Still image from the 1937 film A Damsel in Distress.

A Damsel in Distress

Directed by George Stevens

An American dancer on vacation in England falls for a sheltered noblewoman.

1937 1h 38m Musical TV-G

Expires: Invalid date


CAST
see full cast & crew at TCMDb: view

0

George Stevens, Director
184419|59479
George Stevens
Director

1

Fred Astaire, Jerry [Halliday]
6516|54767
Fred Astaire
Jerry [Halliday]

2

George Burns, George
25601|58325
George Burns
George

3

Gracie Allen, Gracie
2451|63199
Gracie Allen
Gracie

4

Joan Fontaine, Lady Alyce [Marshmorton]
63647|83603
Joan Fontaine
Lady Alyce [Marshmort..

5

Reginald Gardiner, Keggs
68491|128640
Reginald Gardiner
Keggs

FULL SYNOPSIS

The romantic life of Lady Alyce Marshmorton is the subject of much gossip and wagers among the servants of Totleigh Castle, the Marshmorton estate. To win a marriage "pool" that has been instigated by head domestic Beggs, Albert, a young servant of the estate, forges a love letter from Alyce to American musical comedy star Jerry Halliday, whom she had met briefly in a London taxicab. Jerry, believing the letter's declarations of love, leaves London with his publicist, George, and dim-witted stenographer, Gracie, to join Alyce at Totleigh Castle. However, Alyce, who actually loves an American skier and consequently is being guarded closely by her disapproving, stuffy aunt, Lady Caroline, is confused by Jerry's arrival and sudden devotion to her romantic "cause." Aided by Alyce's equally confused but kindhearted father, Lord John, Jerry woos Alyce at a carnival and unwittingly wins her heart away from his absentee rival. At this point, Beggs, who had put his money on Reggie, Lady Caroline's simple-minded stepson, senses defeat and forces Albert to exchange betting sheets with him. In retaliation for Beggs's subterfuge, Albert turns Alyce against Jerry by showing her a gossip column about Jerry's love life, which had been concocted by an overzealous George. Hurt by the column, Alyce informs Jerry at a Marshmorton ball that she no longer loves him. Once again, Lord John provides the young lovers with counsel and encouragement, and just as Reggie proposes to Gracie, Jerry finally convinces Alyce of his own sincere love and desire for marriage.


VIDEOS
see more videos at TCMDb: view
Stiff Upper Lip
Movie Clip
I Can't Be Bothered Now...
Movie Clip

ARTICLES
"I wasn't going to lose a chance to work with Fred Astaire. Look what it did for Ginger Rogers." - George Burns After seven musicals in three and a half years, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers decided in 1937 to take a break. Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937), their previous collaborations, had taken slight dips at the box office, and Astaire, Rogers and RKO all agreed, amicably, that a temporary break might do some good. As Astaire later wrote, "The signs that the cycle was running out its course were beginning to show. I asked for, and all hands at the studio agreed to, a picture away from Ginger, to keep us from falling into a rut. Ginger was for it, too. We had not announced any permanent dissolution. In fact, we had our next [picture] all planned to follow this slight intermission." That was Carefree, to be shot in 1938. And so, on October 8, 1937, moviegoers could see Ginger Rogers in the actress-laden Stage Door, while a month later came Fred Astaire in A Damsel in Distress. Adapted from the novel by P.G. Wodehouse (who also served as one of the screenwriters), Damsel is the story of an American musical star (Astaire) who on a visit to England falls in love with Lady Alyce (Joan Fontaine). Alyce lives on a manor with her stuffy family and in fact is virtually trapped there until Astaire comes to the rescue. Unfortunately, Astaire could not rescue the movie. Damsel was his first box-office flop, a strange outcome considering the picture had ...

ARCHIVES
see more archives at TCMBDb: view
{"imgID": "0","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203456_1269x1590_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS long shot of Fred Astaire who plays Jerry Halliday with hat sitting on bench playing piano.","imgParticipants": "|FRED ASTAIRE|"},{"imgID": "1","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203459_1410x1136_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS medium shot of Joan Fontaine who plays Lady Alyce Marshmorton lying in grass on stomach next to bottle/soda bottle, holding glass and director George Stevens, lying on stomach with arms held out.","imgParticipants": "|JOAN FONTAINE|GEORGE STEVENS|"},{"imgID": "2","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203443_1262x1562_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS long shot of Joan Fontaine who plays Lady Alyce Marshmorton with hat sitting on prop.","imgParticipants": "|JOAN FONTAINE|"},{"imgID": "3","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203451_1558x1262_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS long shot of Ray Noble who plays Reggie, Gracie Allen, and director George Stevens sitting in chairs/director s chairs.","imgParticipants": "|GRACIE ALLEN|GEORGE STEVENS|"},{"imgID": "4","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203444_1601x1269_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS medium shot of Gracie Allen and Fred Astaire who plays Jerry Halliday with film crew and camera in front of carnival set.","imgParticipants": "|GRACIE ALLEN|FRED ASTAIRE|"},{"imgID": "5","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203450_1104x1421_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS long shot of director George Stevens with hat sitting on carnival prop.","imgParticipants": "|GEORGE STEVENS|"},{"imgID": "6","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203448_1118x1430_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS medium shot of director George Stevens sitting behind camera with crew members behind him.","imgParticipants": "|GEORGE STEVENS|"},{"imgID": "7","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203453_1530x1043_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "BTS long shot of George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Fred Astaire who plays Jerry Halliday dancing in front of set lights.","imgParticipants": "|GEORGE BURNS|GRACIE ALLEN|FRED ASTAIRE|"},{"imgID": "8","imgSrc": "https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i52/DAMSELINDISTRESS,A1937_00203445_1569x1262_022020071619.JPG","imgDescription": "Long BTS shot of Gracie Allen and Fred Astaire who plays Jerry Halliday standing on set in front of camera and crew; with George Burns in background with two women.","imgParticipants": "|GRACIE ALLEN|GEORGE BURNS|FRED ASTAIRE|"},
Scenes Photos from the movie 'A Damsel in Distress'
A Damsel in Distre...
Scenes Photos

NOTES
P. J. Wodehouse's novel was first serialized in The Saturday Evening Post. A stage version of the story was written in 1928, but information concerning its production has not been found. A Damsel in Distress was the first RKO film that Fred Astaire made without Ginger Rogers. In his autobiography, Astaire notes that, because both he and Rogers were growing restless with their teaming, they agreed after Shall We Dance to pursue separate projects. (Rogers then appeared in RKO's 1937 film Stage Door.) According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, producer Pandro S. Berman purchased the rights to Wodehouse's novel in November 1936 as a vehicle for Astaire. RKO borrowed George Burns and Gracie Allen from Paramount for the production. Hermes Pan won an Academy Award for his choreography on the picture's "fun house" sequence, which was performed in the carnival setting by Astaire, Burns and Allen. In addition to his singing and dancing, Astaire perfor...

Welcome, DISH customer! Please note that we cannot save your viewing history due to an arrangement with DISH.

Watchlist and resume progress features have been disabled.

ACCEPT