The Great Katharine Hepburn

[DallasFanForever]

Stage Door is brilliant! One of those movies you can watch countless times because the dialogue is so good, so witty and there's so much of it! Awesome cast and Eve Arden purring around with that cat around her neck gives me so much life!!!!

I’ve actually never seen it, I’m embarrassed to say. The cast alone has to be worth it I would say.

 

[Crimson]

STAGE DOOR is about as good as it gets among classic films. It's a dual star vehicle that gives Kate and Ginger two of their best roles that plays to their strengths while also letting them stretch a bit. The supporting cast has great roles for veterans (Adolphe Menjou; Constance Collier), up-and-comers (Lucy; Eve; Ann) and even two who didn't hit it as big as they should have (Gail Patrick*; Andrea Leeds**). Its got an engaging plot that manages to be dramatic and very funny, with dialogue that's witty and natural. All of that squeezed into 92 minutes!

*One of my favorites among Old Hollywood's second tier performers.

**She might have hit it bigger if she wasn't a dead ringer for Olivia De Havilland.

 

[Seaviewer]

All of that squeezed into 92 minutes!

Today's films have become so bloated. There's rarely anything you need 135 minutes to say that can't be said in 92.

 

[ClassyCo]

STAGE DOOR is about as good as it gets among classic films. It's a dual star vehicle that gives Kate and Ginger two of their best roles that plays to their strengths while also letting them stretch a bit. The supporting cast has great roles for veterans (Adolphe Menjou; Constance Collier), up-and-comers (Lucy; Eve; Ann) and even two who didn't hit it as big as they should have (Gail Patrick*; Andrea Leeds**). Its got an engaging plot that manages to be dramatic and very funny, with dialogue that's witty and natural. All of that squeezed into 92 minutes!

I couldn't agree with you more. STAGE DOOR is practically a flawless film, engaging all the way through. It has a host of well-known and would-be-well-known faces to satisfy.​

*One of my favorites among Old Hollywood's second tier performers.

Gail Patrick was absolutely beautiful, and she had a sexy, husky voice to match her strong features. I really enjoyed her in MY FAVORITE WIFE, where she played Cary Grant's bratty second wife as a foil to Irene Dunne's more breezy portrayal of the long-lost first wife.​

**She might have hit it bigger if she wasn't a dead ringer for Olivia De Havilland.

The first time I watched STAGE DOOR (having missed the opening credits), I could've sworn that Andrea Leeds was indeed Olivia de Havilland. Her voice, her mannerisms all made me come to that conclusion.

In fact, Leeds did later test for Melanie in GONE WITH THE WIND, a role that De Havilland ultimately got herself. Leeds' test is available for viewing online.

Below there's a side-by-side picture of Andrea Leeds and Olivia de Havilland. Their similarities are uncanny.​

 

[ClassyCo]

Today's films have become so bloated. There's rarely anything you need 135 minutes to say that can't be said in 92.

There's so much "padding" into movies today that I rarely want to watch them. Of course, the language and nudity doesn't help, either.

 

[DallasFanForever]

There's so much "padding" into movies today that I rarely want to watch them. Of course, the language and nudity doesn't help, either

Agree. It’s getting harder and harder to find a good story once you get passed all the glamour and substance.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

 

[Crimson]

I'll watch the video lately, but what's up with "trauma"? I've heard that word more in the last six months than the rest of my life. Did this suddenly become a thing?

 

[Crimson]

This could go in the Audrey thread just as well, but seems more reflective of Kate.

Kate's letter to Audrey, after the later wasn't nominated for an Oscar for MY FAIR LADY.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1475170126735585281

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

ADAM'S RIB is funny, probably one of the best Tracy-Hepburn film pairings. BRINGING UP BABY is my favorite old school screwball comedy; it would be the movie I'd show someone that wanted to see classic screwball at its finest. It's a funny movie and Hepburn and Cary Grant have good chemistry. The play off one another very well. I've never seen HOLIDAY or THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, but I thought the HIGH SOCIETY musical remake was good, albeit primarily because of the casting.

