User reviews

I cannot believe how mean-spirited so many of the comments are on this delightful piece of froth. It is a Rom-Com, a fun way for a war-weary people to loosen up and forget about their troubles. Betty Hutton does yell. And how. Her sense of rhythm, quick gestures and dance moves are extremely well-honed, and she nails these songs with a precision and joie-de-vivre that is a lesson to anyone in show business. The story is implausible. Good! That's what makes it so fun and such good escapist value. Look at Rom-Coms today and they're not that much more plausible... The set design is fabulous, the gowns are gorgeous, the girls vivacious, and the band excellent. The songs aren't amongst the forty best tunes of the century, but they're memorable enough that I'm humming one of them right now. Can't say fairer than that.

Betty Hutton works overtime at being indefatigable playing a hat-check girl/band singer who saves a bum's life, not knowing he's really a multimillionaire; he becomes her secret benefactor, much to the dismay of her jealous orchestra-leader boyfriend. Overwritten comedy from B.G. DeSylva and John McGowan is mercilessly talky and comically complicated, with bosses, lovers, husbands and wives all trying to fool one another into happiness. Hutton is remarkable, however; she's terribly aware of the camera and keeps playing to the collective funny bone, yet she radiates chummy charm and her musical numbers are memorably spirited. The excellent supporting cast includes Barry Fitzgerald, Robert Benchley, Don DeFore, and the wisecracking Iris Adrian, a stitch as Hutton's gal-pal. **1/2 from ****

After the days of Prohibition where Sherman Billingsley made his money, he founded The Stork Club which was in New York what the Cocoanut Grove was in Los Angeles, where the elite meet to eat as Duffy's Tavern used to advertise. It was only natural that sooner or later one of the studios would make a film centered on the famous night spot and Paramount was the one that finally did it.

The nightclub serves as a backdrop for the story of one of the hatcheck girls in this case Betty Hutton. When she sees Barry Fitzgerald falling in a lake and starting to drown, Betty remembers her Girl Scout training and jumps in and saves him. Barry doesn't tell her, but he's a multimillionaire who then becomes her secret benefactor, much like Magwitch was to Pip in Great Expectations. Of course it all turns out a lot happier in the end for this cast.

Barry's presence leads returning serviceman boyfriend Don DeFore to suspect the worst that Betty's found herself a rich sugar daddy. It doesn't sit too well with Mrs. Fitzgerald played by Mary Young.

Fitzgerald was in the publicity gathered by his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Going My Way. For the next few years Barry received more screen time and in this case, co-star billing with Betty Hutton.

As for Betty she and the cast get songs from a variety of sources. The best known number is the famous Hoagy Carmichael-Paul Francis Webster song, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief which Hutton sings with her usual gusto. Betty's fine, but the really primo version of this song was done by it's composer who was a pretty fair entertainer as well.

Owner Sherman Billingsley was played by actor/radio announcer Bill Goodwin. In real life Billingsley was hardly as genial a person as Goodwin plays him.

Still the film is a must for Betty Hutton fans and for those who want to celebrate the past era of gaudy, yet tasteful nightspots.

This is a solid vehicle for Betty Hutton that gives her plenty of opportunities to use her singing ability as well as her upbeat, energetic acting style. It's far from flawless, but it gets a big boost from Barry Fitzgerald, and the sharp contrast between the two stars and their characters also lends some substance to the enjoyable but rather fluffy plot.

Hutton and Fitzgerald are certainly an intriguing pairing, with seemingly nothing in common. The story setup has Fitzgerald as a cranky, friendless millionaire whom Hutton's character rescues from drowning. The millionaire's determination to help the good-hearted hat check girl gets tangled up with her own misunderstandings and difficulties, creating an implausible but entertaining story. The setting in the popular Stork Club provides a suitable backdrop to the plot.

