HISTORY LESSON: "Kate the Great"

Hollywood is often referenced as the birthplace and home to the walking wounded. This city is overwrought with such a tragic history that it is difficult at times to see the beauty behind the beast. However, it should be noted that for every horror story, every drug-addicted end, every suicidal leap, there are an equal amount of career successes, envelope pushers, and obstacle anihilators. Those who fall into these latter categories normally possess either an innate or well-honed thick skin or an almost blissfully ignorant optimism. Oh, and of course an unstoppable ambition that oversteps the bounds of stubborness. Though it is unfortuante that the cream doesn't always seem to rise to the top-- despite what the old adage tells us-- it does appear that hungry, voracious, and spirited individuals are often able to stake their claim and maintain healthy, lengthy careers in the movie business.

One such person is Katharine Hepburn (above). Almost unreasonably optimistic, Kate was a solid actress and a dependable friend for all her years in Hollywood. Sturdy, intelligent, and determined, this class act and unconventional beauty was able to make it on her own terms. While she could be glamorous, she never lost her Kate-ness, opting to showcase her own unique personality and integrity over the glossy and spoon-fed images of the day. Let's face it: Kate was odd. Freckled, skinny, and ambiguous, her guts and talent carried her far. She won over the respect of the industry, the love of her fans, and along the way made quite the assortment of friends. Despite her flinty demeanor, Kate proved herself to be a loyal and warm-hearted individual who lent her kindness to many over the years. Her go-get-it spirit and can-do attitude became a crutch for many to lean on in a time of need, even if they were complete strangers. A pre-feminist in many ways, Kate most importantly was there for her fellow "sisters" in the industry, becoming the ever-present Ms. Fix-it during times of trouble or chaos. Here are a few examples:

Our December Lady, Veronica Lake (left), was not well acquainted with Katharine Hepburn in 1943. Certainly, they had at some point or other crossed paths at parties or Hollywood events, but they weren't good friends. One couldn't even refer to them as acquaintances. For this reason, Kate was the last person that Ronni would expect to show up during a time of emergency. Yet, when Veronica was in the hospital after losing her second child (William Anthony Detlie, born prematurely and thereafter succumbing to uremic poisoning), she would wake up to discover Kate sitting next to her bed, complete in a mink coat. Surprised, Veronica's eyes bulged! Kate had just stopped by because she was in the hospital visiting her secretary and heard about Ronni's sad news. She offered her condolensces and offered to help in any way she could. Deeply touched, the proud Ronni said that she was fine but appreciated the sentiment. The two sat chatting briefly before Kate got up and left, but Veronica was markedly cheered after this random visit. For a stranger to go out of her way to wish her well meant a great deal to her during a sad and lonely moment in her life, especially since she was often ostracized and gossiped about by many in the industry. Kate's final words to her were, "Remember Veronica, the calla lilies will bloom again." Ronni never forgot it.

Ava Gardner (right) too had a run in with Kate, who would reveal herself as a Jack-of-all-trades. Kate was a good friend of George Cukor. Indeed, the pair would make numerous movies together due to their chemistry as actress and director as well as their connection and understanding as people. Kate was a constant visitor at George's home, attending his many soirees, where the gay director always enjoyed inviting his favorite leading ladies. Cukor later became equally enamored of Ava, the devastatingly beautiful and underrated actress, though he was sadly unable to make more than one movie with her-- Bhowani Junction. Nonetheless, their friendship was lifelong. After they made this film together, George invited Ava and her constant, tag-along sister "Bappie" to one of his get-togethers (in 1978). But on the way, the sisters got a flat tire. When George found out, passing them at the right time in his own car with Mia Farrow, he knew just what to do. He sent for Kate! Without fluttering an eyelid, Kate came down from the party, crouched to the ground-- all 69 years of her-- spun a wrench, switched in a spare, and sent her two grateful new friends on their way. Ava was surprised and delighted. Of all the people to show up... Imagine getting a flat and having Kate Hepburn pull up in a tow truck!!!

Several years prior, in 1940, Viven Leigh and Laurence Olivier had obtained divorces from their mutual spouses and were ready to finally make their scandalous love affair legitimate. Calling up friend Garson Kanin, Viv and Larry (pictured left in Fire over England) asked him to be the best man at their secret wedding. Garson, who was dead asleep when the duo called, quickly agreed, but then he remembered that he was to have a script conference with Kate later that day. Thus, he suggested that he bring her along as a bridesmaid. The two lovebirds heartily agreed, and since Kate was always game for anything, she too jumped out of bed after her call to duty, threw on some clothes, joined the wedding party, and served as the maid-of-honor to a bride she didn't even know! Everyone had a blast, and soon Viv and Larry were off on their honeymoon aboard Ronald Colman's yacht.

