Ladies of Leisure Overview:

Ladies of Leisure (1930) was a Drama - Romance Film directed by Frank Capra and produced by Frank Capra and Harry Cohn.

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Barbara Stanwyck is one of the “Ladies of Leisure”

By Stephen Reginald on Jun 26, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

Barbara Stanwyck is one of the “Ladies of Leisure” Ladies of Leisure (1930) is a American pre-Code drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ralph Graves. Other members of the cast include Lowell Sherman and Marie Prevost. Jerry Strong (Graves) the heir t... Read full article


LADIES OF LEISURE ( 1930 )

By Crystal Kalyana on Sep 22, 2015 From In The Good Old Days Of Classic Hollywood

There was nothing ordinary about the famous partnership of Frank Capra and Barbara Stanwyck. He was one of the worlds most influential directors. She was Hollywood’s greatest asset, and together they produced five notable films that have now been stapled as cinematic masterpieces. The teaming... Read full article


"Ladies of Leisure," or Easel to Love

By David on Jan 9, 2013 From The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Barbara Stanwyck enters the 1930 film "Ladies of Leisure" -- and film history -- in a rowboat. The oars squeak. Her face is marked by mascara-streaked tears and she's clutching a broken dress strap. She's Kay, a party girl who just left a wild one on a yacht. On shore is Ralph Graves as Jerry, who'... Read full article


"Ladies of Leisure," or Easel to Love

By David on Jan 9, 2013 From The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Barbara Stanwyck enters the 1930 film "Ladies of Leisure" -- and film history -- in a rowboat. The oars squeak. Her face is marked by mascara-streaked tears and she's clutching a broken dress strap. She's Kay, a party girl who just left a wild one on a yacht. On shore is Ralph Graves as Jerry, who'... Read full article


Ladies of Leisure (1930)

By Lindsey on Nov 21, 2012 From The Motion Pictures

A note from Lindsey: This film was viewed as a part of TMP’s Barbara Stanwyck Filmography Project. It was also viewed in celebration of the fact that I finally have TCM’s Frank Capra: The Early Collection DVD set in my possession. Woohoo! Artist Jerry Strong made the mistake of letting h... Read full article


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Quotes from

Kay Arnold: When a dress costs over a hundred bucks, it's a frock!


Kay Arnold: I feel like getting into trouble!


Kay Arnold: Hey, what kind of a sap is that guy?
Dot Lamar: He's one of those fellas that even his best friends don't tell him.


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Facts about

Several sources list Graves' character name incorrectly as "Jerry Strange". (Perhaps his name was spelled thus in the silent version?) But in the soundtrack of the talkie version, spoken dialog clearly identifies his surname as "Strong", including the crucial phone call (trying to save the heroine's life), in which he says, "I'm Jerry Strong."
According to Frank Capra's autobiographical book, he dismissed using Barbara Stanwyck when their interview went badly. Frank Fay, Stanwyck's husband at the time, called Capra up, furious over Stanwyck's having come home from the interview, crying. Capra blamed Stanwyck, saying she acted like she didn't even want the part. Fay responded, "Frank, she's young, and shy, and she's been kicked around out here. Let me show you a test she made at Warner's." (The test was for "The Noose," a Broadway play Stanwyck starred in and also a film made without Stanwyck in 1928 by John Francis Dillon for First National.) Capra was so impressed that he left the screening immediately to get Harry Cohn, who ran Columbia, to sign up Stanwyck as quickly as possible.
The play "Ladies of the Evening" by Milton Herbert Gropper opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York on 23 December 1924 and closed in May 1925 after 159 performances. The opening night cast included Beth Merrill as "Kay," and James Kirkwood as "Jerry Strong." The play was produced by David Belasco
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