MovieChat Forums > High Society (1956) Discussion > Grace Kelly imitating Katherine Hepburn

Grace Kelly imitating Katherine Hepburn

posted 14 years ago by jinx-37
25 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong, in general, I'm a fan of Grace Kelly. But am I the only one who noticed that she really seemed to be imitating Katherine Hepburn's manner of speaking for this movie?

KH has a very distinct speaking pattern that worked very well as Tracy Lords. And the whole time I watched High Society (which I enjoyed), I felt like I wasn't watching Grace Kelly as Tracy Lords, but, rather, Grace Kelly as Katherine Hepburn as Tracy Lords.

Am I the only one who noticed that?

[–] schmeppy 14 years ago

no i absolutely agree. i didn't even know about hıgh society before and i noticed that it was the same story as the philadelphia story. i think the acting is too over the top for grace kelly who is very modest with her acting usually and it just doesn't work for her. the phıladephıa story is one of my favorite movies and grace kelly one of my favorite actresses but i wish they hadn't done high society or cast grace kelly at all. i think even audrey hepburn might have been better for the role.

[–] TheDuchessofM 14 years ago

Nope.

For me, the entire charm of the film rests in the music because the script hacked the story into pieces, the actors portraying Dinah and Mrs and Mrs Lord were unremarkable, and the cinematography was horrid (so many long shots!).

[–] dslavensky 13 years ago

It was the FIRST thing I noticed, and I just came looking to see if someone else had started a thread in regards to this!

[–] HunterSVonnegut 13 years ago

^^^LOL, ditto. It's on TCM even as I type this.

[–] loviatar9 13 years ago

Watching it on TCM right now also, lol... agreed about the Grace-as-Katherine-as- Tracey. I also get the same thing from Sinatra; he seems to be doing lots of Jimmy Stewart-like actions and facial expressions.

[–] Eightythreeyearoldguy 13 years ago

I have the suspicion that the similarity in acting is due to the director. I very much doubt that either Grace Kelly or Frank Sinatra would have modeled themselves after the earlier actors.

I'm the kind of guy, when I move - watch my smoke. But I'm gonna need some good clothes though.

[–] thbryn 12 years ago

Look Grace always had the Phily mainline affected way of speaking. She wasn't imitating anyone.

[–] EllisFowler 8 years ago

Look Grace always had the Phily mainline affected way of speaking. She wasn't imitating anyone.

She wasn't "Phily mainline" (oy) and she didn't "always" have it. If there were two Caucasians who were less WASPy (and hence more miscast) than Kelly and Crosby, they don't quickly come to mind. Kelly sounded like the nasal suburban Philadelphia girl she was until she developed that mid-Atlantic accent, which she maintained for the rest of her life, at the behest of her acting instructors. Although she came from great wealth, she was NOT of Main Line stock.

Hepburn and Grant made much more convincing WASPs although Kelly was a lot better looking.

[–] rudykawa 12 years ago

I agree.

I too thought she was kind of imitating Katherine.
And although Katherine was a much better actress, Grace Kelly was an unmatching beauty, specially comparing with Hepburn.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] rmanlius 11 years ago

I didn't notice that. I think they had similar voices and speech, distinct from everybody else, but similar to each other, and just right for the character.

[–] ang-son 11 years ago

Totally agree. Especially when she's all "i don't remember yesterday" etc. Even her mannerisms reminded me of Hepburn.

[–] zuzupetal_99 11 years ago

That's one of the main things that bothered me about the movie, is I felt that Kelly was trying too hard to be Hepburn. That makes this effort pointless because I don't want a copy of a copy; in that case I'd just watch the original.

Grace Kelly is so pretty to look at though - I did like that she sang in this - the True Love was a very pretty duet, and it was amusing to see her playing drunk while singing Sensational. But overall, I was unmoved by her performance and the movie in general. One of my favorite lines from Philadelphia Story is "my she was yar...." and the explanation of what yar means. I felt like Kelly just threw the lines away and that's really where she lost me in the movie.

"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Am a big Kelly fan and while I like her seeing her in the film (as she only made 11), I don't think she was a great success. Her trademark calm, cool and collected demeanour is cast aside in an over-acted, over chatty, performance as a so called icy, spoiled socialite.

In virtually all her films she was cast (oddly perhaps) with older men, but here, IMO, there's not a lot of chemistry occurring between Crosby, Sinatra and her.

For me it's a case of:

"It's Grace Jim, but not as we know her."

[–] mmitsos-1 9 years ago

Littlelep, you are one COLOSSAL buffoon.

"Who would fight over Hepburn?" Oh, because YOU think she was unattractive????

"James Stewart FLUBBED his lines"?????? Say what??????
Yeah, I guess that's why he won the Best Supporting Acting Oscar for his performance in THIS ROLE.

If there's one thing I loathe, it's a completely DUMB, pulled-out-of-an-ass comment. It's not even worthy to be called an observation, because you clearly do not observe.

You're a complete moron.

[–] jhpen22 10 years ago

As a movie, this is inferior to The Philadelphia Story in every way except for the remarkable music. Crosby, Kelley, and Sinatra, are simply no match for Grant, Hepburn, and Stewart. As actors, screen presences--however you want to classify them--they are very cheap imitations. But that glorious music! Nobody writes songs like I Love You Samantha, A Swell Party, and True Love anymore, and more's the pity.