Kate would again come to Vivien's aid after the latter woman's bipolar disorder had severely impaired her life. Already divorced from Larry-boy, Viv was in the constant company of her lover Jack Merivale by 1965. During shooting on Ship of Fools (see right), she had an extreme mental attack brought on by the dark  nature of her role. After displaying very erratic behavior at a party thrown by Rosalind Russell,  Jack felt that Viv needed to be taken to the hospital for emergency ECT treatments immediately. But it wasn't that easy: in her current state of mind, dragging Viv to the doctor was no easy task, and it was also a challenge to get her there without the scathing paparazzi taking advantage of the situation. Jack wanted to get her there quietly, before anyone found out and could make a stink about it-- he didn't want his beloved humiliated. He therefore called George Cukor, who in turn called on Kate. 

Kate dropped what she was doing to rush to Viv's side, despite the fact that since the wedding the two had had little interaction. After finding a discrete doctor, she hopped in the back seat of Jack's car, and he drove the three of them to the hospital. All the while, Kate ducked down in back so as not to be recognized and used her light-hearted humor to calm the situation. She talked casually with Viv about normal things, distracting her from the current stress. By the time they reached the hospital, Viv was no longer unmanageable and seemed like her normal self again. She was quietly escorted inside and received the proper care. Viv's ECT treatments were always a stressful and painful thing to endure, for both Jack and Viv (together, left), but again Kate lent her support and was also there for future treatments required after this initial visit. Jack emphatically thanked his red-headed hero for her generosity, but to Kate, it was all in a day's work.

But of course, the most notable charity work Kate ever did was for her soul-mate Spencer Tracy. Her deep love for the complex and tormented actor caused her to sacrifice her life in martyrdom to his constant upkeep and welfare. The fact that such opposing forces of nature and unlikely lovers should ever come together is a mystery in itself. Somehow, the two did fall in love, and their off and onscreen affair lasted from their official meeting prior to Woman of the Year to Spencers's death in 1967. An affair it was, as Spencer had been married to the long-suffering Louise Treadwell since 1923. Katharine was not his first extra-marital dalliance, nor would she be his last, and the same demons that sent him continuosly seeking refuge in the bottle equally found him bounding from bed to bed. His relationship with Kate was somehow different, and his main attraction was probably compelled by his sense of her strength.

Spencer and Kate in their first collaboration,

Woman of the Year, the film on which they would 

fall in love.

Though Kate certainly found Spencer's marital status a bit unsavory, as certainly many others did, she was perhaps quelled a bit by the fact that he had been estranged from Louise for many years and that their marriage was one that existed in name only. Since she herself had already been wed and divorced from Ludlow Ogden Smith and had no further penchant for matrimony, and because she understood the importance for Louise to continue being Mrs. Spencer Tracy due to her charity work on behalf of her deaf son, John, Kate never pushed the issue, never asked Spencer to get a divorce, never asked for anything more than the simple partnership they had. Mostly, Kate sensed in Spencer a challenge, and God knows she loved a challenge. Despite herself, she fell in love and became entirely devoted to the Irish fireball, who with all his power, willfullness, and intensity was the first to ever really shake the imperturbable New Englander up.

For their entire relationship, Kate was a crutch and pillar of strength for the temperamental and unsteady Spence to lean upon. A source of comfort during his tormented, guilt-ridden moments and a force to be reckoned with when he needed sobering up, Kate served as a care-taker, mother, nursemaid, friend, and lover. When Spence would disappear for weeks or even months at at time, Kate would be there to nurse him back to health when he returned. The fact that she stuck by him through thick and thin, despite his overly selfish tendencies, amazed and awed him. For once, he had found a place to be safe; a place where he was accepted warts and all, and could be at peace. Kate's allegiance can most obviously be seen in the last picture that the two made together, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. At this point, Spencer's unpredictable behavior and drinking habits endangered his casting in what would too be his last movie. Believing in his talent and his courage as a human being, Kate showed her faith in him by putting her own salary up as collateral to pay for his insurance. The studio accepted, and the duo delivered their most palpable and heartbreaking work together, and without incident.

Their last film together, 

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.

Spencer would pass away on June 10, 1967 after 25 years as Kate's unlawful husband. He remained, to her own dying day on June 29, 2003, the love of her life. Kate's relationship with Spencer falls into place with the other events of her life, wherein she played the game her own way, unapologetically, and with great spunk and spirit. The motivations that pushed her along, despite occassional appearances, where never selfish. This was a woman who could do only what she saw in her eyes as right and just, even if it went against the grain of what others thought or believed. When a person is secure in oneself, she can extend her good fortune and warmth to others, and there are many who were blanketed by the safety of Kate's generosity. So, while it is her onscreen talent that has solidified her place in pop culture history, it is the great humanity and depth in her personal character that makes her truly admirable. These selfsame things fueled her unparalleled filmic characterizations-- full of passion, gravity, and chutzpah. She earned her nickname for a reason: Kate truly was "Great."

