Employees' Entrance
| Employees' Entrance | |
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theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Roy Del Ruth |
| Produced by | Lucien Hubbard (uncredited) |
| Screenplay by | Robert Presnell Sr. |
| Based on | a play by David Boehm |
| Starring |
Warren William Loretta Young |
| Music by | Bernhard Kaun (uncredited) |
| Cinematography | Barney McGill |
| Edited by | James Gibbon |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | First National Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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74-75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $188,000 |
Employees' Entrance is a 1933 Pre-Code film about the devious manager of a New York department store (Warren William) and his romantic involvement with a reluctant new employee (Loretta Young). It was directed by Roy Del Ruth.
Kurt Anderson is the ruthless, hard-driving general manager of the Monroe department store. The store is a financial powerhouse because of Anderson's brutally efficient strategies and leadership.
When a new clothing supplier, Garfinkle, tells Anderson that part of the large first order will be delayed three days because of labor trouble, Anderson cancels the order and instructs his secretary to sue for damages. Garfinkle is ruined, but Anderson doesn't care.
After closing, Anderson discovers Madeline Walters hiding in the store. Broke and unemployed, she is going to apply to work at Monroe's first thing in the morning. When she finds out who he is, she lets him take advantage of her to ensure she gets a job as a model in the clothing department.
With the Great Depression cutting into the store's business, Anderson demands new ideas from his department heads. When Martin West comes up with an innovative idea, Higgins, the longtime head of men's clothing does not approve, but Anderson is impressed. He promptly tells Martin to go ahead, and fires Higgins. Seeing promise in West, Anderson makes him his assistant. He tells his new protégé that he must devote himself completely to business and nothing else if he is to get ahead; he asks if Martin is married, and is relieved when the answer is no. Anderson, a compulsive philanderer, holds women in contempt, believing that all they seek is financial security and control over their husbands. He views marital commitment as incompatible with running a successful business. However, unbeknownst to Anderson, Martin and Madeleine have fallen in love. He tells her that he cannot marry until his position is more secure, but, on an impulse, does so anyway, though he keeps it a secret from Anderson. This puts a strain on the marriage.
Anderson doubles the salary of employee Polly Dale (Alice White) to keep his nominal overseer, Denton Ross, occupied, leaving him a free hand to manage the store without interference. Higgins tries repeatedly to see Anderson to ask for his job back, but fails. Finally Higgins commits suicide by jumping out of a ninth floor window of the store. Martin is dismayed when Anderson is unperturbed by the news.
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Wikipedia