Ladies of Leisure is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ralph Graves. The screenplay by Jo Swerling is based on the 1924 play Ladies of the Evening by Milton Herbert Gropper, which ran for 159 performances on Broadway.

Plot

Aspiring artist, Jerry Strong, the son of a wealthy railroad tycoon, sneaks out of a party he allowed his friend Bill Standish to hold at his New York City penthouse apartment and studio. While out driving in the country, Jerry meets self-described "party girl" Kay Arnold, who is escaping from another party aboard a yacht, and gives her a ride back to the city. He sees something in her and offers her a job as his model for a painting titled "Hope". In their first session, Jerry wipes off her makeup to try to bring out her true nature. Perpetual partier and drunkard Standish thinks Kay looks fine just the way she is and invites her on a cruise to Havana. She declines his offer.