Hutton just has to be natural in the role, and she fits into the part well. Fitzgerald played this kind of role as well as any other character actor, past or present, and his style usually makes even the blandest lines of dialogue worth listening to. The cast also includes Robert Benchley, who adds his dry humor in the role of the millionaire's lawyer. Benchley is always amusing, and he gets some fine moments even though he is not on-screen all that often. The stolid Don Defore is well cast as Hutton's earnest but unimaginative boyfriend, and he serves as a good straight man for the others.

This probably would have been improved with a tighter script and a crisper pace. Its deliberately improbable story is fun to watch, but it's the kind of story that works best when the dialogue and action both move along briskly. With some of the slow stretches removed or shortened, this might be quite a good movie. But even as it stands, it's enjoyable enough as very light entertainment.

About 20 years after first watching this on a VHS tape, I rewatched The Stork Club just now on YouTube. In this one, Betty Hutton saves Barry Fitzgerald from drowning. She thinks he's poor but he's actually rich and decides to give her an account initially without her knowledge. This eventually creates complications, most of which are pretty funny...except when her former soldier/current bandleader boyfriend Don Defore confronts her about them. The dialogue between him and Betty are deadly most of the time. Her with Fitzgerald, however, are often highlights. Ms. Hutton is much more subdued this time-compared to many of her other films I've seen-even during her performance of "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree"-at least after Barry initially criticizes her jive version-to good effect. There's much more to the plot but I'll now say I highly recommend The Stork Club if you're a die-hard Betty Hutton fan like I am!

So, this beautiful blonde saves a rich old man from drowning, see? But she doesn't realize he's rich, see? And she tries to get him a job at the Stork Club, where she works, see? And he decides to secretly make her rich for being so nice to him, see?

A totally predictable feel-good movie, worth watching if you like Betty Hutton and WWII vintage studio potboilers with fun stories and a couple of good musical numbers.

Why is this a movie for dieters? Because it is so lightweight! Try to control your hysterical laughter at my most amusing joke. But seriously, folks, I wanna tellya .....

For those movie viewers who like to think about what they're watching while they're watching it, this movie is not for you. For those movie viewers who want to simply forget about what ails the world and who have no better way to pass about 1¾ hours, this movie is for you. Oh! To halfway enjoy this movie, it also helps if you like old movies, now-dead movie stars and mostly forgettable music which has long since been forgotten.

The main beneficiary of this movie was none other than Sherman Billingsley. He was the owner and proprietor of New York City's famous Stork Club. Not only did he get to have a movie named for his popular nightclub, but he's also a main character in the movie. Talk about your free publicity! Unfortunately for Shermie, he did not get to play himself in the movie. That task fell to Bill Goodwin, George and Gracie's renowned radio announcer. But the real stars of this piece of fluff are the effervescent Betty Hutton and the movies' favorite persnickety Irishman, Barry Fitzgerald. The plot revolves around romantic mixups involving Betty, Barry and Bill -- the three B's? -- as well as Don DeFore and the inimitable humorist, Robert Benchley. It's the type of contrived plot that tests the credulity of even the most tolerant viewer, so you can imagine how the intolerant are likely to react.

For me, the movie's most disappointing aspect was its music. And that's the main reason I had opted to watch it! This movie employed some of the top songwriters of the 1940s (as well as of other decades) -- Hoagy Carmichael, Paul Francis Webster, Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans -- the best and most famous of the group employed. The movie was even co-written and co-produced by Buddy DeSylva, a pretty fair country songwriter in his own right from the 1920s and 1930s. Out of that entire group, the best and only worthwhile song they were able to come up with was Hoagy and Paul Francis' "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief." Although this song helped put Betty on the map and was quite popular in its day, when one thinks back to the memorable songs of that era, "D, L, I C" is not one that will pop readily into anyone's mind. And it stands out head and shoulders above all other songs in this movie!

One person who lost out by this movie's musical dearth was Andy Russell. Andy was one of the better crooners of the 1940s and, in my book, much underrated. He made his musical debut in this movie and that great roster of songwriters gave him NOTHING worthwhile to sing. It was the musical equivalent of, let's say, Lawrence Olivier making his movie debut with all of his dialogue being written by ..... ME!!!

