Last night I received an e-mail from Andrew over at Encore Entertainment (if you're not already a reader I highly recommend popping over and browsing through his excellent reviews and encyclopedic knowledge) reminding me that today would have been Katherine Hepburn's 104th birthday. As a tribute he has asked for fellow bloggers to just briefly mention our favourite Hepburn performance, a tribute to the first thing that comes to mind. I can honestly say that was tough - I love Hepburn's work, only a couple of days ago I was extolling her comic skills in The Philadelphia Story to a colleague and The Lion in Winter remains close to one of my favourite films of all time.
However what came to my head first was "They don't make actors like that anymore", and I guess that's as good an epithet as any. 
Throughout her career (and even when out of the media spotlight) Katherine oozed class, proudly stood up for her gender and fought every step of the way to ensure her career went the right way. Blessed with a deeply sardonic voice and unique Bryn Mawr cadences (an attribute I can't remember her ever trying to hide) Hepburn was as much a star as the breathy European actresses like Garbo and Dietrich, clearly breaking the mode of the fluffy ingenue packaged by the studios that the American cinema goers were more used to.
Indeed she had to fight commercial and critical failure during the late thirties due to her unconventional style, but that resilience and fortitude we see so rarely today pushed her back to Broadway for "The Philadelphia Story", the success of which firmly sealed her in the public conscience.
The rest, as they say, is history. Unafraid to be herself Katherine racked up 12 Oscar nominations and an unparralleled 4 wins, her collaborations with Spencer Tracy (and their offscreen romance) are legendary, she has a body of work that shames most actresses of the time let alone stars of today. 
And in this modern age of celebrity culture, of plastic interchangeable actresses and forgettable female roles I doubt we'll ever see her ilk again.
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4 comments:
What a wonderful tribute, Ben! Excellent piece of writing. I doubt we'll ever see the likes of Hepburn again; the industry, unfortunately, doesn't seem to allow for it any more.
Thank you Tom,
It's a pleasure writing about someone as talented as Kate. And it's certainly made we want to sit down and watch some more of her performances.
Tom has left a new comment on your post "Katherine Hepburn - Always a Lady":
What a wonderful tribute, Ben! Excellent piece of writing. I doubt we'll ever see the likes of Hepburn again; the industry, unfortunately, doesn't seem to allow for it any more.
Thank you Tom,
It's a pleasure writing about someone as talented as Kate. And it's certainly made we want to sit down and watch some more of her performances.
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