Behind Office Doors

Last updated

Behind Office Doors
BehindOfficeDoorsFilmPoster.jpg
Theatrical Poster
Directed by Melville W. Brown [1]
Written by Carey Wilson (screenplay)
J. Walter Ruben (adaptation and dialogue) [2]
Based onPrivate Secretary
1929 novel
by Alan Schultz [2]
Produced by William LeBaron [3]
Henry Hobart (associate) [3]
Starring Mary Astor
Robert Ames
Ricardo Cortez
Cinematography J. Roy Hunt
Edited by Archie Marshek
Rose Loewinger [2]
Music by Max Steiner
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • July 5, 1931 (1931-07-05)(US) [2]
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Behind Office Doors

Behind Office Doors is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film directed by Melville W. Brown, from a screenplay by Carey Wilson and J. Walter Ruben, based on Alan Schultz's 1929 novel, Private Secretary. It starred Mary Astor, Robert Ames and Ricardo Cortez, and revolved around the premise of "the woman behind the man". While not well received by critics, it did well at the box office.

Contents

Plot

Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez Mary Astor-Ricardo Cortez in Behind Office Doors.jpg
Mary Astor and Ricardo Cortez

Mary Linden (Mary Astor) is a receptionist at a paper milling company, who is secretly in love with one of the salesmen, James Duneen (Robert Ames). Her extensive knowledge of the paper industry, the mill and its clients allows her to have input in company operations far outweighing her job title. As the president of the company, Ritter (Charles Sellon), approaches retirement, Mary uses her skill in company politics to enable James to make some important sales coups, after which she begins a fifth-column attempt to get him named as the next president. James, for his part, is grateful to her for her help, but is completely oblivious to her romantic interest in him, preferring more the party girl type.

When Ritter does retire, James wins the position, and Mary is promoted to be his personal secretary. Still unaware of her feelings, he hires his latest party girl, Daisy (Edna Murphy), to work in the office, and report to Mary. Mary is upset by this turn of events, but remains faithful to James, assisting him with running the company. In fact, it is her knowledge and acumen which makes the company successful. Mary even spurns the advances of several men, including the wealthy Ronnie Wales (Ricardo Cortez), who, although married, is estranged from his wife and wishes to pursue an affair with Mary.

However, when James becomes engaged to the daughter of a wealthy banker, Ellen May Robinson (Catherine Dale Owen), that is the straw which breaks Mary's resolve. She resigns from the company, and eventually agrees to go away with Ronnie for an assignation in Atlantic City. The paper mill suffers terribly from a lack of good management, since most of James' success was due to Mary's guidance. James tracks her down before she can give in to the advances of Ronnie, and begs Mary to return. She is reluctant, until she discovers that James has broken off his engagement with Ellen, and upon her return to the company she is not only met with a job offer, but also a marriage proposal from him.

Cast

(Cast list as per AFI database) [2]

Soundtrack

Reception

While the public seemed to like the film, [4] critics like Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times were less kind, stating that the film "is a witless and interminably dull exhibition on which three capable players, Mary Astor, Robert Ames and Ricardo Cortez, have been sacrifi[c]ed to very little purpose. [5]

Notes

In 1959, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication. [6]

The working title for this film was the title of the novel on which it was based, Private Secretary. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Maltese Falcon</i> (novel) 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 detective novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine Black Mask beginning with the September 1929 issue. The story is told entirely in external third-person narrative; there is no description whatsoever of any character's thoughts or feelings, only what they say and do, and how they look. The novel has been adapted several times for the cinema.

<i>Thirteen Women</i> 1932 film

Thirteen Women is a 1932 American pre-Code psychological thriller film, produced by David O. Selznick and directed by George Archainbaud. It stars Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne and Ricardo Cortez. The film is based on the 1930 bestselling novel of the same name by Tiffany Thayer and was adapted for the screen by Bartlett Cormack and Samuel Ornitz.

<i>The Mating Season</i> (film) 1951 film by Mitchell Leisen

The Mating Season is a 1951 American comedy-drama romance film directed by Mitchell Leisen, and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Charles Brackett, Richard Breen, and Walter Reisch, based on the play Maggie by Caesar Dunn. The ensemble cast stars Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, and Thelma Ritter.

<i>Clear and Present Danger</i> (film) 1994 American film

Clear and Present Danger is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's 1989 novel of the same name. It is a sequel to The Hunt for Red October (1990) and Patriot Games (1992) and part of a series of films featuring Clancy's character Jack Ryan. It is the last film version of Clancy's novels to feature Harrison Ford as Ryan and James Earl Jones as Vice Admiral James Greer, as well as the final installment directed by Noyce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricardo Cortez</span> American actor (1900–1977)

Ricardo Cortez was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.

