|
Post by smith on Jan 20, 2006 17:48:09 GMT -5
I love all the Katharine/Spencer movies but why do you think that some of the dramas are not so well known . I don't live in America and I know its very hard to get hold of Sea of Grass and Keeper of the Flame . They just haven't been released on video . I also haven't seen Dragon Seed either
|
|
|
Post by Shaun on Jan 20, 2006 18:47:55 GMT -5
Kate and Spencer were unequaled in romantic comedy. Their comic timing and on-screen chemistry has never been matched. As for why their comedies are more famous than their dramas (with the exception of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) I don't know. Besides GWCD they only Hepburn/Tracy heavy drama that I've seen is Sea of Grass and it just doesn't hold up to stuff like Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike and Woman of the Year.
Dragon Seed is good but far from being my favorite Katharine Hepburn movie.
For those who don't know, Keeper of the Flame is coming on TCM on April 5th at 6:15pm.
|
|
|
Post by smith on Jan 20, 2006 19:24:45 GMT -5
Sea of Grass - you can see what the intention was - it does have its moments and some of the themes are interesting - unfortunately it is marred by the direction of Kazan who for the rest of his life refused to take responsibility for the direction - he blamed everybody else . Katharine mentioned his failure to engage with the material in the Berg book as a sore point
|
|
|
Post by HollywoodHepcat on Jan 20, 2006 22:19:35 GMT -5
Yeah, Kazan also blamed the fact that it should have been shot on location instead of on a soundstage at MGM. I think he was just too young to direct two giants like Tracy and Hepburn. Why was he even put to direct the thing in the first place, besides the fact that he showed promise?
I think that the comedies just gelled better. Not to say that some of their dramas aren't really good, too. I like Keeper of The Flame very much. Kate did a lovely job with her speech at the end. (Just a little thing that I'm dwelling on, though. When Steve tells Christine that "..I understand love now.." was he saying he loved her? Then I can be satisfied that there was a glimmer of romance in that story) State of the Union is one of my favorites, as well.The comedies -- the amazing ones, AR P&M -- also had the advantage of the team of KateSpenceGeorgeGarRuth which pretty much spells magic. Then there's WOTY that's delicious and is a perfect blend of both. It really depends on if you want to be feeling sad after the movie or just plain giddy.
|
|
|
Post by Judy on Jan 21, 2006 0:22:43 GMT -5
Kate and Spencer were unequaled in romantic comedy. Their comic timing and on-screen chemistry has never been matched. As for why their comedies are more famous than their dramas (with the exception of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) I don't know. Besides GWCD they only Hepburn/Tracy heavy drama that I've seen is Sea of Grass and it just doesn't hold up to stuff like Adam's Rib, Pat and Mike and Woman of the Year. Dragon Seed is good but far from being my favorite Katharine Hepburn movie. For those who don't know, Keeper of the Flame is coming on TCM on April 5th at 6:15pm. I have a real soft spot for Dragon Seed. I think the story is interesting and compelling and the acting - to a person - is wonderful and I could care less about the makeup. I have seen a letter from Kate written at the time where she describes in precise detail how the makeup was applied. Give me what I would have? I would have a book. I love it! Judy
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jan 22, 2006 2:27:10 GMT -5
Hi Metrostah -- Re: your question about KOTF was Steve telling Christine he loved her -- you bet he loved her. He basically fell for her the minute she walked into the first scene and put the flowers in the vase on the portrait of her dead husband. Plus -- in addition to telling her he knows what love is now -- he also tells her "You don't know how much I can believe in you. And I don't even care why you wanted him dead." At that point -- all he wants is her. Nothing else matters. And then we have that scene in which she is shot and has died in his arms and he pulls her body closer to him and he leans toward her as though he is about to kiss her and at the last second, the smoke begins to obscure them. He loved her, and she died knowing it.
Sherry
|
|
|
Post by Sherry on Jan 22, 2006 2:48:55 GMT -5
I think the reason that the romantic comedies are more popular than the dramas has to do more with the audience than with the acting of Kate and Spencer. Their first film together was a romantic comedy and it set the tone for the team -- the bantering, the push and pull, the exuberance and sparkle of Kate set against the solid and groundedness of Spencer -- the comedies gave them a chance to spark off of one another. The dramas put them in a different atmosphere, took away the banter, the charm, etc. and forced the audience to see them in a different way and sometimes audiences can't make the transition -- they keep waiting for the zingy dialog and it isn't ever going to appear. Kind of like Astaire and Rogers -- after all of those great musicals -- can you imagine the reception that a straight film starring them would have received -- a film with no dancing?! Think of Kate and Cary Grant -- wonderful in romantic comedies -- but would we have loved them together in straight drama? I really think it is us more than Kate and Spencer that makes us see the dramas as somehow not in the same league as the comedies.
Personally -- I like both the Sea of Grass and Keeper of the Flame. I've written previously what I think of SOG. Keeper is a cautionary tale of the way that fascism can rise in a democracy. This was a very definite statement against fascism made by MGM in 1942 long before it was determined which side was going to win WWII. God help the people who made this film had the Allies not prevailed. I think it is one of the bravest films that Hollywood made during the war. Spencer has a speech in the film in which he tells a young boy how people become enslaved. When you watch the film, listen to the speech and think about what it says and how that speech applies to what we see happening today.
Sherry
|
|
|
Post by karina on Jan 27, 2006 12:57:02 GMT -5
And Keeper of the Flame and State of the Union, are 2nd & 3rd in my KH-ST fave list after WOTY.
Guess Smith's right though, they're all great films....sigh.
|
|