No, not too stagy, thanks to the brilliant director, George Cukor but stagy enough that you can imagine what a great theatrical presence Kate must have been. Her marvelous 'stage-voice' her angular commanding figure and face, the way she moves in broad expressive gestures. There were some who preferred her on Broadway rather than Hollywood. We can only get a hint from the film, theatrical performances are lost forever.
shareInterestingly enough, she was dogged, or met with lukewarm appraisal, all throughout her stage career, by both the public and the critics. Anyways, she was luminous in this role, as were Grant and Stewart.
share Yes she was luminous indeed. Her stage acting was 'mannered' and eccentric according to some detractors but she makes this style work in films and I'm sure she did on stage. A good example would be Alice Adams - she makes Alice Adams into a Katherine Hepburn we never knew, which is much different than later method actors and their obsession with 'becoming' the role. She never vanishes into a role...I wouldn't want her to.
One of my favorite quotes: Dorothy Parker was once a Broadway theater critic and describing a Katherine Hepburn performance said "she ran the gamut of emotions from A to B".
shareKathrine Hepburn is usually far too stagy for my taste but for this film she was perfect. She sparkeld. I loved that this film was little bit stagy but in a good way and not too mutch.
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