I vaguely remember seeing a Carole Lombard movie, but for the life of me, I cannot remember which one it was now. I have MY MAN GODFREY on one of those cheap, no-name DVD releases. Lombard was certainly a beautiful woman, but I almost always remember as Clark Gable's wife that died horrifically in a place crash. I don't know too much about her.
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A similar situation surrounds my viewing relationship with Claudette Colbert. I know she was a big star for a quite a long time, and I know the producers over at Fox had originally wanted her to play Margo Channing in ALL ABOUT EVE, which is why Anne Baxter was chosen for the title character, owing to her resemblance to Colbert. This never happened, as we all know, because Colbert injured her back during the production of THREE CAME HOME, and had to withdraw, leaving the role vacant for a more-than-eager Bette Davis to take her place.

The only Claudette Colbert movie I've seen in full is LET'S MAKE IT LEGAL, the 1951 comedy where she is caught between a love triangle with Macdonald Carey and Zachary Scott. The only reason I bought and watched the movie was to add it to my Marilyn Monroe collection (she has a small role as a gold-digging model). The movie also features newcomers Barbara Bates and Robert Wagner early on in their careers, and Frank Cady (later known as Sam Drucker on GREEN ACRES). It isn't a good movie at all really, and it was, in fact, known as the worst comedy film of 1951. It was a bomb at the box office, too. So that really isn't a good start into the Colbert arena, but I'd be willing to look into more of her work.

When thinking about Claudette Colbert, I often think about how she refused to have the right side of her face photographed. It was called "the dark side of the moon", and many of her publicity stills are done in a way to hide that side of her face. She was an attractive woman, I'd say, although not really along the lines of what I'd call a typical glamour girl. She seems to have been a little more refined and elegant.
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I’ve been enjoying some Carole Lombard movies today, on the eightieth anniversary anniversary of her death. Just finishing with To Be Or Not To Be. Have watched 22 of her movies over three days.

Pearl Harbor Turns 80: Carole Lombard Was Hollywood’s First World War II Casualty

The starlet and wife of Clark Gable perished along with 21 others after a flight on her war bond tour crashed outside Las Vegas, as chronicled in this exclusive excerpt from the new book, 'Hollywood Victory: The Movies, Stars, and Stories of World War II.'

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Karin Schill]

It seems like an interesting book. Also 22 movies in three days. I couldn't watch that many movies in that short amount of time. I remember when I was in college we sometimes wathced three movies/day. I thought that was too much!

Also I watched Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933) a while ago. She had that special something. But I didn't like the story at all of an older man taking advantage of a young girl and then how she pined for him thinking she was in love with him because she'd slept with him. It was ridiculous. So yes that movie is definitely dated.

 

[Toni]

It seems like an interesting book. Also 22 movies in three days. I couldn't watch that many movies in that short amount of time. I remember when I was in college we sometimes wathced three movies/day. I thought that was too much!

Also I watched Katharine Hepburn in "Morning Glory" a while ago. She had that special something. But I didn't like the story at all of an older man taking advantage of a young girl and then how she pined for him thinking she was in love with him because she'd slept with him. It was ridiculous. So yes that movie is definitely dated.

I also rewatched that movie not too long ago, and thought the opposite! Try to see it this way:
Before the US censorship appeared, this kind of stories were allowed to happen in the movies: characters didn´t need to marry (or die at the end) to have a relationship (short or long). Everything was more like real life. But then things changed with the censors and a lot of stupid laws were established as a way to "create a standard of decency" for the post-war audiences... and that even lasted until the 60s!
So that specific period of the Hollywood movies (20s into 30s) was a very special thing. I recently also watched "Sunrise" and "The Seventh Heaven", and was shocked to see how brave the plots were and how deeply the characters evolved despite they were made in the 20s. And yes, the first one got an Oscar (and both male leads were mega-hot, by the way!!!).

