her husband, actor Frank Fay
Frank Fay (American actor)
Frank Fay was an American film and stage actor, emcee, comedian, best known as an actor for having played "Elwood P. Dowd" in the play Harvey by the American playwright Mary Coyle Chase on Broadway...
, became furious when Stanwyck returned home crying and called Capra to complain. The director was surprised by her reaction, saying she had acted as if she did not want the part. Fay urged him to screen a film test she had made for The Noose
The Noose (film)
The Noose is a silent film adaptation of the Willard Mack play The Noose, which was released in 1928, and stars Richard Barthelmess, Montagu Love, Robert Emmett O'Connor and Thelma Todd. The movie was adapted by Garrett Graham and James T. O'Donohoe from the play...
at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, and Capra was so impressed by it he urged Cohn to sign her immediately.
Filming began on January 14, 1930, and Capra quickly learned Stanwyck was unlike any actress he previously had directed. In his autobiography The Name Above the Title, he recalled:
I discovered a vital technical lack - one that shook us all up: Stanwyck gave her all the first time she tried a scene . . . All subsequent repetitions, in rehearsals or retakes, were pale copies of her original performance. This was a new phenomenon - - and a new challenge, not only to me, but to the actors and the crews. I had to rehearse the cast without her. The actors grumbled. Not fair to them, they said. Who ever heard of an actress not rehearsing? . . . On the set I never let Stanwyck utter one word of the scene until the cameras were rolling. Before that I talked to her in her dressing room, told her the meaning of the scene, the points of emphasis, the pauses . . . I talked softly, not wanting to fan the smoldering fires that lurked beneath that somber silence. She remembered every word I said - - and she never blew a line.
Capra previously had worked with cinematographer Joseph Walker
Joseph Walker (cinematographer)
Joseph Walker, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer who worked on 145 films during a career that spanned thirty-three years....
on four silent films. The director was impressed not only with Walker's artistic vision, but his various camera-related inventions as well. He not only ground his own lenses, but he used a different one for each of the actresses he photographed. Many of the elements typical of Capra films - the backlighting of actresses, the transformation of minimal sets into dreamlike images, the delicate night scenes and erotic rain scenes - were suggested to Capra by Walker. The two collaborated on twenty projects between 1928 and 1946.
The film was released in a silent version for theaters not equipped for sound.
Critical reception
Mordaunt HallMordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for The New York Times, from October 1924 to September 1934....
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised the film for "its amusing dialogue, the restrained performances of nearly all the players and a general lightness of handling that commends the direction of Frank Capra" and concluded, "The picture is sufficiently variegated in drama and more amusing moments to be attractive film fare."
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
rated the film 2½ out of four stars and noted, "Capra kept everyone under tight rein and any tendency to emote was admirably stifled under his firm direction."