bhryun Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 If you agree, you can tell me why. If you don't agree, you can tell me why. I need the whole story. I need the whole picture. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
bhryun Posted April 14, 2005 Author Share Posted April 14, 2005 If you like to read, I'd suggest 'Me' by Katherine Hepburn herself. Also, 'Tracy and Hepburn by Garson Kanin (He was married to Ruth Gordon) is an excellent book and a little shorter than 'Me'. A while back, before I started posting here, there was a long discussion going on the Great Kate Debate. Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I highly recommend the book myself as well. She was a great actress, but it is hard to define an actor by "great". I love her, and her movies, but in all honestly, I think they just wanted it to rhyme. Link to post Share on other sites
bhryun Posted April 15, 2005 Author Share Posted April 15, 2005 I think she's a really good actress. I stayed up till three a.m. watching her movies. Link to post Share on other sites
allycat1920 Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Kate definatly deserves her title of Great. Watch her in the Lion in Winter and you can see just how great she was. But beyond that she was one of the coolest people ever to grace Hollywood. I have a book called Katherine Hepburn Once Said, whichis a whole book of just her quotes and I have read the autobiography people have mentioned, both are two of the most interesting and entertianing books I have ever read. Link to post Share on other sites
bhryun Posted April 17, 2005 Author Share Posted April 17, 2005 Never liked her style or looks. Link to post Share on other sites
lux0786 Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Not the Great, IMO. So far (things can change), I haven't got the Kate bug. I'm afraid I belong to the Dorothy Parker school of thought (trivia: what did DP say about KH?). I shy away of the Tracy-Hepburn offerings. Yet, I watched Pat and Mike recently and thought she was not so bad at all. I kind of like her in Little Women as well. (though much more taken with Joan Bennett). I was really impressed with her athleticism in Pat and Mike. Os said she did her own golfing and tennis in the picture; in fact, those abilities were the inspiration for the film. I fear, however, that she hits golf balls (quite a display, that scene)better than she acts ... imo. Link to post Share on other sites
tracey65k Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I know this is an old topic, but thought I'd respond anyway, because I like Hepburn. Katharine Hepburn is definitely an acquired taste. I'm a fan and there are some of her movies I can't stand to watch--like "Morning Glory" and The Little Minister." Besides the movies she made with Spencer Tracy (the comedies more so than the dramas, my favorites of her movies are the ones she made when she was over 30 and her voice had dropped a little--"Song of Love", "The African Queen" "Summertime", "The Lion in Winter" and "Long Days Journey into Night." I think she may have been given the appelation "The Great" becuase she was around for so long and she won 4 Oscars. Was she the greatest actress of all time, as the AFI voted her? Maybe not. But she was also a true original, and never compromised her values and people admire her for that. Link to post Share on other sites
johnnyweekes70 Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I like Katharine Hepburn. But this reminds me of the time I saw Woman of the Year a couple of years ago and was hugely disappointed. I thought I'd watched better B films than that one. The only sequence I found entertaining was a bit with Tracy snickering at Hepburn as she was trying to cook, or make toast, or something like that. I don't remember it too well coz I tried to forget that film. I think the Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy unity is just a little overrated. I found the Katharine Hepburn/Peter O'Toole combo much more energized, and I'd love to see the Katharine Hepburn/Bob Hope combo at some point in the near future. Also, you gotta love those outfits in Christopher Strong. Hepburn's comments in All About Me regarding those were very humourous. Good Heavens, what a shallow posting I've come up with! Link to post Share on other sites
