1932-33 – Katherine Hepburn
Morning Glory
This is one of those strange instances where I like the actress, I like the performance, but I didn’t particularly like the character. An acting role combines the script and the skill of the actor. When the two are in synch, a wonderful and memorable character can be created. This was Hepburn’s first of many Best Actress nominations, and her first win, and to be sure, she did a fine job in the part. But I found the character annoying and a little unlikeable. I’ll explain.
Hepburn played the part of Eva Lovelace, a determined young woman who’s most desperate desire was to be a famous stage actress. However, though she was a essentially a good girl, she was clearly a pretender, a wannabe, and a bad liar. She wasn’t completely in touch with reality. I guess I was a bit turned off by the constant dishonesty of the character, as it was written. However, Hepburn was a good enough actress as to make Eva believable. And when she stopped the inane chattering written into the script long enough to do some serious acting, she knocked it out of the park.
There was one scene in particular where she really shined. At a fancy party, she is, within seconds, utterly drunk after a few sips of champagne. Again, I call that poor writing, but never-mind that. Hepburn goes into reciting Shakespeare from both Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Those little monologues were fantastic, and that was all Hepburn. Also, she was perfection in the film’s climax. She is unexpectedly thrust into performing the lead part in a new play. We don’t get to see any of that performance within the context of the film, but apparently, she is so good that she is finally recognized as the great actress she’d been pretending to be all along.
Katherine Hepburn certainly had a unique look. There was a loveliness in the severity of her features. The corners of her mouth had a natural down-turn to them that made her always look like she was frowning, even when she was smiling. Her cheekbones were high and sharp. And her eyes were both soft and deep, and yet wise and imperious at the same time. And as for that quick chatterbox dialogue, she never seemed to stumble or even skip a beat. Very well done!