No, they didn´t star in "Melrose Place"! These two hotties starred in a lot
of movies in the 20s thru the 50s, though other (uglier) actors were more popular!!
Their names are George O´Brien and Charles Farrell.​

 

[Karin Schill]

But it wasn't a relationship. He sexually abused her and she was drunk. So her pining for him afterwards is no better than when Joan Collins married her rapist.

 

[Toni]

But it wasn't a relationship. He sexually abused her and she was drunk. So her pining for him afterwards is no better than when Joan Collins married her rapist.

I may be mistaken, but I seem to remember that she did feel something for him. Of course, if she was drunk, it may be considered a rape by today´s standards but I didn´t think that way when I saw it. He was manipulative and underhanded, but the morning after she still seemed to feel that for the guy. Again, I may be misremembering it.

About la Collins, I´d never try to find the truth behind her past stories...

 

[Karin Schill]

Yes it would have been a rape by today's standards. That's why I think the movie feels dated today.

Then as for Joan Collins. I believe it is true. I remember first reading about how she had been raped and then married her rapist in her first autobiography that came out in the 1980s.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Then as for Joan Collins. I believe it is true. I remember first reading about how she had been raped and then married her rapist in her first autobiography that came out in the 1980s.

I’m just curious, how did she end up marrying someone that had committed rape against her? Did he somehow force her into the marriage as well? Was she afraid for her life and felt as though she had no choice?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I’m just curious, how did she end up marrying someone that had committed rape against her? Did he somehow force her into the marriage as well? Was she afraid for her life and felt as though she had no choice?

It was the '50s. Everybody married their rapist.

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

It seems like an interesting book. Also 22 movies in three days. I couldn't watch that many movies in that short amount of time. I remember when I was in college we sometimes wathced three movies/day. I thought that was too much!

Also I watched Katharine Hepburn in Morning Glory (1933) a while ago. She had that special something. But I didn't like the story at all of an older man taking advantage of a young girl and then how she pined for him thinking she was in love with him because she'd slept with him. It was ridiculous. So yes that movie is definitely dated.

Oh, well, lots of them really aren’t that long. Supernatural is about 65 minutes. Virtue is over in under 66 minutes. No More Orchids was about 68 minutes. No Man Of Her Own (with future hubby Clark Gable) was about 81 minutes. Hands Across The Table was under 80 minutes.True Confession was under 84 mins. We’re Not Dressing (with Bing Crosby) was about 71 minutes. Swing High, Swing Low was about 83 minutes. Fools for Scandal (which flopped at the box office) was over in 80 minutes. Brief Moment was under 69 minutes. Sinners in the Sun is about 70 minutes. Big News is 76 minutes. The Gay Bride was about eighty minutes. Mr and Mrs Smith was about 90 minutes and My Man Godfrey (with then ex-hubby William Powell) was about the same length. Really loved My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred, To Be Or Not To Be and Twentieth Century too.

This just arrived, while I was dictating.

 

[ClassyCo]

Oh, well, lots of them really aren’t that long.

That's what I like about those early-'30s movies. Many of them run barely over an hour, which makes you feel like you haven't wasted too much of your time when the movie turns out to be bad.​

 

[Karin Schill]

I’m just curious, how did she end up marrying someone that had committed rape against her? Did he somehow force her into the marriage as well? Was she afraid for her life and felt as though she had no choice?

Yes like @Snarky Oracle said, the 1950s had different morals/values so if a woman slept with a man she was also expected to get married to him.
I think I read in JC's book that the guy got her drunk and then after the deed was done her parents convinced him to get married to their daughter.
The marriage was a disaster.

Mr and Mrs Smith was about 90 minutes

Is that movie an earlier version of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt made or is it just the name that's the same?