Romancefest 2017: Alice Adams

I was excited to watch 1934's ALICE ADAMS because it's directed by George Stevens and stars Katherine Hepburn. These old movies are always slightly more fun when you're familiar with some of the credits. George Stevens directed one of my favorites, SHANE, and I never went out of my way to watch all his movies, but I'm slowly ticking them off the list. Aside from being a huge star, Hepburn's notable in ALICE ADAMS for being so young! I'm used to seeing her in the prime of her career, but here she was still just starting out.

Hepburn stars as Alice Adams, the youngest daughter of a lower-middle-class family that wishes it was upper-class. Hepburn wants to be a part of high society, but she doesn't get invited to the right functions by the right people because her father (Fred Stone) is merely a bed-ridden factory clerk and her brother (Frank Albertson) is a gambler. There's a convoluted backstory about how Hepburn's father invented a glue formula but hasn't capitalized on it, and a mystery as to why the factory owner (Charles Grapewin) keeps him on the payroll even though he's always home sick.

Alice is not only ostracized from society because of her family's standing in the community but also because of her shallow, transparent and desperate attempts to put on airs and force herself up the social ladder. So, she's partially a victim of society but also her own worst enemy in some ways.

That is until she catches the eye of a rich dude played by Fred MacMurray, and her mother (Ann Shoemaker) pushes her father into starting a new business. Then, things start to change, but do they change for the WORSE?! You'll have to watch to find out.

Hey, there's two WIZARD OF OZ connections in this flick. The first one, I couldn't believe. Hepburn's father is played by Fred Stone. I couldn't believe it when I saw the name – previously I've only ever seen this name listed as the physical comedian who played The Scarecrow in the Broadway version of THE WIZARD OF OZ from around the turn of the century. I've never seen him in anything, so it was crazy to finally see him, hear his voice, etc., even if he's much older here than he would have been when he was The Scarecrow. Also, there's Charles Grapewin, who played Uncle Henry in the famous MGM film, as Hepburn's Dad's boss. So there you go.

Fred MacMurray is likable as always, and it's fun to see him young here, too. Once again the star power helps this movie be a little better than its soap opera plotline.