<i>The Maltese Falcon</i> (1931 film) 1931 American crime film

The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film based on the 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as femme fatale Ruth Wonderly. The supporting cast features Dudley Digges, Thelma Todd, Walter Long, Una Merkel, and Dwight Frye. Maude Fulton and Brown Holmes wrote the screenplay; one contemporaneous report said that Lucien Hubbard was assisting them.

<i>Bad Company</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Bad Company is a 1931 American pre-Code gangster film directed and co-written by Tay Garnett with Tom Buckingham based on Jack Lait's 1930 novel Put on the Spot. It stars Helen Twelvetrees and Ricardo Cortez. Told from the view of a woman, the working titles of this film were The Gangster's Wife and The Mad Marriage. Unlike many static early sound films, Garnett includes several scenes using a moving camera climaxing in a gigantic assault on an office building with both sides using heavy machine guns.

<i>Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story</i> 1987 film by Charles Jarrott

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story is a 1987 television biographical drama starring Farrah Fawcett. The film chronicles the life of Barbara Hutton, a wealthy but troubled American socialite. Released as both a television film and a miniseries, the film won a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Fawcett earned her fifth Golden Globe Award nomination, for Best Actress in a Miniseries of Television Film. Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story was based on C. David Heymann's Poor Little Rich Girl: The Life and Legend of Barbara Hutton.

<i>The Case of the Howling Dog</i> 1934 film by Alan Crosland

The Case of the Howling Dog is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Alan Crosland, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Erle Stanley Gardner. It is first in a series of six Perry Mason films Warner Bros. made between the years 1934 and 1937.

<i>Midnight Mary</i> 1933 film by William A. Wellman

Midnight Mary is a 1933 American pre-Code crime drama film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, and Franchot Tone.

<i>Through the Back Door</i> 1921 film

Through the Back Door is a 1921 American silent comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford, and starring Mary Pickford.

<i>Hollywood</i> (1923 film) 1923 film by James Cruze

Hollywood is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is a lengthier feature follow-up to Paramount's own short film exposé of itself, A Trip to Paramountown from 1922.

<i>The Man with Two Faces</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Archie Mayo

The Man with Two Faces is an American drama film directed by Archie Mayo, and starring Edward G. Robinson and Mary Astor. The supporting cast features Ricardo Cortez, Louis Calhern, Mae Clarke, and David Landau. The story was adapted by Tom Reed and Niven Busch from the play The Dark Tower by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott.

<i>Men of Chance</i> 1931 film

Men of Chance is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Archainbaud, starring Ricardo Cortez, Mary Astor, and John Halliday.

<i>Transgression</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Transgression is a 1931 pre-Code American drama film directed by Herbert Brenon, using a screenplay written by Elizabeth Meehan, adapted from Kate Jordan's 1921 novel, The Next Corner. The film stars Kay Francis, Paul Cavanagh, and Ricardo Cortez, and deals with the romantic entanglements of a wealthy English businessman, his wife and a Spanish nobleman.

<i>Smart Woman</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Smart Woman is a 1931 pre-Code comedy-romance and drama film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Mary Astor, Robert Ames, and John Halliday.

<i>White Shoulders</i> 1931 film

White Shoulders is a lost 1931 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Mary Astor and Jack Holt, with major supporting roles by Ricardo Cortez and Sidney Toler. The film was produced and distributed by RKO Pictures. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and J. Walter Ruben was adapted from Rex Beach's short story, The Recoil.

<i>Illicit</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Illicit is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, and Natalie Moorhead. Based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin, the film is about a young couple living together out of wedlock because the woman does not believe in marriage. When they finally get married, both become unfaithful to each other. Illicit was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>Laugh and Get Rich</i> 1931 film directed by Gregory La Cava

Laugh and Get Rich is a 1931 pre-Code American comedy film, directed by Gregory La Cava, from a screenplay he also wrote with contributions from Douglas MacLean, who also was the associate producer, and Ralph Spence. The film stars Dorothy Lee, Edna May Oliver, Hugh Herbert, and Russell Gleason, and revolves around the antics in a boarding house in the early 1930s, run by Oliver, and the complications caused by her husband.

<i>City Girl</i> (1938 film) 1938 film by Alfred L. Werker

City Girl is a 1938 American crime film directed by Alfred L. Werker and written by Lester Ziffren, Frances Hyland and Robin Harris. The film stars Ricardo Cortez, Phyllis Brooks, Robert Wilcox, Douglas Fowley, Chick Chandler and Esther Muir. The film was released on January 7, 1938, by 20th Century Fox.

References

  1. ↑ "Behind Office Doors, Credits". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Behind Office Doors: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Behind Office Doors: Technical Details". theiapolis.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 34. ISBN   0-517-546566.
  5. ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (March 21, 1931). "Behind Office Doors: A Noble Stenographer". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ Pierce, David (June 2007). "Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain". Film History: An International Journal. 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN   0892-2160. JSTOR   25165419. OCLC   15122313. S2CID   191633078. See Note #60, pg. 143.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.