So, any of you folks needing to shed a few pounds, you can't do better than to start with "The Stork Club." It's lightweight, low-calorie and, in 1¾ hours, will take two inches off that ole tum-tum. Guaranteed! If not, your money cheerfully refunded ..... in full!

Unfortunately,the story about the people who worked at the Stork Club could have made the premise much more believable if the could have been included in the story. Cugat is there but Walter Winchell and possible cameos by regular movie stars could have perked some interest.The adamant Fred Armour at the velvet rope,admitting only those who passed Billingsleys' OK and Jack Spooner,a hilarious bartender who had a quip for every famous face that he saw. My observations are first hand because I was employed from October 1942 to January 1943 when I left to go into service. Sometimes the most obvious stories seem to escape movie makers in quest of their buck.

The first forty minutes of the movie is delightful with Barry Fitzgerald playing a millionaire in disguise who turns hatcheck girl Betty Hutton's life upside down. The last ten minutes are also fine with a cute and satisfying ending. Its the forty-five minutes in-between that gets bogged down. The biggest problem is the subplot with Don Defore. Defore plays an ex-marine returned from the war and the leader of an orchestra looking for a job. He is passionless and dull in both roles. He rejects long time girl friend Judy (Hutton) because he finds her in a wealthy apartment wearing rich clothes and assumes (incorrectly) that she got the goodies by whoring around. This might have made him noble in 1945, but now he seems like a "holier than thou" male chauvinist. One feels like telling the distraught Judy that she was lucky to get rid of the creep. Unfortunately, she has to feel guilty for having had good fortune without the help of her "man". She spends the rest of the movie trying to win him back.

The other problem is that Betty sings just four musical numbers and only two ("Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" and "Square in a Social Circle") are in her inimitable jitterbug-swing style. These two numbers are the highlights in the film. Andy Russell, a rather lifeless Bing Crosby/Frank Sinatra type crooner is given three numbers, including a duet with Hutton, which just slows the film down.

In sum, the delightful performance of Barry Fitzgerald and the comical energy and singing talent of Betty Hutton start the movie in a glowing fashion and eventually get us over the finish line, but the middle part is dated and a bit wearisome.

I think the movie is worth seeing for two scenes - Hutton's dynamic delivery of "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" and her jarring scene where she welcomes her soldier boyfriend back from the war, saying "Move, Danny, Move, Do Something," I think at that moment she captured some of the extraordinary happiness that people felt about the war ending at that time.

Mistakenly thinking the old man is committing suicide, two-piece bathing-suited Betty Hutton (as Judy Peabody) jumps in and saves eccentrically wealthy Barry Fitzgerald (as Jerry "Pop" Bates) from drowning. He decides to reward Ms. Hutton, who is barely making ends meet as a hat-check girl at "The Stork Club" in New York City. Mr. Fitzgerald becomes Hutton's mysterious benefactor, giving her an all-expenses paid apartment and a luxurious line of credit.

Suddenly rich, Hutton decides to help poor Fitzgerald, unaware he is behind her wealth. Complicating matters, Hutton's boyfriend Don DeFore (as Danny Wilton) thinks she's become Fitzgerald's high-paid mistress.

This is light, sentimental comedy infused by the personalities of its stars. The film really jumps to life when Hutton sings "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" which entered the record charts just before the film's release, and stuck around through the spring of 1946, going to #1 for two weeks. The song, which features a great Hutton vocal and infectious chorus, was her biggest chart hit, beating down competing versions from Les Brown and Hoagy Carmichael (who wrote the music).

***** The Stork Club (12/19/45) Hal Walker ~ Betty Hutton, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, Robert Benchley

Betty Hutton dances and sings. The big band is wonderful. Barry Fitzgerald is saved and makes Betty happy then sad when boyfriend doesn't get it. The Stork Club is fun and worth seeing the singing, dancing and 1940's hair and dress styles. Hall Walker directs and always delivers.

