In Stage Door (1937), Ginger Rogers plays Jean Maitland, a young actress living in a theatrical boarding house in New York with other aspiring actresses, including Terry Randall, played by Katharine Hepburn. Directed by Gregory La Cava, the film follows their struggles, friendships, and rivalries as they try to make it on Broadway.
Rogers brings a sharp, funny, and sympathetic presence to Jean, and her scenes with Hepburn are highlights of the film. Stage Door showed Rogers as a dramatic actress in her own right, beyond musicals, and it remains a beloved ensemble film about theatre life.