Kate always adhered faithfully to her family's motto:

 "Listen to the song of life."

MENTAL MONTAGE: Accidentally on Purpose

Certain movie moments stick with you. Whether it be one Hell of a line-- "I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"-- or a devastating shot-- Rhett carrying Scarlett up that staircase-- these pieces of cinematic splendor become permanent fixtures in our consciousness. The Mona Lisa, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, John Wayne... They belong to all of us, as familiar as the back of one's hand. 

When a memorable incident of film occurs unexpectedly in a spur-of-the-moment improvisation, it makes the event even more special; as if it were an act of God. When an actor is so deeply invested in his character that he can bring forth an unwritten truth, or when someone makes a flub that just so happens to be filmic kismet, we are all given the sweet gift of accidental movie magic. Here are some examples:

Acting genius often goes unrecognized, because those that are really, really good at what they do make it look easy. Jean Arthur (left) is a prime example of this: a woman who took her profession so seriously that it made her often physically ill. But there was more to Jean than the reiteration of lines and the fluttering of eyelids. She went beyond the script to inject her performances with little bits of business that made her characters truly unique and much more than the typical "Gal Friday." One entertaining example came when George Stevens caught Jean playing around in front of the mirror in The Talk of the Town. That hilarious and embarrassing moment when Ronald Colman walks in on her in her bedroom, dragging her hair over her face à la Veronica Lake and repeating "Lovelay... Lovelay" in a Kate Hepburn drawl was not originally in the script. However, it was added when Stevens saw that such an awkward and vulnerable moment would help to instigate the attraction between the two characters, which in turn would fan the flame of the love triangle between Arthur, Colman, and Cary Grant in the film. A few seconds of Jean's uncanny oddness, and cinematic gold was found!

Lightning struck twice for Jean, but the next time was with co-star Joel McCrea in The More the Merrier. The beautiful and sexy moment that the two share on the front stoop (below) after a dinner date was also not officially planned. The words were all there on the page, but the performance was missing. Joel and Jean got together before they began shooting and decided to raise the stakes. Instead of the usual romantic tension, they  kicked it up a notch, lacing the scene with unspoken desire and uncontrollable attraction. Or, as Joel put it, he got to "cop a feel." As Jean continues her dialogue as written, Joel kisses her neck and puts his arms around her, intermittently distracting her from the conversation as she tries to deny her surmounting arousal. Finally, their lips meet. It is pure poetry, and one more perfect scene out of one of the most perfect of romantic comedies.

In some situations, there is a conspiracy between actors or director and crew to play a joke on an unsuspecting victim, juuuuuust to see how it plays out on film. Most don't expect the captured image to see the light of day, but every once in awhile, the result is so phenomenal that it becomes legendary. One such instance is in Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn's first film, in which she won over the American Heart as well as the Academy Award. When she and Gregory Peck approach the "Mouth of Truth" (La Bocca della VeritÃ, below ), Greg and director William Wyler decided to play a prank on the ingenue. Instead of the planned scene, in which Greg would nervously put his hand in the lion's den and remove it unscathed, Wyler instructed him to pretend to be in mortal danger. So, Greg put his hand into the mouth and began screaming in agony, trying unsuccessfully to free himself! Terrified, Audrey grabbed at her co-star, tugging and pulling in attempts to release him. To her dismay, Greg's arm finally emerged from the hole, but his hand was gone! He then popped it out of his sleeve and, smiling mischievously, offered it to her in a shake. Thankfully, the sweethearted girl was a good sport, and they laughed it up. Wyler loved it so much, he decided to keep it in the film. Whether or not the moment we see today is the initial event, or they just liked the idea so much that they decided to film it a few times more, I don't know. But it remains a classic choice!

Another trick was played when James Cagney and director William Wellman decided to spice things up in the big breakfast scene in The Public Enemy. It involved a "morning after" conversation (right), where current squeeze Kitty (Mae Clarke) tries to endear herself emotionally to the dastardly gangster, Tom Powers, who clearly only wants her physically. After Tom yells at Kitty for sticking her nose into his personal business, Cagney was supposed to simply storm off. Instead, he picked up that now iconic grapefruit and smashed it into Mae's face! An extra bit of sadism, it contributed to the heartless menace of Tom Powers. The simple action spoke volumes about his character and the menace of the mobster lifestyle. Audiences were shocked by the brutality! However, there was at least one person guffawing in the theaters among the gasps. While Mae was not happy-- as she was suffering from a cold and a sore nose during the scene-- her husband,  Lew Brice, found the shot of his spouse getting a face-full of fruit absolutely hysterical, and he went to see the movie multiple times for that specific reason. (The idea was inspired by the gangster Hymie Weiss, who had used an omelet in place of a grapfruit on his own moll).

