I expected a blonde!
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Esther goes to the publicity department with her scrapbook.
She meets
mrs. Markham, Libby's secretary, who however is too busy with other things to listen to her.
Glad to have you with us , then turns her over to her fashion assistant,
miss Fusselow. Glad to have you with us ,
she too says, then sends her to the head of the department, Libby himself. Libby takes
her with him to see Niles. They enter a projection room where an action scene from a
Western is shown. More Glad to have you with us , before Libby takes her out.
When she once again tells him her name, he replies Well, we have to do something
about that!
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Esther is doing her first movie. Not a character role, only her hand waving
goodbye from a train window. When she goes to pick up her salary, she discovers
that she now has a new name, Vicki Lester.
Norman is trying to get the studio to give her a more demanding role. Oliver
Niles comes to Norman's apartment only to listen to Norman's complaint of the cold
draft in his dressing-room. He has far more important problems, a big production is
threatened after the lead actress stormed out from the studio. Norman has opened the
door to the balcony to make sure
that Niles can hear Esther singing The man that got away. Who's that
singing, anyway? . Must be one of the contract girls , Norman replies.
Finally, Niles get the point and asks where she is.
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Born in a trunk
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It's time for the pre-view opening of Esther's first movie, a musical. On the screen
we see Vicki Lester doing the Born in a Trunk sequence. "I was born
in a trunk / in Prince's Theater / in Pocatello, Idaho / It was during the matinee on
Friday / and they used a make-up towel for my dody". The singing continues about
her youth and her solo debut on stage "They left me out there all alone / Mama said
'You're on your own' and Papa shouted 'This is it kid, sing!'
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You took advantage of me
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As a young actress it wasn't easy to find work. "As time went by / I looked for jobs /
and was kicked from pillar to post / I haunted all the agent's offices / and I almost
ended up a ghost." Finally she does find work "So I got into a tab show / all I did was
kick my feet / you'd hardly call it a chance to sing / but at least it was a chance to eat"
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Finally she does get a lucky break. In New York she sings
Melancholy baby
and is discovered by a producer "My benefactor appeared with his card / and at
first I thought he was fresh / he was fresh from heaven all right! / he produced the
show that gave me the chance to sing for you tonight" Once again back to
Swanee, a turn-of-the-century, londonesque number. Finally, Vicki
sits down on the
stage in front of the audience "So I can't quite be called overnight sensation /
for it started many years ago / when I was born in a trunk in the Prince's theater /
in Pocatello, Idaho". Close-up, then fade-out.
Swanee
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The audience is ecstatic. Later at a night-club, they read the press
reviews, filled with praise. Norman show her the lights from the city below:
They're all yours, Esther! You're going to be a great star, don't let that
change you. . I destroy everything I touch, I always have. Forget me,
I'm bad luck . But Esther tells him she loves him. They kiss.
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