Evergreen (1934), Jeanne Eagels (1957), Footlight Serenade (1942), Everything I Have Is Yours (1952), On With the Show (1929) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Understudy movies.
Storyline: Harriet Green, a beloved and radiant music hall star of the Edwardian era, has a guilty secret: She has a baby daughter, born out of wedlock. Harriet leaves her public and flees to South Africa to raise her daughter quietly. The years pass, and now her daughter, Harriet Hawkes, returns to London as a young show-biz hopeful. Tommy, a wily publicity man, knowing that young Harriet is a dead ringer for her famous mother, convinces a theater producer to star her in a new revue as none other than the original Harriet Green, miraculously untouched by old age. The ruse works too well: Now the public believes Harriet is a well-preserved 60-year-old and Tommy is her son. The deception is more than merely inconvenient, because now Harriet and Tommy have secretly fallen in love.—Dan Navarro <daneldorado@yahoo.com>
Plot Keywords: singer, daughter, ex-boyfriend, publicist, understudy, amusing, lighthearted ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A largely fictionalized account of the career of actress Jeanne Eagels, whose fame was both on stage and on the screen in the 1910s and 1920s, is presented. After losing in a rigged carnival beauty pageant, winning which she believed would be her first step to becoming a serious actress, Jeanne joins the traveling carnival itself under the guidance of the pageant organizer, Sal Satori, who features her in a variety of carnival stage shows. But it's when the carnival approaches New York City that Jeanne demonstrates how she truly mapped out her road to acting fame even before meeting Sal. Under the tutelage of renowned acting coach Nellie Neilson, Jeanne, who does possess true acting talent, is given her big acting break and does achieve fame on the Broadway stage, and ultimately also in Hollywood films. Jeanne is not averse to doing whatever is required to advance her career, even at the expense of others. Achieving fame so quickly takes its toll on Jeanne, who turns to alcohol and drugs which would lead to her tragic end. Although other men would come and go over her life, Sal, who ends up joining forces with his brother in operating lucrative Coney Island attractions, is one constant, he who fell in love with and wanted to marry her.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: dancer, waitress, actress, carnival worker, understudy, passionate, dark ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Conceited World Champion boxer Tommy Lundy decides to test his popularity in a Broadway show. Tommy always has an eye for the ladies and he starts paying attention to beautiful chorus girl Pat Lambert. Pat's boyfriend Bill Smith isn't impressed with Tommy even though Tommy gets him a boxing part in the show. When Tommy finds out that Pat and Bill were secretly together the night before the show opens, he angrily plans to turn the boxing scene with Bill into a real bout.—Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>
Plot Keywords: boxer, dancer, actor, producer, singer, understudy, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Married song and dance team Pamela and Chuck Hubbard are about to make their much anticipated and highly publicized Broadway debut. In the approach to opening night, Pamela is complaining about aches and pains and a queasy stomach, which they both attribute to a combination of nerves and the extra rehearsal. They discover that the symptoms are for something totally different: she's pregnant. Beyond the issue of the contract, which producer Alec Tackabury releases her from without issue, the other immediate question is who will take her place, her understudy, Sybil Meriden, assuming the role in the short term. But as time goes on, the longer term question is what having a family is going to do for their professional partnership, and not just for the run of the current show. A difference of opinion may not only threaten their professional lives, but their partnership in all aspects. If this issue does cause them to split in their marriage, others may be waiting conveniently in the wings to help them pick up the pieces.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: dancer, wife, producer, understudy, nanny, showgirl, lighthearted ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A musical advertised as the first 100% natural color, all-singing production. The plot concerns a wide-eyed former hatcheck girl who takes the place of a rebellious star.
Plot Keywords: star, ingénue, comedian, actor, producer, understudy, charming ...
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