Dramatic School
- IMDb link: 0030079
- IMDb rating: 6.2 (524 votes)
- Genres: Drama, Romance
- Director: Robert B. Sinclair
- Cast: Lana Turner, Paulette Goddard, Luise Rainer, Alan Marshal and others
- Release date: 9 Dec 1938
- Release year: 1938
- Runtime: 80 minutes
- Country: United States
- Keywords: aspiring actor, aspiring actress, expensive bracelet, private party, female factory worker, fantasy life, jealous woman, man woman romance, title co written by female, mean girls
Plot:
Among the students at L'Ecole Nationale des Arts Dramatiques (The National School of Dramatic Arts) in Paris, Fleury has gotten a job in the chorus of a musical revue starring Gina Bertier, who handpicked him from among the chorus to have a prominent featured moment as "her kiss" at the end of a number. The revue is being financed by Andre, the wealthy Marquis D'Abbencourt who happens to be dating Gina. Fleury is casually dating a classmate, Nana, who can't admit that she is jealous of Gina in truly being in love with Fleury. Nana, in turn, will accept other options in her life to save face. Meanwhile, Louise is largely regarded as the most talented actor among the student body, but her standoffish behavior doesn't sit well with many of her classmates, including Nana. Also not in Louise's camp is Therese Charlot, one of the school's professors and a renowned actress in her own right, who is threatened by true young talent in not accepting being too old to play the lead ingenue roles. What none of them know is that Louise's behavior is because she comes from a poor background, and works the graveyard shift on an assembly line at a gas meter factory to be able to pay tuition. Being pushed into a corner by her classmates about her life away from school, Louise, rather than tell the truth, tells more than a little white lie about a fleeting and chance encounter with Gina, and more specifically the Marquis, who she implies is more than a friend. Thus sets into motion a series of events which will shift the dynamics between all the players and make Louise reevaluate her goal of being the greatest actress especially of the classics.