A Girl Must Live (1939): Cast & Plot
A Girl Must Live is a 1939 comedy drama directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood as Leslie James, Lilli Palmer and Renée Houston. It runs 1 hour 32 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 32m (92 min)
- Director
- Carol Reed
- Original language
-
English - Studio
- Gainsborough Pictures
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is A Girl Must Live About?
The premise of A Girl Must Live without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
A run-away school-girl falls among chorus girls planning to marry into the nobility.
A Girl Must Live Themes & Keywords
· 7 tags- poverty
- runaway from school
- lie
- goldigger
- chorus girl
- runaway
- based on novel
A Girl Must Live Cast & Characters
Margaret Lockwood leads the cast as Leslie James, with Lilli Palmer as Clytie Devine and Renée Houston as Gloria Lind. Directed by Carol Reed; 22 actors are credited in all.
-
Director Carol Reed
- Margaret Lockwood as Leslie James
-
Lilli Palmer as Clytie Devine - Renée Houston as Gloria Lind
- Naunton Wayne as Hugo Smythe
Also Starring in A Girl Must Live
· 18 more- Hugh Sinclair Earl of Pangborough
- Helen Haye Aunt Primrose
- Kathleen Harrison Penelope
- Michael Hordern
- Martita Hunt Mme. Dupont, assistant
- Mary Clare Mrs. Wallis
- Moore Marriott Bretherton Hythe / Lord Grandonald
- Merle Tottenham College inmate
- Muriel Aked Mme. Dupont, headmistress
- Frederick Burtwell Hodder
- David Burns Joe Gold
- Drusilla Wills Miss Polkinghome
- Kathleen Boutall Mrs. Blount
- Hal Walters Barman at Party
- Joan White College inmate
- George Robey Horace Blount
Show all 22 cast members Show fewer cast members
- Wilson Coleman Mr. Joliffe
- Judy Gray Dancer
More from Carol Reed
More films directed by Carol Reed, best-rated first: The Third Man, Odd Man Out, Oliver! and Mutiny on the Bounty.
A Girl Must Live Plot Summary
What happens in A Girl Must Live from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 10 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 1-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
In London, Leslie James, Margaret Lockwood, a runaway from a Swiss finishing school who uses a false name borrowed from a musical star of the past, finds a room in a quiet boarding house. There she learns from two other lodgers, Gloria Lind and Clytie Devine, Renée Houston and Lilli Palmer respectively, that there will be an audition for a new musical that day, and all three win places in the chorus line. Gloria, tipped off by her conman cousin Naunton Wayne as Hugo Smythe, has caught the eye of the bachelor Earl of Pangborough, Hugh Sinclair — while Clytie, also keen to profit, tries to detach him at the first night party.
Full summary
The whole story of A Girl Must Live, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know A Girl Must Live?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Which actress plays the lead role of Leslie James in A Girl Must Live (1939)?
A Girl Must Live Also Known As
Also known as “Garotas Apimentadas”.
- Also known as
-
- Garotas Apimentadas
Seen A Girl Must Live?
Movies Like A Girl Must Live
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Bought!, A Girl’s Folly and Girls’ School.
A Girl Must Live FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast and post-credit scenes of A Girl Must Live, each answered in a sentence.
How long is A Girl Must Live?
A Girl Must Live runs 1 hour 32 minutes (92 minutes).
When was A Girl Must Live released?
A Girl Must Live was released on September 24, 1939.
Who directed A Girl Must Live?
A Girl Must Live was directed by Carol Reed.
More films by Carol Reed Who is in the cast of A Girl Must Live?
A Girl Must Live stars Margaret Lockwood as Leslie James, Lilli Palmer as Clytie Devine and Renée Houston as Gloria Lind, among 22 credited actors.
Does A Girl Must Live have a post-credit scene?
No. A Girl Must Live has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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