Betty Hutton really puts her heart and soul into this film. Although she may come across as bonkers in a lot of her films, she is definitely a talented actress with a lot of energy and spirit. Here she takes pity on an old man by trying to get him a job. This is an endearing quality, and makes you connect with her character from the early stages. Eventually, she realises that this man is carrying a torch for a woman who left him. Although you may not necessarily connect with the man, you connect with the writing that has drawn the character. In other words, it is a good script which is sensitively played by Hutton. You see her eyes in conversation with her boyfriend whilst she is singing, and you can't help feeling for her on her journey through this film. Definitely one of her better performances with a good script to take you through the film.

"The Stork Club" is an old film that has somehow fallen into the public domain. Because of this, you can find it at the biggest repository for such films, archive.org. I wouldn't rush to do this, as the film is far from perfect, but it is enjoyable and fun.

When the film begins, Jerry Bates (Barry Fitzgerald) falls into the water and nearly drowns. However, a quick-thinking Judy (Betty Hutton) jumps in and saves his life. She assumes he was trying to kill himself and she doesn't realize that it was an accident and this man in shabby clothes is in fact mega-rich. Bates decides to reward her for her kindness and has his lawyer set her up with a fancy apartment and big expense account...with the stipulation that she never know her benefactor. However, when her boyfriend (Don DeFore) returns from his stint overseas, he assumes that his girlfriend MUST be up to some hanky-panky....and that is why she is living the high life. So it's up to Bates and Judy to somehow work all this out...as well as work out Bates' own relationship problems.

The film is enjoyable fluff. The film has two flaws, however. First, there are about one or two songs too many (especially the second one which Hutton practically screams) and the whole mess very easily could have been worked out and explained. In fact, the lawyer (Robert Benchly) even says "It's all very simple..."...too simple. But somehow they made it all needlessly complicated to pad out the story. Still, Hutton and Fitzgerald are very likable...hence my score of 6.

SO-so boring film with premise for fun comedy but lazily and boorishly done. I didn't really like any of the leads and Defore who plays the romantic interest is an oak tree. Lazy Betty Hutton vehicle that made a lot of money. Wonder why?

This trifle stars Betty Hutton as a hat check girl who saves the life of a millionaire who decides to reward her anonymously with everything she's ever wanted. Sounds like a good deal to me, but of course everything winds up a mess.

The main thing this movie has going for it is Barry Fitgerald, who is quite funny as the cantankerous millionaire, and Betty Hutton, whose brash energy and comical singing are always appealing. There's also a solid performance by the guy who plays the manager of the Stork Club. Unfortunately Betty only sings a few songs, of varying quality, and the story is piffle. Still, it's fun if you turn off your brain.

If you love the era and its music this is a must see. A must is read the story of Betty Hutton as it will cause tears. A talented woman who was discarded like old shoes.

The Stork Club movie is probably best enjoyed by those in their late 30s and upwards. The movies in the 40s generally provide adequate entertainment for either a matinée or an evening showing. This movie is no exception. The stars in this movie seamlessly perform their parts well. The plot is not that great. The movie drags a little in the middle, but many movies do. Betty Hutton is always entertaining. There is some musical scores and singing in the movie which leads to additional enjoyment. The plot like many 40s movies is highly predictable. Yet Barry Fitzgerald is very entertaining as well. The Stork Club provides a non-memorable, yet entertaining way to pass time. Not quite a "Busy" movie. You can enjoy the movie with a bowl of popcorn and some friends. Enjoy.

Anything she does I love. Can't get enough of her!!

Gentle, pleasant comedy of the war era with one of my favorite old-time actors (Betty Hutton) singing one of my favorite old-time songs ("Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief"). Large cast of the minor stars of the time.

