The Stork Club (1945)

Directed by Hal Walker and released by Paramount Pictures, The Stork Club is a musical romantic comedy that captures the glitz of postwar New York nightlife. With Betty Hutton in the lead and a supporting cast that includes Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, and Robert Benchley, the film blends mistaken identity, generosity, and swinging tunes—all centered around the legendary Manhattan hotspot.

Plot Summary
Judy Peabody (Betty Hutton), a vivacious hat-check girl at the famed Stork Club, rescues an elderly man from drowning while sunbathing. She assumes he’s poor and encourages him to visit her if he ever needs help. Unbeknownst to her, he’s actually J.B. Bates (Barry Fitzgerald), a wealthy recluse who anonymously rewards Judy with a luxury apartment and shopping privileges.

As Judy’s life transforms, her boyfriend Danny (Don DeFore) returns from the Marines and grows suspicious of her sudden wealth—especially when he sees Bates living in her apartment. Misunderstandings mount, but the truth eventually comes out, leading to reconciliation, romance, and a musical finale.

Cast Highlights

• Betty Hutton as Judy Peabody
• Barry Fitzgerald as J.B. Bates
• Don DeFore as Danny
• Robert Benchley as Tom P. Curtis
• Bill Goodwin, Andy Russell, and Iris Adrian in supporting roles
• Features a cameo by Sherman Billingsley, the real-life owner of the Stork Club

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• More than 700 photographs of the actual Stork Club at 3 East 53rd Street were taken to help set designers recreate the venue authentically
• Betty Hutton’s rendition of “Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief” (music by Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) became a Billboard #1 hit in March 1946
• The upbeat number “Daddy O” was cut from the film but later recorded by Dinah Shore in 1948 as the B-side to “Buttons and Bows”
• The film aired as a radio adaptation on The Screen Guild Theater in 1947, with Hutton reprising her role