"She ran the whole gamut of emotions from A-Z". Dorothy Parker's quip would have been amusing had it not referred to one of the most versatile of Hollywood actresses. Four-time Oscar winner (though of course not for her best films), star of classic comedy and drama, involved with two of the most turbulent men in Hollywood history, there was much more to Hepburn than the stately, austere New England persona her stark beauty presented.
Katharine Hepburn came from a privileged background; her accent alienated audiences in the 1930s and sounds astonishingly arch and severe now. However, she overcame these prejudices to become one of America's best-loved actresses. Her tempestuous affair with Spencer Tracy, a married, violent alcoholic, earned her the sympathy of audiences. It would be stupid to cast her as a victim though. Hepburn gave as good as she got; the strong, willed, determined character we see in her films had its foundation in reality.
She was also involved with the maverick producer and aviator Howard Hughes. Hughes, a man renowned for his passion for planes and big-breasted women (whose careers he prided himself on making or ruining), found his match in the intelligent, small-breasted Hepburn. She was able to maintain her independence from him whilst in a working and emotional relationship, which no one else ever managed.
Katharine Hepburn was the last of the Hollywood royalty and her death seems to have marked the passing of any link with Hollywood's golden age. She starred in some of its greatest films, from Bringing Up Baby to her last Oscar-winning performance, the sentimental On Golden Pond and maintained a dignity above the usual in-fighting and scandal of Hollywood.
Bringing Up Baby falls just short of outright insanity. To describe the many twists and turns of this screwball classic would take a book in itself. But for the first time it brings together Hepburn, in her most memorable and beguiling performance, and Cary Grant. Grant, archaeologist on the cusp of success and marriage, finds himself tormented by heiress Hepburn and her pet leopard. Grant's whole identity is questioned, as he finds himself wearing a silk dressing gown defending his sexuality or desperately following a dog everywhere it goes. The on-set chemistry between Hepburn and Grant sparkles, we can feel the frisson of their love/hate relationship. 1930s Hollywood and its actors knew how to send themselves up; there was none of the forced sincerity of present-day Hollywood. Consequently, Bringing Up Baby, despite the almost surrealist nature of its comedy, just feels so natural.
The Philadelphia Story The posh New England persona has often been resented by other, less fortunate Americans and Hepburn found herself a victim of this prejudice, not least because she lived up to it. Hepburn therefore got together with Howard Hughes to make a film which would both mock and shed that image. Teaming up once again with Cary Grant, with the magic of James Stewart added into the mix, The Philadephia Story is classic romantic comedy. Funny, carefully structured and wonderfully performed, it shows Hepburn as warm, loving yet insecure, making it easier for America to accept her.
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