Movies from the Heart—Morning Glory

Oftentimes movies are plot driven—but this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a love story. Or, in some cases, the plot is all about the love story.

In the case of Morning Glory [1933] by Howard J. Green based on the play by Zoe Akins, the actual plot is all about a young actress, Eva Lovelace, coming to New York to break into the theatre. But it’s the relationships she forms along the journey that give us insight into her, her personality, her dreams, her insecurities, and all of that drives the story.

Take a look at few scenes from the beginning of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYOGfNdwuC0

These scenes set up Eva’s quest, show us the kind of world she’s up against in the NY theatre, and also let us meet the three men who will become important in her life—the teacher, the producer and the playwright.

Any time you can so judiciously show the main character’s quest AND let us meet the main characters who will become part of her realizing her quest, you’ve done well at setting up your story. But it’s not always easy. Imagine how different this film would have been if it began with Eva meeting the teacher in the waiting room. And on a future day she comes back and meets the producer. And on yet another day she meets the playwright. That would be way too slow-moving for words!

Your job as a writer is to come up with a way for as many of the major players to be introduced as soon as possible in the film. It’s always interesting to see the varied ways screenplays accomplish that.

The title of the film refers to the flower—a morning glory—that has a short life. There’s even a scene with Eva and her dresser when Eva’s getting ready to go on stage and the writer of the play declares his love for her. The dresser is called a “morning glory” because she was once an actress but her career didn’t last. She tells Eva to remember how important love is because when she was young and on the stage, there was a point where she had to choose between the stage and love, and she chose the stage—a decision she has lived to regret. And she warns Eva that love is really what’s important.

This idea that a woman has to choose is so typical of the time this film was made in—90 years ago, when OF COURSE a woman should choose love! Women are still making choices like that today, of course, and I have to wonder how the plot of this film might change if we were making it today.

In fact, why not try that. Why not sit down and map out how you’d tell this story for today’s audience? What would you change? What would you keep the same? How would you flesh out the story?

Happy writing! Next week we’ll look at another setting for a romantic film in Little Women.

Copyright © Diane Lake

01Oct23

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com