The Three Good Katharine Hepburn Films, In accordance To Rotten Tomatoes

Important consensus is overrated. Rotten Tomatoes could have educated movie-lovers to quantify a film’s value with a share rating lately, however a few of the greatest motion pictures ever made deeply divided critics and audiences alike. Early Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn made loads of divisive movies in her profession, from the John Wayne-led Western “Rooster Cogburn” to her first Oscar-winning movie, “Morning Glory,” to the daring interracial marriage dramedy “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.” Time Out as soon as known as the latter, which earned 10 Oscar nominations upon launch, “a wishy-washy, sanctimonious plea for tolerance, directed with Kramer’s customary verbosity and stodginess.”

It is a reality universally acknowledged that good motion pictures typically get trashed by sure critics, however that makes the uncommon movie that achieves full important consensus all of the extra fascinating — if not all the time essentially higher than the extra polarizing movies. Loads of nice actors solely have one 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating underneath their belt, however much-loved Golden Age superstar Hepburn has three. The trio of flicks which have reached peak freshness embody three rom-com stage play diversifications, two George Cukor credit, and not less than one stone-cold traditional.

“Vacation” was the earliest Hepburn movie to impress a boatload of critics. Launched in 1938, the movie starred Cary Grant as a person with a working-class background who experiences a little bit of a tradition shock when he meets his rich future in-laws. Grant’s Johnny is about to marry Doris Nolan’s Julia, however he quickly develops an eye fixed for her sister, Hepburn’s Linda. “Vacation” is probably not the flashiest or most well-known Grant-Hepburn collaboration (the pair additionally co-starred in “Bringing Up Child,” “The Philadelphia Story,” and “Sylvia Scarlett”), however critics agree that it is the most effective.

In keeping with Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregation, 30 critics have given “Vacation” their stamp of approval. It is doubtless that there are some older print critiques of the ’30s movie that have not been digitized, as most of those critics are wanting again on the movie from a contemporary lens, however they nonetheless make a convincing case for it. “The sunshine comedy achieves perfection, however beneath it lies Cukor’s critical concern for the methods wherein we select to dwell our lives,” Dave Kehr wrote for the Chicago Reader in 1985. Hepburn, who understudied for the stage model on Broadway a decade earlier, can also be praised in critiques.

Hepburn was already a family title by 1940, having starred in “Vacation” and “Bringing Up Child” and been acknowledged by the Oscars for “Morning Glory” and “Alice Adams” (although she misplaced out to Bette Davis the latter time). She was recognized, however not all the time fashionable: A Time column from 1941 famous {that a} Manhattan theater proprietor had made headlines by dubbing Hepburn and others “box-office poison” two years earlier. However “The Philadelphia Story,” one other Cukor collaboration that impressed each critic counted by Rotten Tomatoes, ended up creating wealth and solidifying her legacy for many years to come back. “Come on again, Katie, all is forgiven,” Time’s columnist claimed the theater-owner mentioned after seeing “The Philadelphia Story.”

“The Philadelphia Story” is one other profitable romantic comedy a couple of moneyed household and a love triangle involving an engaged one that’s having second ideas. This time round, Grant performs Hepburn’s ex, whereas John Howard is her betrothed and James Stewart is one other man who captures her consideration. On the time of its launch, The New York Every day Occasions known as it the most effective comedy of the yr, whereas The New Yorker dubbed it “a Hepburn triumph.” Its sterling popularity stays simply as sturdy right now. “You discover a lot pleasure in each single scene that virtually any pairing that would happen on the finish can be a satisfying one, as a result of the enjoyable you’ve got been having makes each risk a delight,” Mike Shutt wrote for /Movie in 2022.

The final 100% recent film in Hepburn’s filmography can also be the least enduring right now, although it is maybe essentially the most prescient of the bunch — and it is a Christmas film! “Desk Set,” a 1957 image co-starring Spencer Tracy, follows a bunch of broadcast firm librarians (led by Hepburn’s splendidly named Bunny Watson) who’re threatened by the addition of an early pc to their office — one which appears designed to take over their jobs. Whereas the technophobia plot unfolds, Bunny additionally finds herself caught between two males: Gig Younger’s government, Mike, and Tracy’s inventor character, Richard.

As with different motion pictures of its period, there appear to be a couple of critiques of “Desk Set” which can be solely obtainable in print, which means its excellent Rotten Tomatoes rating could not absolutely replicate actuality. The critiques which can be on-line are extra combined than the responses to her Cukor collabs, with The New York Occasions’ Bosley Crowther calling it “out of dramatic kilter” and devoid of “a lot of something” beside its lead actors’ charms. “This might have been a frail enterprise if not for Hepburn and Tracy,” The LA Occasions’ Mark Chalon Smith wrote in a ’90s retrospective, “however director Walter Lang’s silky contact and screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron’s sensible dialogue additionally increase it.”

All three motion pictures are value testing, as is the overwhelming majority of Hepburn’s filmography. As of this writing, “Vacation” is out there to stream on Prime Video, whereas “The Philadelphia Story” is on Tubi. “Desk Set,” in the meantime, may be rented digitally wherever you get your motion pictures.