MGM executives gave her the stage name of Movita, and she starred in such films as Captain Calamity (1936), Paradise Isle (1937), The Hurricane (1937), Rose of the Rio Grande (1938), Girl From Rio ...

For her first movie vehicle, Midler understandably chose a music-related project. The Rose was originally supposed to be titled Pearl, as it was meant to be a retelling of the Janis Joplin story.