Call Me Kate

I found the film to be a mess. Using a character actor only seen from the back to represent Kate in various aspects of her life was annoying. The actual tapes of her speaking were not for the most part able to be understood. Hearing a Larry King interview while seeing other film clips or stills, not knowing who he was interviewing - annoying. The style of watching someone take notes from the tape recording while the narrator spoke of aspects of her life was confusing. It seemed like a high school film project gone wrong. It did provide the actual facts of her life but presented in jumbled mess.

I think this film is probably most interesting to those who don't feel they already know everything there is to know. I see review after review complain the narration was bad but I thought it was really good as well as a nod to the producers' for making such an effort. I'm not particularly a fan but Kate was a good friend to my best friend - a controversial man in the entertainment industry before his passing. So I have great regard for her. As an actress, I thought she was very tom boyish and seeing her always-present side-kick it doesn't take a genius to know only someone in love with you would follow you every where and be at your beck and call. That's not to say it was reciprocal. But having a famous friend in the industry, I've seen more than my share of fans who begged to be used, just like Luddy. I've witnessed first-hand my friend being called gay when he was far from it. My point is, much of this film is speculation and gossip and must be taken with a grain of salt. There were other tougher women in the industry who came before Kate. I can't imagine how tempting it is to take advantage of people who just beg for it and take advantage of every foot hold you can find as a woman back then. But clearly she was from an extremely dysfunctional abusive family so I find it interesting she describes it as an idealic childhood. In her day she was very unique and head strong, not unlike Lucille Ball who was turned down so many times she started her own production company and you know how that went.

A netflix documentary on kathryn hepburn. Her life, career, and relationship with spencer tracy. Brash, independent, headstrong. Coming from an activist mother and a progressive, upper class father, it set up kathryn for a successful move to hollywoood. Combine that with a family tragedy that pushed her to be the best she could be. Interviews with kate and her brother. Bursting on the scene in 1932, 1933, she gives it her all. Some success, some bombs, then more successes. Howard hughes. Kate becomes a producer, wheeling and dealing. And much smarter now. Buying and selling stories, deciding if she wants to star in it, still pushing women's rights. It's good! Nothing too new, no big revelations here, but it's so interesting to watch. Directed by lorna tucker. Check it out. She had style. Like her character in "desk set", even while she was repressed, we knew she was destined for bigger things!

An interesting and objective doc on Katharine Hepburn. It gives an honest and balanced portrayal of the kind of person she was. I enjoyed the objectivity of it, with many surviving family members giving their insights. It doesn't overly glorify her or unnecessarily undermines. I'm quite neutral to her celebrity and found this worth my time. There is a great deal about her childhood and the family she grew up in before her acting career. Included are audio recordings of interviews in her own voice though much is read by a voice actor. My personal takeaway is that once she knew she wanted to be famous, she became basically a quite selfish person. Not completely heartless but ultimately very self-absorbed and only attuned to what she wanted.

Documentary looking at the life of 4 times oscar winner Katherine Hepburn. With an apparent shortage of actual Hepburn footage, it uses created narration using someone doing an impression of the star, mixed with original footage. The film does look to analyse Hepburn as a character and what drove her forward from child through to her nineties, rather than focus as much on the specifics of her film career. There is inevitably also quite a close look at her love life particularly Spencer Tracy.

It's an interesting if not very emotionally engaging experience and with little footage of Hepburn available, the various tricks being used to tell her tale aren't wholly successful.