Morning Glory (1933)
Directed by Lowell Sherman

Film Review

This creaking melodrama on the well-worn theme of poor girl makes good would doubtless has long disappeared off everyone's radar were it not for the fact that it won Katharine Hepburn her first Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role (three more followed in the course of her career).  1933 was a decisive year for Hepburn with strong roles in three films, the other two being Christopher Strong (1933) and Little Women (1933).  Morning Glory allows Hepburn to flaunt her theatrical credentials in a scene in which she plays both Hamlet and Juliet (a rare treat for any actor) but the mundanity of the plot and mediocrity of the script prevent her from showing her true talents.  Only in the touching scenes with C. Aubrey Smith, a former England Test cricketer turned actor, does Hepburn come into her own.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Adolphe Menjou are just as ill-served by the lacklustre script but, unlike Hepburn and Smith, they show a distinct lack of enthusiasm for making it into something better than it is.  This is Hepburn's film and she knows it, and whilst there are a few moments when she is aggravating, she is for the most part enchanting.  With a less charismatic, less sympathetic performer, Eva's final scene would have been intolerable slush.  Hepburn, in the full flow of her usual hystrionic fervour, gives it the heroic quality of a saint being led off to martyrdom.  The moral: never let a weak script get in the way of a good performance.

Film Synopsis

Eva Lovelace is a struggling young actress from the provinces who hopes to make a name for herself on Broadway.  She attends an audition for producer Louis Easton's latest play but fails to land even a small part.  She meets an old English actor who agrees to give her lessons to help her improve her diction.  Later, Eva attends a party hosted by Easton and makes an exhibition of herself by reciting scenes from Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.  Easton takes advantage of Eva's naivety by having an affair with her, but he soon regrets doing so.  Writer Joseph Sheridan takes pity on the young actress and allows her to understudy for the lead in his next play.  When the star actress walks away from the production after falling out with Easton, Eva finally has her chance...