Stage Struck (1958 film)

Stage Struck is a 1958 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Susan Strasberg and Christopher Plummer in his film debut. The screenplay, by Augustus and Ruth Goetz, is based on the stage play Morning Glory by Zoë Akins, which also served as the basis for the 1933 film Morning Glory starring Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Adolphe Menjou in corresponding roles.

Plot
New Englander Eva Lovelace, an ingenue intent on conquering the Broadway stage, is willing to sacrifice everything, including her love for suave producer Lewis Easton, to achieve her goal. Her trials and tribulations ultimately lead to a moment of triumph when she successfully steps in for temperamental, Tallulah Bankhead-like, leading lady Rita Vernon.

Cast

 * Henry Fonda as Lewis Easton
 * Susan Strasberg as Eva Lovelace
 * Christopher Plummer as Joe Sheridan
 * Joan Greenwood as Rita Vernon
 * Herbert Marshall as Robert Harley Hedges
 * Pat Harrington as Benny
 * Frank Campanella as Victor
 * John Fiedler as Adrian
 * Jack Weston as Frank

Production
Filmed entirely on location in New York City, the film was produced by RKO Radio Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Productions' then new distribution arm Buena Vista Film Distribution Co., Inc., which replaced RKO as Disney's distributor.

Critical reception
In his review in The New York Times, A.H. Weiler opined, "the moviemakers ... obviously are devoted people, whose emotions, unfortunately, rarely move a viewer ... The fact is that the bare bones of the plot ... do not constitute a great revelation in a sophisticated age ... Susan Strasberg ... is competent as the determined Eva Lovelace. She is petite and fragile and sometimes expressive but strangely pallid in a role that would seem to call for fire, not mere smoldering ... Christopher Plummer ... is restrained but effective. Joan Greenwood ... is explosively emotional ... and Herbert Marshall does well ... It makes a nice show even if it is not stirring."