tracey65k Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Johnnyweekes-- I looked for months for a region 1 video or DVD of "The Iron Petticoat" and finally bought a PAL copy of the DVD. For some reason, it wouldn't play on my DVD player (which is supposed to play PAL--that's why I bought it)so I watched it on my computer. Shows what desperation can do for you! Anyway, it was actually not half bad. Not a resounding recommendation, I realize, but everything I'd read about it made it sound like a horrendous mess. Hepburn's Russian accent isn't good, but it's not bad and Hope and Hepburn have pretty good chemistry. The story is a little uneven, but still very watchable. You're right about the Hepburn-O'Toole pairing--it fairly crackles with energy. Maybe the problem with the Tracy-Hepburn pairing was that after a while, they got too comfortable together? Like an old married couple rather than lovers? I don't know--I liked "Woman of the Year" all except the scene where she cooks breakfast--too out of character for Tess Harding. I read somewhere that they tacked that on to make audiences like Tess Harding better. Might even be a man--woman thing--my husband watched it with me once and at the end he was like, "OMG! I can't believe he's going back with her! She's such a b***h!" Link to post Share on other sites
fssbdgtsue59 Posted September 1, 2005 Share Posted September 1, 2005 Kate was indeed herself. I personally think she was a great actress but from what I've heard she probably could also have been a real pain in the rearend assembly if she wanted to. And I know for sure she could be a b---- when she wanted to be. I read her biography on IMDB and it showed me some surprising things about her. I was rather taken aback at some of her comments. She truly was one of a kind and they don't makem like that anymore! Sue Link to post Share on other sites
fssbdgtsue59 Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Come on, people. I know you also have things to say about Kate, so do it, already! Sue Link to post Share on other sites
tracey65k Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 Sue-- One of the things I've always liked about Hepburn was her outspoken-ness. She said just what she thought, even if it wasn't what the rest of the world thought--or claimed to think. I've read several bios of her and they all point to her strong family ties and unconventional upbringing as being key influences ont he person she was. Her mom was a suffregette (sp) and later campaigned for Planned Parenthood (and it's predecessor) andher father was one of the first urologists in the country and was very outspoken about sexually transmitted diseases (and this was in the teens and 20's). The children in the family were pushed very hard to excel, (which may have contributed to her brother's maybe suicide) but were also encouraged to be individuals and speak their minds. One Kate story I love is the one about her pants--she wore trousers to work and RKO didn't like it, so wardrobe stole them from her dressing room. Kate said that if she didn't get them back, she'd walk around in her undies. And that's what she did...and her pants were returned shortly there after. LOL Link to post Share on other sites
allycat1920 Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 That's a great story, I hadn't herd it before. I generally don't like to get to much in to actors and actresses on a personal level except as far as it relates to their films. But there are a few that really intrigue me that I make exceptions for; Myrna Loy, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Bogart. Hepburn was definitely first on that list though. She really was one of the most interesting people on and off the screen. Link to post Share on other sites
bhryun Posted September 9, 2005 Author Share Posted September 9, 2005 I never thought that Kate Hepburn ever played anyone but Kate Hepburn. Of course that's all right if you like her. I don't: she's too chiseled, too patrician and too cold for my tastes. I loved her in the African Queen and the Lion in Winter because that just what those parts called for. RG Link to post Share on other sites
thakhek5 Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 I think you're right - she never played anyone other than herself (probably why she was box-office poison for so long). But she did try - particularly on stage, and I think she was much better as she got a little older. Some of her early movies are just unwatchable. Of course she was unconventional and self-absorbed; she could afford to be - she was born rich, married rich, and stayed rich. That makes it much easier to be demanding and outspoken. Link to post Share on other sites
tracey65k Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 Yes, congenital wealth does tend to give you a confidence boost...LOL Link to post Share on other sites
fssbdgtsue59 Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 Wish I could have some congenital wealth..... Sue Link to post Share on other sites
tracey65k Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Yeah, me too... Link to post Share on other sites
ThinMan15 Posted December 24, 2005 Share Posted December 24, 2005 If "she ran the gamut of emotions from A to B" as Dorothy Parker said, there's an awfully wide range between A & B. Katharine played a small town girl in Alice Adams and a queen in The Lion in Winter. She made both funny, moving and real. Enough said. Link to post Share on other sites
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