Sunday, April 16, 2023

Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story (1987) 1.03

A Woman's Lot

This episode focuses on three women and some of their work in front of and behind the camera. All three were interviewed for this documentary series. They are Ginger Rogers, Katherine Hepburn, and Lucille Ball.

Other people interviewed for this episode were
  • Pandro Berman, producer
  • Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
  • Garson Kanin, director
  • Fay Kanin, writer
  • Linwood Dunn, Optical Effects
The episode opens with Ginger Rogers winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for Kitty Foyle (1940). It then jumps backwards to cover her career at RKO from the beginning. Her mother is mentioned as an important influence who played a pivotal role in Ginger's movie career. Before she was teamed up with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers she usually played pinup girls and gangster molls.

Ginger Rogers
  • Kitty Foyle (1940)
  • The Tip-Off (1931)
  • Suicide Fleet (1931)
  • Carnival Boat (1932)
  • Professional Sweetheart (1933)
  • Lucky Partners (1940)
  • Bachelor Mother (1939)
Katherine Hepburn
  • Morning Glory (1933)
  • Alice Adams (1935)
  • Sylvia Scarlett (1936)
  • Mary of Scotland (1936)
  • Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Lucille Ball
  • Roberta (1935)
  • I Dream Too Much (1935)
  • Follow the Fleet (1936)
  • Having a Wonderful Time (1938)

Hepburn and Rogers almost shared the screen in Mary of Scotland (1936) but the studio balked and so it did not happen. It wasn't until Stage Door (1937) that they finally starred in a movie together. Lucille Ball was also in Stage Door, in a supporting role. It was the only time that Hepburn and Rogers appeared in a movie together.

The last few minutes of this episode turn away from the main topic of the episode to focus on the departure of Pandro Berman from RKO.

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