Morgenrot des Ruhms

Historical accounts of the 1932-33 Academy Awards claim that there was only polite applause when the Best Actor and Best Actress awards were presented. Charles Laughton won Best Actor for his performance in "The Private Life of Henry VIII," and the guests at the awards ceremony were not pleased that the Academy chose a (gasp!) non-American. Katharine Hepburn won the Best Actress prize for her performance in "Morning Glory," and the tepid response to her win was due to the fact that the actress had already made herself unliked among Hollywood circles. Hepburn of course would go on to have perhaps the single most illustrious career ever for a movie star, and whether or not she was ever truly liked, she became one of the most revered and respected actresses in the business.

But based on her performance in "Morning Glory," it's easy to see why she turned people off. She's just weird. That weirdness was likely interpreted as unique, and she certainly delivers lines in the film in a way that no actress had delivered lines before her. I have to believe it's this uniqueness that won her the Oscar. But as a performance, it's pretty dreadful, though the movie around her is such an afterthought that I don't know that anyone could have done much with it.

Hepburn plays Eva Lovelace, a naive, stagestruck kid who comes to New York with ambitions to be a serious actress and annoys everyone so much that they just give in and give her her big break even if there's no logical reason for doing so. (I'm sure that's how the show business world really works). I don't know whether to blame the writing, directing, or Hepburn herself, but Eva comes across as mentally unhinged rather than innocent, and the film gives us no conceivable reason that a theater impresario (Adolphe Menjou) and a renowned playwright (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) would be so infatuated with her, let alone allow her to just sit around their offices and homes all the time while they go about their business. Despite being innocent and haughty and above it all, she falls into bed easily with Menjou and then becomes obsessed with him, until the end when, on a dime, she pivots and realizes that she's a woman scorned. Nothing in this movie makes narrative sense, and you want to see Hepburn punched in the face more than you want to see her character make it on Broadway.

I had the most fun with Mary Duncan, an actress I'd never heard of, who plays a Broadway diva, and I was struck with how much sex appeal Douglas Fairbanks had. Why on earth Hepburn's character didn't fall for him instead of Menjou is just one of the nonsensical plot developments this film wants us to swallow.

Grade: C-

"Morning Glory" (1933): Katherine Hepburn won her first Oscar in the role of a naive, romantic young woman who wants to become a New York stage star. The story is of that climb, and were it kept this direct, might not be a brain teaser, but at least it wouldn't end muddled. Her character begins as a wonderfully flaky, idealistic, bubble-headed but assertive hopeful, who stumbles her way into the hearts of calloused stage people. You can't help but like her. However… whether it's in the script or the editing, the sense of TIMING becomes very odd. Her character is given plenty of attention and patience in the first half of the film, and then the story is increasingly horse-whipped into a faster & faster, more compressed, rushed explanation, until finally – at the end (if you can call it that) – the entire idea simply SCREECHES TO A SUDDEN HALT – and you're left looking around the room, wondering if the electricity just went out.

I ordinarily don't like Katharine Hepburn even with her four Academy Awards. She, Gloria Swanson, and a handful of other actresses sound like they're putting on--like they are trying to hard to sound like something and someone they're not. To this day I can't place Katharine Hepburn's accent and manner of speaking. It's like she made up a way of speaking just to be different. So you can trust me when I say she was perfect for the role of Eva Lovelace.

Eva Lovelace was a young unknown actress who traveled to New York to try to make a name for herself on Broadway. She went to see Louis Easton (Adolphe Menjou) (Louis per end credits, Lewis per a poster in the movie), a big time Broadway producer. Louis wasn't terribly impressed with her gumption and her flare, but Joseph Sheridan (Douglas Fairbanks) certainly was. Douglas was a playwright who wrote many things for Mr. Easton.

If Eva was going to make it in New York she was going to have to be spectacular and she was going to need some help.

Katharine Hepburn playing an actress is great. It fits her perfectly. It's the perfect role to explain everything about her I mentioned in the first paragraph. She was made for the role of Eva Lovelace and she truly brought the character to life.

2.99 on YouTube.

Many of the reviews point out how dated some of this movie is. And it is. It is a museum piece. That does not make it unwatchable. The story is cliche-ed by now, but only because Hollywood kept making various versions of it over the years. The talking movie was in its infancy then and silent movies were still a recent memory. The stage is where many film actors of the time started and performing in the theater meant putting the material across for the audience and projecting which current movie acting does not require. (Just show up and be yourself.) The theater had more cache in 1932 than movies and it is perfectly understandable Eva Lovelace would be attracted to it. Hepburns Bryn Mawr accent fits perfectly with the character who worries too much about how she sounds and wants to sound more British or high-toned. Her naivete makes her laughable at one moment and charming in another. Hepburn does a good job with all of that. She talks too much and says silly thinks that reflect her youth and romantic ideas about the stage, as the character is from some town in Vermont. She can be grating as the character no doubt would have been.

The script does not shy away from what went on with Adolph Menjou the night of the party where she gets drunk. (Pre-Code) The fascination with drunken writers and witty theater critics fits the time and is long gone today.

Even the great movie stars of the time felt that they had to appear in the theater at some point to show they were really as good as advertised.

Expecting Morning Glory to be something like The Power of the Dog of 1932 shows only how silly we are ourselves. I'm sure in 2112 Don't Look Up and the recent Batman will look very quaint and dated as well.

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Does a lot with his part. (Why did he not have a bigger career?) Menjou is perfectly credible and restrained in his role that could have lent itself to scenery chewing.. The part that meshes best with Hepburn's is C. Aubrey Smith who is just British and paternalistic enough to make the role credible without overdoing it. He does a lot with his expressions. Mary Duncan as the egocentric star who gets the boot is fine. The catty dialog between divas is still funny. Yes there are gaps in the script's timeline that leave important events out. Lengthy talking scripts were a rarity then. Movies were still measured in reels. Yes it is old and the plot has been done many times since, but as a glimpse at what was popular with audiences in 1932, it is still worth a look. Hepburn, though a mannered actress at times, turned out to be no Morning Glory herself.

Story about Eva Lovelace (Katharine Hepburn) a stagestruck girl who comes to NY determined to be a great actress. She learns quickly that it isn't that easy and falls in love with producer Louis Easton (Adolphe Menjou) who doesn't love her. And writer Joseph Sheridan (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) DOES love her but she doesn't have a clue.

The story is VERY old and the movie itself is incredibly stagy (it's based on a stage play--and it shows) but it is worth watching. It's well-directed and cast and Hepburn is just incredible. She won her first Academy Award for this and it's easy to see why. She never strikes a false note (even during a drunk scene at a party which could have been done very badly) and she's young and beautiful. Also Menjou is very good (as usual) and Fairbanks is just so-so but he WAS an incredibly handsome young man.

See it for Hepburn. And it is short (about 72 minutes).