Ann Harding had come to Hollywood in 1929, where she signed a well-paid contract with the film company Pathé Exchange, Inc. Within a few months, she had already become one of the top stars of talkies, eventually even being nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Holiday in 1930. However, when Pathé was taken over by the newly founded company RKO Pictures at the end of 1930, her career began to decline rapidly. Constant arguments about suitable screenplays, wrong decisions and increasing internal competition from new stars like
Katharine Hepburn and
Irene Dunne led to an ongoing crisis. None of their films had made a profit since 1931. In late 1932, Harding signed a three-film contract with MGM hoping to find better scripts and more professional working conditions there. The adaptation of
When Ladies Meet was the first project to be tackled. The film is based on the play of the same name by
Rachel Crothers, which had 173 performances on Broadway during the 1932-33 winter season, with
Spring Byington playing the role of Bridget Drake, played in the film by
Alice Brady. MGM remade the story in 1941 as
When Ladies Meet, this time starring
Joan Crawford,
Greer Garson,
Robert Taylor, and
Herbert Marshall. The cast initially saw
Kay Francis play Claire and Harding as Mary before Francis was replaced by Loy and Harding settled on the role of the long-suffering wife. ==Cast==