Episode 44 of 52: In which Katharine Hepburn bids farewell to her lifelong friend and director, George Cukor.
Who’s up for another catfight? Way back near the beginning of this series, I manufactured a rivalry between young Kate Hepburn and Miss Bette Davis, both sporting ear-splitting accents in two movies from 1934. This time, I don’t have to fake a competition. Katharine Hepburn’s 1979 TV movie happens to be a remake of a 1945 Bette Davis film.
The Corn Is Green (based on the play by by Emlyn Williams) is the story of Miss Moffat, who gets off her tuffet to teach the Welsh miners to read. The role of a strong-willed woman who changes the lives of her impoverished pupils would be catnip for either of our great actresses, so it’s no surprise that Bette and Kate both played Miss Moffat 34 years apart. What is surprising is how different Bette and Kate’s performances are, because the two films they star in are polar opposites in mood and moral. Just how often do you get to compare your favorite actresses on a scene-by-scene basis like this?
The Eyes vs The Cheekbones after the jump.
The 1945 version of The Corn Is Green is peak Classic Hollywood romance. For her turn as Miss Moffat, Bette Davis re-teamed with her Now, Voyager director Irving Rapper, and his turn-of-the-century Welsh village looks like a picture postcard sent from John Ford’s How Green Was My Valley. Welsh miners with coal-blackened faces sing in lazy harmony as they tramp over rolling hills. Cinematographer Sol Polito ignores weather patterns to bathe scenes in cheerful sunshine, illuminating some truly beautiful black and white sets. You’d be excused for thinking that being a coal miner in Wales looks like a cheerful pastime.
Against this idyllic backdrop, Davis’s Miss Moffat stands out like a sore thumb. This Miss Moffat is an iron-spined woman who rarely smiles, never cries, and refuses to suffer fools. She arrives in town like a military general, immediately defeating (or at least confounding) her competition. Bette’s wry wit, flashing eyes, and slowly revealed warmth turn Miss Moffat from grammar school stereotype to fully realized character. The role screams Oscar bait, but Bette was not nominated (though her supporting actors were). Here’s Miss Moffat's introduction, a few minutes into the film:
By contrast, the 1979 version of The Corn Is Green strives for realism in setting and tone. Kate reunited with George Cukor, who made a very un-Cukor-like film which uses spare camera work and location shooting to focus on the cruelty of coalmining. A wordless introduction finds Miss Moffat bicycling through the green hills of Wales before she happens on a coalmine. After watching in horror as young boys are crammed onto an elevator leading into the mineshaft, Miss Moffat turns towards her new home and purpose. It’s a heavy-handed way to begin, but the secene casts a lingering shadow over Miss Moffat's attempts to better her students' lives.
In a film that starts darkly, Kate’s Miss Moffat is a sunbeam. Katharine Hepburn brings her considerable charisma to the role, playing Miss Moffat as a bright, busy, beaming woman who never hears the word “no,” even when it’s spoken directly to her. It’s not a particularly layered performance, but the film needs her desperately, and Kate shoulders the burden with charm. Here she is, charming most--but not all--of her new neighbors:
Whether they knew it or not at the time, The Corn Is Green would be Kate and George’s last collaboration. Cukor started Hepburn’s career in 1932, fostered her friendship and directed her in ten films total--although surprisingly, none of their movies won either of them an Oscar. In her autobiography, Kate praised George Cukor for being an “actor’s director” and her great friend. Cukor would pass away in 1983, just four years after The Corn is Green, and two years after Katharine Hepburn made Oscars history.
So, you be the judge. BETTE vs KATE, who wins? If you didn't like this one, what’s your favorite Hepburn/Cukor movie?
Previous Week: Olly Olly Oxen Free (1978) - In which Katharine Hepburn proves she's not afraid of heights or bad scripts.
Next Week: On Golden Pond (1981) - In which Katharine Hepburn makes Oscars history by asserting that old people are interesting. (Available on Netflix and Amazon Prime)