Alice Adams (1935)

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Booth Tarkington (novel)
Dorothy Yost (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 January 1936 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Twenty-two and wonderful ... as Booth Tarkington's loveliest heroine!

Plot:

The misadventures of two social-climbing women in small town America.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Restaurant | Mother Daughter Relationship | Mother Son Relationship | Family Life

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Alice Adams
Fred MacMurray	...	Arthur Russell
Fred Stone	...	Virgil Adams
Evelyn Venable	...	Mildred 'Georgette' Palmer
Frank Albertson	...	Walter Adams
Ann Shoemaker	...	Mrs. Adams
Charley Grapewin	...	J. A. Lamb
Grady Sutton	...	Frank Dowling
Hedda Hopper	...	Mrs. Palmer
Jonathan Hale	...	Mr. Palmer
Hattie McDaniel	...	Malena Burns, Maid Serving Dinner (as Hattie McDaniels)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Brennan	...	(scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Booth Tarkington's Alice Adams (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1101) | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

RKO Encino Ranch - Balboa Boulevard & Burbank Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

There was a disagreement among Katharine Hepburn and George Stevens about the post-party scene. The script called for Hepburn to fall onto the bed and break into sobs, but Stevens wanted her to walk to the window and cry, with the rain falling outside. Hepburn could not produce the tears required, so she asked Stevens if she could do the scene as scripted. Stevens yelled furiously at Hepburn, which did the trick and the scene was filmed Stevens' way, and Hepburn's tears are real.

Quotes:

Arthur Russell: [walking with Alice on the street, discussing her brother] I thought it was quite original, his, uh, amusing himself with the cloakroom attendants.
Alice Adams: [laughs] Walter is original. You know, he's a very odd boy. I was afraid you'd misunderstand him. He tells the most wonderful darkie stories and he'll just do anything to get them to talk to him.
[laughs]
Alice Adams: We think he'll probably write about them some day. He's rather literary.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Aviator (2004)

Soundtrack:

I CAN'T WALTZ ALONE

Over The Top Hepburn

I watched this movie last night, and I confess that I've never been enamored of Katherine Hepburn, although I have liked her in quite a few movies. In Alice Adams, I got to see, and especially to hear that quintessential Hepburn impression that you hear in Bugs Bunny cartoons and the impressionists who performed on TV in the 1960's, and it was just too much for this viewer. If she had pronounced the word "really" as "rally" one more time, I would've needed a tranquilizer.

Katherine plays a girl, alleged to be poor, who actually lives in what appears to be a middle class family, who is desperately trying to be accepted in upper crust society. Her attempts to be a "society girl" whenever someone of importance is around made me cringe with embarrassment for her. For some, this may have been seen as her playing the role well, as that was to some degree the point, but for me, her performance was way too exaggerated. I think she could've gotten the point across by being somewhat more subtle. Overall, her performance was a detriment to this viewer. I thought Fred MacMurray did a good job as her unpretentious suitor and I agree 100% with the last reviewer that Katherine's father, played by Fred Stone, had me thinking he was a rotten actor until later in the movie when he charmed me in the scenes where Fred MacMurray comes to meet the family and have dinner with them, (IMO the best scenes in the movie), and then impressed me in the confrontation scene with his boss.

Overall, it was a mediocre movie for me, dragged down by Katherine's performance which I found to be way too obvious and phony, and most likely influenced by the over acting of the silent film era that had only recently gone by.