An aging Broadway star, Beatrice Page, receives an interesting proposal from an aspiring playwright, Stanley Krown. While loving the play Stanley has written with her in mind, the fact remains she is much older than what the role calls for. Unfortunately, she is put in a dilemma. Because of her position in the theater community, she cannot accept anything but a starring role.
Harry Phillips, Beatrice former husband, has remained in friendly terms with the actress. He sees the possibilities with the play, and although he realizes the basic age problem, he goes ahead with the plans for bringing it to Broadway for the next season, something that he has no idea of the problems he will encounter. For one thing, the piece needs a lot of reworking. One problem with Stanley, he is a working man, who must work for a living, making it even harder to work on the revisions.
When Beatrice falls in love for Stanley, Harry is beside himself. To make things worse, an aspiring actress, Sally Carver, who had auditioned for the younger woman part, keeps turning up uninvited, and she too has a strong opinion about Stanley's play, which she wants to see it gets the right production.
This comedy was written by Julius and Phillip Epstein, the authors of that classic, "Casablanca". Irving Rapper, the director, gives the film a good pace. Some of the comments compare the situation with the much better "All About Eve", something that is far from being the case. The take on the theatrical world of Broadway of that era offers a nostalgic trip back to when the New York stage presented more serious work, now dominated by musicals and Disney fare.
This was a Ginger Rogers' vehicle. Although not one of her best appearances, she makes us believe she was the star at a crucial point of her career, perhaps something Ms. Rogers was experiencing herself. Pat Crowley plays the perky young actress who gets on everyone's nerves. William Holden's Stanley was not exactly a great role for him; he is seen as the playwright being manipulated by the star and everyone else. The excellent Paul Douglas is seen as Harry, the patient man that loves his former wife in a peculiar way.
The supporting cast shows some of the best character actors working in movies at that time. James Gleason and Jesse White do their reliable contribution. Kathryn Grant, who went to become Mrs. Bing Crosby, has a small part; also Marion Ross, who made a splash on television in "Happy Days", plays a hopeful actress.
Harry Phillips, Beatrice former husband, has remained in friendly terms with the actress. He sees the possibilities with the play, and although he realizes the basic age problem, he goes ahead with the plans for bringing it to Broadway for the next season, something that he has no idea of the problems he will encounter. For one thing, the piece needs a lot of reworking. One problem with Stanley, he is a working man, who must work for a living, making it even harder to work on the revisions.
When Beatrice falls in love for Stanley, Harry is beside himself. To make things worse, an aspiring actress, Sally Carver, who had auditioned for the younger woman part, keeps turning up uninvited, and she too has a strong opinion about Stanley's play, which she wants to see it gets the right production.
This comedy was written by Julius and Phillip Epstein, the authors of that classic, "Casablanca". Irving Rapper, the director, gives the film a good pace. Some of the comments compare the situation with the much better "All About Eve", something that is far from being the case. The take on the theatrical world of Broadway of that era offers a nostalgic trip back to when the New York stage presented more serious work, now dominated by musicals and Disney fare.
This was a Ginger Rogers' vehicle. Although not one of her best appearances, she makes us believe she was the star at a crucial point of her career, perhaps something Ms. Rogers was experiencing herself. Pat Crowley plays the perky young actress who gets on everyone's nerves. William Holden's Stanley was not exactly a great role for him; he is seen as the playwright being manipulated by the star and everyone else. The excellent Paul Douglas is seen as Harry, the patient man that loves his former wife in a peculiar way.
The supporting cast shows some of the best character actors working in movies at that time. James Gleason and Jesse White do their reliable contribution. Kathryn Grant, who went to become Mrs. Bing Crosby, has a small part; also Marion Ross, who made a splash on television in "Happy Days", plays a hopeful actress.