MovieChat Forums > Morning Glory (1933) Discussion > I know why KH won her Oscar

I know why KH won her Oscar

posted 17 years ago by xavierPoulain
8 replies | jump to latest

It had nothing to do with her drunk scene, but it had everything to do with her performance and the state of our country at the time. Our country was in the peak of the Depression, and luckily, FDR was being to provide hope to us all. And we needed hope amongst the Depression. We also needed to show and root for the underdog. Katharine Hepburn's character in Morning Glory was such an underdog that provided hope for the masses as well as instilled that the value of hard work, amidst all circumstances, both positive and negative, comes with great reward and if you maintain working hard, you would fade away, that was the message the young Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences was saying with this win, outside but still including her excellent performance in this film and the fact that she was young, fresh, phenomenal, versatile ,talent in Hollywood, thus beginning the history of recognizing such talent in films as a major priority( with such recent wins as Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny, Hillary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, and Reese Witherspoon for Walk The Line as prime examples).

[–] xavierPoulain 17 years ago

*correction: if you maintain hard work, you won't fade away*

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Harold_Robbins 16 years ago

"Have you seen the nominees that year?"

Yes, I have - and I've seen the performances. Diana Wynyard was a lovely actress, unfortunately not well-known today - she was also superb in the 1940 British version of GASLIGHT. May Robson was one of the busiest actresses of the 1930s (she's in BRINGING UP BABY, of course) and is still much loved.

Hepburn's early win undoubtedly sabotaged her chances at winning for better, later performances such as THE PHILADELPHIA STORY and THE AFRICAN QUEEN, which made her later triumphs all the more unexpected.

"Stone-cold sober I find myself absolutely fascinating!"---Katharine Hepburn

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

I agree with you - despite the (false) legend of the Academy Award's going for the "sentimental choice" in it's acting honors, the fact is that the Oscars almost always choose "the new sensation" over "legendary star from the past making a triumph". Hollywood is not sentimental, never has been. Over and over the newcomer wins - Judy Holliday over Gloria Swanson, Juliette Binoche over Lauren Bacall, Joanne Woodward over Lana Turner, Anne Bancroft over Bette Davis. And don't forget Lillian Gish and Debbie Reynolds not even being nominated for late career sensations that had some earlier predicting Oscar! Poor old darling May Robson was cheated in 1933 and this is from a Hepburn fan. (Ironically Hepburn herself is one of the few "senior" lady stars [not counting character actresses] who did win yet in a way her 1967 Oscar falls in to this line too, she beat her elder Edith Evans in what many felt was a superior performance over Kate's!)

[–] xavierPoulain 15 years ago

So many people underrate Kate' performance in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, when actually it is one of the greatest performances of the decade and of the year 1967 especially. Kate plays a woman who has always believed in societal progress, especially in art, and she is equally tested when her daughter comes home and says she's looking to marry an African-American man, leaving her to not only question her own values, which isn't too hard because she chooses to make her beliefs active, but has to combat against her own husband, her daughter's fiancees father, her smug assistant, to push progress in the individual culture of her family and friends. After shooing Hilary, her smug assistant away so tactfully, precise, and directly, the Oscar is hers in my book. Suggestion, if I may, watch the movie from her perspective.