The aforementioned were all accidents, but "planned" accidents if you will. Sometimes, the moments that are caught on camera catch everyone off guard, including the next tidbit. When filming Citizen Kane, every one involved knew that it was groundbreaking and vastly different from the other films being made, but no one ever expected it to become the classic it is hailed as today. For the time being, it was just a group of friends supporting Orson Welles in his passion project. Joseph Cotten had been pals with Orson (both pictured below) for years and was a member of his Mercury Theater troupe. He was happy to sign on to play the part of Jedidiah Leland, who remained the voice of reason and conscience when Welles's Kane starts to go off the deep end. However, it was Cotten who lost his composure during one pivotal scene. After Kane loses his bid for governor, Leland-- sensing his old pal's dissent into greed and delusion-- asks to be sent to Chicago to do dramatic criticism. During rehearsals, Cotten had accidentally flubbed his lines saying "dramatic crimiticism," which worked perfectly in showing that his character was thoroughly inebriated. Orson loved it so much, he had Joe repeat it for the film. It added just that extra something to make the scene more believable, and the moment of comedy also served to cut the tension. Cotten was hailed for his performance, which was enhanced further by the fact that he had stayed awake 24 hours prior to the shoot. It made Leland look like even more of a mess! When he utters that line, you can still catch a smirk on the thoroughly entertained Orson's face.

And, in a finale, let's take a look at some of the one liners that have made movie history:

In Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta became a full-fledged movie star. The disco movie seems cheesy today to the un-informed, but the actual film is full of dark undertones and the resulting generational angst of the masculine search for identity. Though John is remembered for his dance moves, it was his performance as the cocky and oblivious Italian, Tony Manero, that is the true marvel. He proved his commitment to his character in yet another meal scene, this time where it is father and son fighting. When Tony's dad goes to swat him one, Tony, unexpectedly barks back, "Hey, hey, watch the hair!" The revelation of male vanity was totally in sync with the rest of the film, and the line made it into the American mainstream. It is still uttered today in jest, though few even know its true origin!

In Midnight Cowboy, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voigt had to not only perform in emotionally and psychologically draining scenes, but they also had to put themselves in physical peril! When Ratso and Joe Buck cross a busy intersection of NYC, they were literally doing so. It was not staged, the cars and drivers weren't extras, and there were not cops to direct traffic flow. They were forced to carry out the scene as written several times, come Hell or high water, while director John Schlesinger sat safely with camera and crew on the other side of the street. Dustin, whose walk was further impaired by the pebble he had put in his shoe to exacerbate his character's limp, was in fear for his life. Thus, when a car nearly ran him and Jon over, he slammed his hand on the hood and screamed, "Hey! I'm walkin' here!!!" Today, even those who haven't seen the film know that line.

Jaws is a marvel of a film for several reasons, but then Steven Spielberg is famous for his unique ability to take the most absurd and outlandish situations and make them real. A movie about a killer shark? Really??? But it worked, and it terrifies audiences to this day. For the majority of the film, the finned villain exists only in the viewers' imagination, which is why, when he finally reveals himself, it comes as such a shock. At a test screening, Spielberg was downright proud at the gasps and screams he heard! For this reason, he got a little cocky, and decided to insert another scene to give viewers a thrill. The moment when Richard Dreyfuss finds the human head underwater was thus added, but the director later remarked that this initial shock took away from the later terror of seeing the oceanic beast. Thankfully, he had Roy Scheider to maintain that scene's magic. As if the look on Roy's face wasn't enough of a reaction when he saw the humongous shark come zipping out of the water for the first time, he calmly turned to his costar Robert Shaw aka Sam Quint and said: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." Steven loved it, and the quote stayed.

But perhaps the best improv of all time, and the one that speaks volumes (haha) about movies in general, came from the first "official" sound film: The Jazz Singer. Showman Al Jolson (below) was known for being a bit of a ham, but that extra pomp and swagger was just what was needed to woo audiences into a new era of film-- one they could hear as well as see. The entire film wasn't in sound, but the songs were, as well as the small bits of dialogue that preceded or followed. As Al was performing one of these ditties, he felt the energy he was creating and tapped into the significance of the moment and his part of it. Flying on the power of his own adrenaline, he decided to take an already huge cinematic moment and make it eternal. After performing "Dirty Hands, Dirty Face," Al threw in a line from his theater act: "You ain't heard nothin' yet!" Boy was he right, and audiences were primed for what movies had in store for them in the years to come! 

Over eighty years later, we still remain riveted and-- every once in awhile-- completely blown away by the power of movies and the directors and stars that have given them a place in our hearts.