"The Stork Club" is one very funny movie. The plot is ideal for much hilarious goings on. And the cast are just right for a cleverly written screenplay. I can't imagine anyone other than Barry Fitgerald in the role of Jerry "J. B." Bates, for the humor the character generates. After Betty Hutton's Judy Peabody saves him from drowning in the ocean, J. B. wants to do something to reward her and help her in life. She thought he was a poor man and wanted to help him get a job. He tells his attorney, Tom Curtis, played by Robert Benchley, that he wants to remain anonymous. Curtis is to offer her gifts, and J. B. doesn't think she'll want much.

So, when Judy accepts the lavish hotel suite and expensive charge accounts, and even buys a mink coat for her friend, Gwen, the penny-pinching millionaire Bates grimaces. But there's a lot of fun and much more to this story, as Judy tries to figure out who her mysterious benefactor is - who doesn't want any favors from her in return. And, when Judy's boyfriend gets home from the war, more complications and troubles add to the comedy.

The film is also a musical with Hutton singing a couple of songs. But this is mostly a very funny and entertaining comedy romance. Here are some favorite lines from the film.

MacFiske, J. B.'s butler, "I'm sure Mrs. Bates would be inconsolable, sir." J. B., "Naw, she wouldn't shed a tear. Well, maybe one or two just to be polite."

MacFiske, "I'm certain Mrs. Bates loved you very much and always will, sir." J. B., "Then why did she up and leave me?" MacFiske, "You told her to." J. B., "That's no excuse."

Tom Curtis, toasting for J. B., "To Judy, who works at the Stork Club, and whose wants are small - I wonder."

Judy Peabody, "What happened?" J. B. Bates, "Me wife left me six months ago." Judy, "Why?" J. B., "I'll tell it. There was a slight complication - another man, Clarence Bascom." Judy, "Was Bascom any younger than you?" J. B., "No, sixty-five." Judy, "Oh, he had money?" J. B., "Not as much as I." Gwen, "She left you for another bum? I don't get it."

Gwen, "I think the whole thing must've been your fault." J. B., "Why does everyone side with Edith, I..." Judy, "Now, now, Pop. Till you get yourself straightened out, you better stay here with me."

J. B., "How dare you say you didn't know me!" Tom Curtis, "Well, you told me not to let her know who you are." J. B., "Never mind what I tell you to do, you do what I tell you." Tom, "Ha, ha. I'll try to remember that."

Judy, "Why do girls always have to go for dumb guys?" Gwen, "Maybe because it makes us look smart."

Judy, "We can't go on like this, Mr. Billingsley." Sherman Billingsley, "Like what?" Judy, "I'm in love with Danny." Billingsley, "Well, that's all right with me." Judy, "Well, it's not with him." Billingsley, "You're all mixed up." Judy, "I know I am, and I don't wanna be. He's as jealous as..." Billingsley, "Jealous?" Judy, "Well, certainly. Who wouldn't be after all the things you've given me?" Billingsley, "I've given you?" Judy, "Oh, Sherman, don't be so anonymous." Billingsley, "Hey, listen, I'm a married man." Judy, "That's why you oughta be ashamed of yourself."

Billingsley, "Oh, I've gotta get you straightened out. Now get this - I never gave you anything. Ever." Judy, "Huh?" Billingsley, "Why should I? What are you in my life"" Judy, "Well, I don't know, but somebody's behind this."

Billingsley, walking out of his office with an arm around Judy's shoulder, "We'll be very happy together." Danny, who's been waiting outside his office, "I understand, Mr. Billingsley." Billingsley, "No you don't, but you will. Come in. I wanna straighten you out too."

Danny Wilton, "Mr. Billingsley, what would you do if you were in my spot?" Billingsley, "I'd stop bothering me."

J. B., "Love should be tolerant till truth breaks through the clouds of doubt." Judy, "Gee, that's beautiful, Pop. Who said that?" J. B., "I did."

Mrs. Bates, "Well, Mr. Bates, explain yourself." J. B., "Now, Edith, are you gonna believe me or what you see?"

Mrs. Bates, "Who could believe you, you scoundrel, you philanderer, you viper, you snake in the grass?"

J. B., "The gods have done me in. They were layin' for me."