What a waste of my time!!!

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Pleasant. Eva Lovelace wants to make it big in NYC. She admires pictures of stage stars of an earlier era, and wants to be one of them. She is small-town, broke and possesses none of the furry finery of some other female thespians. Their animal hides reflect trashy kept-women, and their haughty personalities engage in you're-too-fat insults. Today, we know little if anything about the actresses who portrayed those fur-adorned creatures, and they are not the star of this show. Hepburn is, she of the famous four Oscars. This Pre-Code outing shows Hepburn portraying Eva as ambitious, aspiring actress, knowing somehow in the back of her naive mind that she would have to endure the casting couch if she ever wanted to get anywhere. It was the Great Depression. Actors could get little work. Well-knowns were fortunate to get any kind of small character part. Witness the character of Hedges (C. Aubrey Smith), formerly a big star who is now forced to take anything that the producer can arrange. This was a reflection of real life during the early 1930s, where a large number of people in all types of professions were unemployed or sometimes-employed. The Great Depression must have killed a lot of stage actors' careers. A few went to Hollywood and were successful, perhaps a few stars and many bit-part character actors. The 1929 stock market crash killed many producers' careers, including a well-known FZ showman who passed away in 1932, broke and owing a ton of unpaid bills. I am a university degreed historian, actress, singer, dancer, stage makeup artist, film critic and movie reviewer.

Katharine Hepburn, a little woman with a long career, certainly believed in one marriage, and for her life on stage and screen, there was no bill of divorcement. Here, she's a newbee from Vermont anxious to make her New York debut. Showing up at producer Adolph Menjou's office, she is very determined. Sort of like Miss Hepburn herself, she doesn't seem to take no for an answer, and for those who only know the shaky voice and head of the older Kate, this is a great way to see the real her. It's not her first film or first lead (that came with her first film), and it's easy to see why even as a young lady, she was an imitator's delight.As this was during the depression, it was a difficult time for established stars (let alone undiscovered promising actresses), so it won't be easy. Mentions of still open Broadway theaters gives this an exciting yet historical tone to theater aficionados, and for those discovering their passion for the stage, this is a great way to get a sense of what went on behind the scenes during the golden age of the American "theata". RKO gets a plug in by dropping contract player names (Wheeler and Woolsey) as well as mentioning the legendary Katharine Cornell. C. Aubrey Smith stands out in a major supporting part as Hepburn's self proclaimed mentor. Hepburn is fascinating to watch, so affected, eccentric, egotistical but desperate, and absolutely delightful. Less memorable is Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a rather dull playwright, more a publicity stunt cast due to headlines concerning wife Joan Crawford and made the same year he costarred with the not yet famous Bette Davis. I would have preferred she have more scenes with Menjou whom she would play a similar part opposite in the even better "Stage Door".There's some delightfully bitchy dialog between Mary Duncan and Geneva Mitchell, playing friendly one moment and finding the tender spot in the other's back to insert the knife. Hepburn gets several lines that have become legendary, and ironically, she returned to Broadway this year in a flop where she muttered a certain line about calalillies. This doesn't just focus on Kate, but drops the camera on several typical theater archetypes, often smashed and overly dramatic. For Kate, this is "really" a top drawer example as to why she started off so well, even if she needed to tone down certain mannerisms to become different in each part she played.

Yes Katherine Hepburn did a great job and got an Oscar for her role as Linda Lovelace in this 1933 film. It was good to see her in her youth and her first great performance.I was also impressed with the role performed by Mary Duncan, the gorgeous blond actress. I had never seen her before and it looks like Morning Glory may have been her last performance in movies. I am going to see if I can download some of the other movies she was in to see what character she played. Mary's bio states that she lived until 1995 and was 97 when she passed away - I see in this role the satin and lace bombshell that predates, Harlow, Monroe and Madonna.

Katharine Hepburn is a young actress who comes to New York for fame and fortune in "Morning Glory," also starring Adolphe Menjou, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and C. Aubrey Smith. Eva Lovelace ("my stage name, I can shorten it if you want something else") is eccentric, fast-talking, and has many fantasies about acting and theater. The reality hits hard as at one point, she seems not only starving but homeless. Noting that she is in trouble, an elderly actor, Hedges (Smith) who meets her in producer Louis Easton's (Menjou) office invites her to Easton's opening night party. With no food in her stomach, she gets drunk recites some monologues, and ends up in bed with Easton. She's in love; he never wants to see her again. Meanwhile, Easton's writer Sheridan (Fairbanks) has fallen in love with her.Dated, melodramatic, predictable - "Morning Glory" is all of that but somehow the theatrical repartee and attitudes ring true - some things never change, including competition between actresses. Hepburn is very young, slim and pretty, and she does an excellent job as a young woman embarking on a new life. Why with Fairbanks Jr. staring her in the face she fell for Menjou I'll never know. Fairbanks is incredibly young here but very effective. Menjou is perfect as an elegant, gracious producer who in the end is all business. C. Aubrey Smith gives a dignified and lovely performance as Hedges.The ending does leave one asking, is Eva Lovelace to be a morning glory (i.e., flash in the pan) or not? Somehow whatever happens, the film leaves you with the impression that Eva will make it work in her own eccentric way.