BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

ksf-2 In the very first scene, we see Margaret Dumont teaching a "movement" class. now.. anyone who has EVER seen a Marx Brothers film knows Dumont as the foil for the various Marx boys. I kept waiting for her to start joking around. Many big hollywood names in here -- Paulette Goddard, Lana Turner (at 17 !) , Henry Stephenson, Gale Sondergaard, Erik Rhodes. The usual antics of students learning their trade in school... in this case, drama. The girls play tricks on each other, but sometimes they backfire. SO many little subplots going on, and each of these great actors all seem to be the star in their own story. It really is an ensemble group, similar to an episode of Seinfeld. It's quite good, but I think they should have concentrated more on just one of the storylines. "Louise" (Luise Rainer) is acting, and over-acting all the way through; her character is always making up stories for appearance, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Some similarities to "Stage Door", with k. hepburn, but this one has far less tragedy... Directed by Robert Sinclair. This was one of the first films he did. Many years later, Sinclair would be murdered by a prowler on his own property. Hopefully they will show this one more frequently on Turner Classics; has some great names from early hollwood in here. It's pretty good!

kidboots Even though she had won a Best Actress Academy Award two years in a row (1936, 1937) by 1938 all Luise Rainer's kittenish mannerisms, which had been so enchanting at her career's beginning, were now seen as a bore. "Dramatic School" was designed primarily to showcase all Rainer's quirky qualities in a view to making her popular once more but she was past caring. Her marriage was in trouble and she left Hollywood soon after in an effort to patch things up. Like the later "These Glamour Girls", this movie was a classy MGM release which also promoted their up and coming talent - Paulette Goddard (soon to go to Paramount) co-starred and down among the supporting players were Lana Turner, Ann Rutherford and Virginia Grey.Louise Mauban (Rainer) is an intense, young would be actress at the prestigious National School of Dramatic Art - she seems to be the only dedicated student, as the other girls seem to think of the school as just a stepping stone to becoming a Ziegfeld or Earl Carroll showgirl. She works all night at a gas meter factory to pay her way and it is there she meets Andre (Alan Marshall) who is escorting dizzy society actress Gina Bertier (it was so nice to see the lovely Genevieve Tobin again) as she tries to find inspiration among the lowly factory workers. Back at school she has to contend with Madame Charlot (Gale Sondergaard), an embittered teacher who is especially vindictive towards the young and fresh student. Louise is a girl of mystery to the other students - where does she go at night and why is she so tired? When they won't believe the truth, she spins another of her famous dreams where she is caught up in a whirl of night clubs, luxury and penthouses with Andre at it's centre and of course word gets around that she is a wealthy girl.Nasty Nana (Goddard) wants to catch her out so she organises a birthday party inviting both her and Andre, hoping to embarrass them but it backfires when Andre plays along. Rainer, all dramatic intensity seems to be in a different movie than the other girls. Goddard, as her usual sophisticated, catty self is far more at home night clubbing, in fact her character's function seems to be arranging parties for the students to meet eligible men about town. Critics were impressed and she got the best reviews. Lana Turner was still a "cute kid" and was still very much in the background. It would have been a far more interesting movie if the film concentrated on the dynamics between Louise, Madame Charlot and a kindly teacher (Margaret Dumont - having a break from the Marx Brothers), who only appears at the start as a posture teacher but still tries to advise Madame on her haughty and overbearing manner but to no avail.

hrd1963-1 Strangely, it's set in France, yet features a bevy of American actresses playing girls with names like Nana, Yvonne and Simone. It's not as good as the similar Stage Door, which was released by RKO the year before, and the story takes a while to get going. Lovely, dark-eyed Luise Rainer stars as the young woman who aspires to be a great actress; Paulette Goddard is cast to type as a cynical, knowing classmate; Gale Sondergaard is the teacher who resents Rainer for her youth and talent; and Alan Marshall is the wealthy cad who misuses Rainer, thus allowing her to experience the suffering required for her to achieve great dramatic success. It's not a bit credible but, when all is said and done, it's fairly entertaining. With Lana Turner in an early role, Virginia Grey, Ann Rutherford and Margaret Dumont, Henry Stephenson, Genevieve Tobin, John Hubbard, Marie Blake, Erik Rhodes and moist-eyed Rand Brooks.

bkoganbing Dramatic School is a kind of French version of Morning Glory with Luise Rainer as a continental version of Katharine Hepburn's Eva Lovelace. Luise sacrifices all for a career, going to the prestigious Paris School of Drama and working the night shift at a factory to make ends meet. She doesn't want fellow students like Paulette Goddard, Lana Turner, Virginia Grey, and Ann Rutherford to know what she's doing so she makes up stories about a more interesting life Luise wishes she were leading.One day during class when a very strict acting coach Gale Sondergaard is giving a lesson she passes out and then tells the whopper of all time about going out with a well known man about Paris town in Alan Marshal. That sets off a nice chain of events that culminates in an ending typical of all backstage stories, I need not spell it out for you.This was the last film Luise Rainer did under her MGM contract, it was dissolved by mutual consent between Luise and Louis B. Mayer. What Luise wanted and might have gotten at another studio were roles that were more challenging for her talent. She wanted what Greta Garbo had over at MGM and for Mayer there was only room for one Garbo on the lot. If Irving Thalberg had lived things might have been different, but who can say. In any event she and the rest of the cast acquit themselves admirably.If anyone stands out though, for me it's Gale Sondergaard. She has a great part as a great actress who also teaches and is jealous of all the young ones coming through the school, especially Rainer. The acting profession is especially unkind to older women and Sondergaard channels a lot of resentment into her part.Dramatic School was not a bad film for Luise to leave MGM on. It's not Camille or Ninotchka, but L.B. Mayer made it clear only one actress gets those parts on his lot.