The Velvet Touch (1948) on Netflix

Plot summary

Valerie Stanton has made her name in Broadway comedies, but she wants to be seen in a serious part and sets her hopes on Hedda Gabler. Gordon Dunning, the producer who is also her former lover, keeps casting her in his own comedies and will not let her go. At a party he gives, Valerie meets Michael Morrell, an English architect, and is drawn to him. She asks Marian Webster, a rival who still cares for Gordon, to turn his attention elsewhere. Gordon, however, tells the columnist Jeff Trent that Valerie will head his next production, and the notice is printed the following morning. Valerie storms into his office demanding a retraction. He refuses, threatens to spread lies about her past to Michael, and seizes her; she strikes him with a statuette and slips out unseen.