Stagedoor Canteen

[rosie]

I have never, ever managed to see this movie although I think I have probably seen nearly every other movie KH made.
Anyone have any pictures, reviews or stories to tell about Stagedoor Canteen?

[Shaun]

I have it on tape but haven't gotten around to watching it. I've seen Kate's cameo already, once when it aired on tv. I don't really have a desire to see the whole thing but in order to say I've seen every Katharine Hepburn movie, I guess I'll have too.

[Richard]

In my personal opinion, the only thing I find recommendable about Stage Door Canteen are the cameos. That and of course Kate. But SDC is considered a movie and does actually tell a story. I can't... really remember... what it was all about.

A group of young sailors come to the Stage Door Canteen (the one in New York, not the Hollywood Canteen like I once thought) and are paired with several pretty hostesses. They end up falling in love with the boys (which is against the rules) and... what a minute, why am I giving you the synopsis, you didn't even ask!

[rosie]

Hey Richard. I don't mind! I guess rather than asking too many questions I should have checked out imdb.com. I think I may have seen it years ago on TV but remember Bette Davis, not Hepburn. Wrong movie maybe? Anyway I will go now and check it out thoroughly.

[rosie]

Oh right. Now I realise what I have seen. I thought Stagedoor Canteen had Bette Davis singing "They're either too young or too old", but imdb tells me that is from the movie "Thank your lucky stars". So maybe I have not seen SC after all. Hmmmm. Silly musings...

[rosie]

Hope this is not too off topic. Here's the link to Bette:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndRPoL9oB4k

[Judy]

rosie said:

Oh right. Now I realise what I have seen. I thought Stagedoor Canteen had Bette Davis singing "They're either too young or too old", but imdb tells me that is from the movie "Thank your lucky stars". So maybe I have not seen SC after all. Hmmmm. Silly musings...

Forgive me if I'm telling you something you already know - I see you've discovered the two different pictures....Thank Your Lucky Stars was focused on the Hollywood Canteen, which Bette Davis was instrumental in organizing. And Stage Door Canteen was, of course, its east coast counterpart founded in part by the American Theatre Wing. Thank Your Lucky Stars was made at Warners, thus is peopled with mostly, if not all, Warner Bros stars - doncha love the scene where SZ Sakall bullies Bogart?....and of course, there's Bette being flung around in that dance number.

The Davis movie is, perhaps more entertaining cause it has stars we love doing things they'd never ordinarily do, like Davis singing. But I prefer Stage Door Canteen because it is chock full of great stage stars - even if they only have a moment with an apron on as they pass the main character. Some whom I've, of course, known about but have actually never heard speak cause they were before my time - no comments, please The Lunts, for instance (no, I take that back; I did see them interviewed by Dick Cavett, but that was years later) or Katharine Cornell, Helen Menken. Not to mention performances from Yehudi Menuhin to Benny Goodman.

And, of course, they save Kate till the very end to give the most important speech in the film. A rousing sort of patriotic speech to buck up the girl whose guy is going off to war. My favorite thing in her segment is when she first arrives and sees the girl standing outside. She can't go into the club because she has fallen for one of the soldiers and the club has rules about the girls getting involved....So Kate walks in and grabs Selina Royle and says: Have you ever broken any rules Selina? Whereupon the girl is let in.

Oh, Kate. Ever the iconoclast.

[charliesgirl7681]

TCM aired this last night, I recorded it. I haven't watched it yet, instead I watched Bacall on Bogart which I only did for Kate but ended up really liking the Bio. Anyway, is Kate in this movie other than her monolog at the end?