Movie Review: Career Girl (1944)
Synopsis: After moving from Kansas City to New York and putting her impending marriage to a coal mine owner on hold to pursue a career on Broadway, Joan Terry has gone months without finding work and is forced to move into a boarding house with other aspiring actresses. She is about to give up on her dream when her fellow boarders, recognizing her talent, decide to pool their resources and invest in her. They, however, continue to face obstacles, including Joan's impatient fiancé, James, who is even willing to spend money to ensure her failure.
Who's in it? The movie stars Frances Langford, Edward Norris, Iris Adrian, Craig Woods and Linda Brent.
Review: I added Career Girl to my library a couple months ago but, mostly because I wasn't completely sure what the movie was about, hadn't bothered to watch it. I finally decided to do so this morning and it turned out to be a good choice.
The movie won me over from two different fronts. First, it didn't sugarcoat just how hard it is for someone to become a star. Joan (Langford) was beautiful and talented, the kind of thing that would get her discovered instantly in other films. In this one, in comparison, she struggled to get auditions and, when she did get them, even had producers walk out on her.
Between that and the comparable struggles faced by the other girls in the boarding house, it was one of those films that made it easy to root for Joan as an underdog. At the same time, her difficulties did also keep the movie from being predictable. It could be a film where she found success despite the odds or a film where she gave it her all, realized her dream was unattainable and she realized she could be perfectly happy being a housewife (it was the 1940s, after all).
The other thing I liked about this movie was the female empowerment angle it ultimately took. Joan could have tried to convince the wealthy James (Woods) to fund her career or asked for help from the equally wealthy and romantically interested Steve (Norris). Instead, she pursued her dream on her own and, later, with help from other women.
The latter was especially intriguing because those women also had dreams, making it unclear just how long they'd be willing to help her pay the bills or if any of them would get jealous and betray the rest of the group. The fact they were even willing to sacrifice one of their own because she wasn't good enough of an actress only made their partnership seem even more fragile.
My only real complaint about the movie was the way Joan's determination to be an actress stopped once she had to earn more money. I mean, I still liked her as a main character but choosing to give up and get married and then accepting charity from her friends when she could have just as easily found a part-time job as a waitress or secretary to pay the rent did seem a bit snooty.
Final Opinion: It's a good movie that showcases Langford's beautiful singing voice and gives a realistic take on the entertainment industry and those who want to break into it. I enjoyed watching it and would recommend it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies that take place in New York:
Movie Review: 99 River Street (1953)
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