You'd never suspect World War II was raging in the background of when veteran, jack-of-all-genres director Wallace Fox helmed the upbeat Broadway musical "Career Girl." Frances Langford stars as one of many aspiring actresses struggling to make it in the limelight. Hollywood Poverty Row Studio PRC Pictures produced this domestic potboiler about a sympathetic Kansas City native, Joan Terry (Frances Langford of "Hit Parade of 1937"), who yearns for a career on Broadway. Predictable but serviceable hokum, "Career Girl" qualifies as lightweight escapism. At a time when most girls were toiling in military defense plants, our well-coiffed heroine refuses to work while looking for a job. She is a goldbricker. Unfortunately, she doesn't achieve success on her own until her girlfriends come to her rescue Although released in 1944, "Career Girl" takes place during 1943. Initially, when we meet her, Joan is paying off her account at an expensive motel that her agent assured her would yield favorable publicity. Nothing came of this strategy. Meanwhile, her prim, proper, but impatient boyfriend James Blake (Craig Woods of "Destroyer"), runs a coal mine conglomerate back in Kansas City. He demands that Joan come to her senses, cease 'chasing rainbows,' and get herself back home so they can marry. Not only does Joan refuse to let adversity daunt her, but she also refuses to return to K.C. The desk clerk refers her to a theatrical boarding house, Barton's Hall, where fellow Broadway wannabes, including Thelma Mason (Linda Brent), Sue Collins (Ariel Heath), Polly (Renee Helms), Glenda Benton (Iris Adrian) and Ann (Lorraine Miller), live so they can realize their dreams. Joan moves into Barton Hall where she pays $16.00 a week.
Nothing that Joan does attracts any Broadway producers. She dates an influential Wall Street playboy, Steve Dexter (Edward Norris of "Frontier Marshal"), and they dance all over Broadway. Of course, Joan is too lady-like to take advantage of Steve. Although she doesn't find success on her own, but she succeeds because her Barton Hall friends help her out. They believe that Joan stands the best chance of success as any of them. They pitch in together and create a corporation called Talent. Inc., so that they pay for Joan's hotel. Later, Joan reconsiders tossing in the towel and letting her fiancée dictate terms until her friends changes her mind. Everybody ends up helping everybody in spirit of mutual cooperation and Joan's uppity Kansas City fiancée learns that he cannot push Joan around to do what he wants Joan to do. After Joan lands a role in a musical, James buys out the show from the original producer. James plans to close the show, but Joan persuades him to let it open. There is a slightly tragic subplot here than involves another Barton Hall girl taken advantage of by one of her own kind.
"Career Girl" focuses on the theme of female empowerment. "Hitler—Dead or Alive" scenarist Steve Neuman derived his screenplay from an original story by David Silverstein and Stanley Ruah. The cast consists of all the usual characters that you would expect in this chick flick. The protagonist is a naïve but sympathetic woman from Kansas City who came to the Big Apple because she drew rave reviews in her hometown little theater. Joan discovers that her companions at Barton's Hall were told the same thing about their talent. Aside from two arrogant burlesque dancers, the Barton Hall women support each other and their support for Joan pays off. Ultimately, Joan wins in the end with most of her help from her Barton Hall pals and the financial backing of her fiancée who sees that Joan will never marry him. She is a career minded gal. Langford warbles her way through several very okay songs - "Blue in Love Again", "Someday", "A Dream Came True" and "That's How the Rhumba Began." She has the voice, but she's no Judy Garland. Clocking in at a meager 66 minutes, "Career Girl" never unravels.
Nothing that Joan does attracts any Broadway producers. She dates an influential Wall Street playboy, Steve Dexter (Edward Norris of "Frontier Marshal"), and they dance all over Broadway. Of course, Joan is too lady-like to take advantage of Steve. Although she doesn't find success on her own, but she succeeds because her Barton Hall friends help her out. They believe that Joan stands the best chance of success as any of them. They pitch in together and create a corporation called Talent. Inc., so that they pay for Joan's hotel. Later, Joan reconsiders tossing in the towel and letting her fiancée dictate terms until her friends changes her mind. Everybody ends up helping everybody in spirit of mutual cooperation and Joan's uppity Kansas City fiancée learns that he cannot push Joan around to do what he wants Joan to do. After Joan lands a role in a musical, James buys out the show from the original producer. James plans to close the show, but Joan persuades him to let it open. There is a slightly tragic subplot here than involves another Barton Hall girl taken advantage of by one of her own kind.
"Career Girl" focuses on the theme of female empowerment. "Hitler—Dead or Alive" scenarist Steve Neuman derived his screenplay from an original story by David Silverstein and Stanley Ruah. The cast consists of all the usual characters that you would expect in this chick flick. The protagonist is a naïve but sympathetic woman from Kansas City who came to the Big Apple because she drew rave reviews in her hometown little theater. Joan discovers that her companions at Barton's Hall were told the same thing about their talent. Aside from two arrogant burlesque dancers, the Barton Hall women support each other and their support for Joan pays off. Ultimately, Joan wins in the end with most of her help from her Barton Hall pals and the financial backing of her fiancée who sees that Joan will never marry him. She is a career minded gal. Langford warbles her way through several very okay songs - "Blue in Love Again", "Someday", "A Dream Came True" and "That's How the Rhumba Began." She has the voice, but she's no Judy Garland. Clocking in at a meager 66 minutes, "Career Girl" never unravels.