Roy Del Ruth directed Employees’ Entrance, a pre-Code film about the manager of a New York department store (Warren William) who gets romantically involved with a reluctant new employee (Loretta Young).
Kurt Anderson is the ruthlessly ambitious general manager of the Monroe department store, a financial powerhouse due to his brutally efficient strategies and autocratic leadership.
When the new clothing supplier Garfinkle, tells Anderson that part of the first order will be delayed because of labor trouble, Anderson cancels the order and instructs his secretary to sue for damages. Garfinkle is ruined, but Anderson doesn’t care.
Critical Status:
In 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Cast
Warren William as Kurt Anderson
Loretta Young as Madeleine Walters West
Wallace Ford as Martin West
Alice White as Polly Dale
Hale Hamilton as Commodore Franklin Monroe
Albert Gran as Denton Ross
Marjorie Gateson as Mrs. Lee Hickox
Ruth Donnelly as Miss Hall, Anderson’s secretary
Frank Reicher as Garfinkle
Charles Sellon as Arnold Higgins
Allen Jenkins as Sweeney, a store detective (uncredited)