The Stork Club
The Stork Club
| 28 December 1945 (USA)
The Stork Club Trailers

Director Hal Walker's 1945 musical comedy stars Betty Hutton as a hat-check girl at New York City's famous nightclub. The cast also includes Barry Fitzgerald, Don Defore, Andy Russell, Iria Adrian and Robert Benchley.

Reviews
CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Jay Raskin 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.
moonspinner55 Betty Hutton works overtime at being indefatigable playing a hat-check girl/band singer who saves a bum's life, not knowing he's 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 ****
fmgrant 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.
Norm-30 This film is considered a "classic" -- why, I dunno. The film is overly long, and moves at a snail's pace. The scene where Hutton sings in the Penthouse is GODAWFUL! They could've done a LOT more with the basic premise of this film.......but didn't. Or, they should've shortened it by about 20 mins. or so. The only redeeming feature in this film is the millionaire (I forget his name), and even HE is wasted!