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Post by CrazyForKate on Feb 6, 2010 20:53:15 GMT -5
Sorry if there's a thread about this already...
Pick a performance or movie of Kate's you find underrated. Or a few; there are lots.
My pick is Without Love. KH is absolutely beautiful in it, both in terms of looks and acting- and utterly unlike any other role up to that point. She has a certain softness to her, while still strong- just beautiful. I honestly think she equalled her performances in WOTY and AR, and was better than in Pat and Mike. The movie itself is one of the better T/H's. Tracy's excellent, of course, and Ball and Wynn are marvelous. The plot's a tad far-fetched, but the performances make up for it.
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Post by gottamatch on Feb 7, 2010 6:46:46 GMT -5
That's a good one. My pick would be "Stage Door". Not that I think its an underrated 'performance', I just think that people don't like the film itself, so maybe that's more an underrated 'film' moreso than 'performance'. I think she's great in it and so is the rest of the cast. BTW, I refer not to those fanaticals like us, but moreso the general public with this one. If only the film was in better quality (dont know about y'all, but mine has poor sound and visual quality, and that's on a propper DVD, it looks as though it had been recorded from a VHS) I think people would give it more of a chance. There are slow parts, but few imo. But that was a god one CFK! I would have said Without Love if you hadn't I also adore the film and her performance. I think it's probably one of the most underrated, way more than Stage Door and I don't know why. When I first watched it, I would rewind and re-watch the piano scene with her listening to Spence play over and over and over and over to the point where I tracked down the song with the help of a fellow Kate fan! Wish Lucille had a bigger part, but she was still up and coming, what can ya do.. Jess
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Post by charliesgirl7681 on Feb 7, 2010 10:39:43 GMT -5
Great topic! I completely agree Without Love is an underrated classic.
I really liked A Woman Rebels. It seems to get lumped into her box office flops of the 30's (which it was) but I really liked it. Pam was such a strong woman and her situtaion wasn't something talked about in the 1930's. I thought Kate's performance was brilliant and I don't think many people have seen the film. I LOVED the costuming, Kate looked amazing.
I also adore Undercurrent. I know it is a bit of a fan favorite here but it seems the 'outside' world has forgoten about it.
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Post by gottamatch on Feb 8, 2010 6:55:29 GMT -5
I haven't seen any of your pics Charliesgirl lol but when I do I'll be the first to comment on that Jess p.s. awesome topic, I think we've got to wait for people to come back from weekend mode to see this one and the replies will be flooding in
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Post by Judy on Feb 8, 2010 9:48:56 GMT -5
JADE IN DRAGON SEED. I think she's sensational in the part. She wasn't - and isn't so much underrated in it as she was lambasted for not actually being Chinese. Um. Okay. Guess she couldn't do everything. I understand the criticism in theory, but I couldn't disagree more about the execution of the role.
Actually, I think the entire cast is wonderful. It's difficult for people to suspend their disbelief and see her as a Chinese peasant. Okay, I get that. But the part is really of a woman not willing to settle for the accepted ways for women, who yearns to expand her knowledge and is smart enough to do so, who loves her man enough to guide him down the right path, who is instrumental in educating her husband and his family about their own political climate - AND who is a heroine to boot, endangering her own life for a greater good and taking the enemy down in the process.
Let's see - whip smart woman, loyal and loving, strong and heroic and willing to make sacrifices. That's a Hepburn part if ever there was one.
SYLVESTER SCARLETTO - aka Sylvia Scarlett. Again, I think this is mostly an instance of the movie being critically underrated - not so much today but back then. The movie really isn't so outrageous. It's actually pretty sweet and classical in its depiction of the blurring of the sexes. And, mock it as she and Cukor did - I never believed for a moment that they meant it. It seemed to me that they had a great deal of affection for it and were protesting too much, when they actually had a soft spot for it. Just my view. Anyway, yeah, it starts to go sort of all over the place plot-wise, but I think the movie's charming and that it contains one of her best performances. Ever. I can't quite see how any of her contemporaries could have played such a role. Not just because of the androgyny - but also because of the playfulness and spirit and sense of adventure - and specifically because of that quality of naivete and vulnerability hiding just underneath the nothing-can-hurt-me surface that she could portray better than anyone.
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Post by charliesgirl7681 on Feb 8, 2010 11:13:26 GMT -5
Judy, you have a way with words!
I totally agree, S.S. was not as bad as I was told it would be. Kate was lovely in it. You've now made me really want to see Dragon Seed. I keep forgetting about that one.
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Post by CrazyForKate on Feb 8, 2010 13:32:02 GMT -5
I'm going to add Christopher Strong to the list; KH was excellent, as were Billie Burke and Helen Chandler. The only big flaws were Colin Clive (a bit wooden) and some awkward direction. But in Kate's case, she was quite underrated. Hard to believe that it was only her second film.
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Post by Judy on Feb 8, 2010 13:59:20 GMT -5
Judy, you have a way with words! I totally agree, S.S. was not as bad as I was told it would be. Kate was lovely in it. You've now made me really want to see Dragon Seed. I keep forgetting about that one. Thanks. Dragon Seed is occasionally shown on TCM.
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Post by CrazyForKate on Feb 8, 2010 14:24:53 GMT -5
Charliesgirl, it's also on DVD (Region 1) in the Katharine Hepburn centennial collection. As are...well, actually most of the movies in this thread.
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Post by gottamatch on Feb 8, 2010 19:40:08 GMT -5
Oww this is a good thread if you've seen the entire Hepburn collection lol my post was really lame. I haven't seen any of the films mentioned above lol gee, come on DVD companies, release them!
Jess
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Post by Alicia on Feb 8, 2010 22:00:27 GMT -5
Yes, I agree about Christopher Strong. I found it very moving, and I think it really highlighted the struggle women faced in the '30s. And the moth costume, can't forget about that! I wrote a paper about Kate's film roles for my film studies class, and this was one of the films I chose to analyze. I think my TA thought I was nuts. Oh well, good times.
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