Lots of Talent Born Today

April 5th has seen much talent coming into the world...3 major stars were born on this day.

Bette Davis (April 5, 1908 - October 6, 1989)

Spencer Tracy  (April 5, 1900 - June 10, 1967)

Gregory Peck  (April 5, 1916 - June 12, 2003)


Thinking of all three of these great stars on their birthday...and feeling thankful that we have so many wonderful movies by which we can remember them.

God or Spencer?

With Loretta Young being my star of the month, I thought it was the perfect time to read her authorized biography, Forever Young, the Life, Loves, and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend.  I am halfway finished with it, and all I can say is that it is a fascinating, delightful, and very interesting read.  Miss Young was a devout Catholic, and her commitment to God and His ways was the ruling factor in her life.  No, Loretta wasn't perfect, nor was her life without its share of mistakes, but the longing to live a life pleasing to God was at the very core of her being, and never was that more apparent than in her relationship with Spencer Tracy.

Until my reading of this book, I never knew that Miss Young and Mr. Tracy were ever "an item."  All I've heard for years is that Katharine Hepburn was the love of Spencer Tracy's life.  However, Forever Young reveals that Spencer also had another great love in his life---and that love was Loretta Young.

In 1933, Loretta and Spencer were paired together in Man's Castle, and during production of the film, they soon became involved with one another.  According to Miss Young's biography, "Tracy had a way of focusing all his attention on Loretta, and seemed to find absolute joy in her presence.  For Loretta, it was a time of romance unlike anything she had ever experienced."

Though they were in love with one another, it was, apparently, a chaste relationship...."Couples in love, practicing restraint, and not "going all the way" was fairly conventional behavior, fitting the mores of that time."  Even without anything physical between them, though, Loretta became ashamed of dating another woman's husband.  She knew there could never be anything permanent between them, as Spencer was married and was not allowed by the Church to divorce his wife and re-marry Loretta within it.  For Loretta's part, having married once outside the Church (to Grant Withers in 1930) and feeling estranged from God as a result, another marriage outside the church was out of the question.  The two of them went to Confession each week (Spencer was also a Catholic), but instead of the absolution she longed for, Loretta was told by her priest that she must break off the relationship, for unless the confessor was willing to end his or her sinful behavior, they would  not experience God's forgiveness. Loretta knew she faced the big question:  Did she love Spencer more?  Or did she love God more?

In the end, though she "loved everything about him," Loretta chose to break things off with Spencer, something she did through a letter.  Her commitment to God and His ways had trumped her love for Spencer.

Many years later, Loretta would have tea with Spencer's daughter, Susan, and be presented with the break-up letter she had given to Spencer all those years before.  Though Loretta had signed the letter simply "Me," Susan knew who its author was, for, as she told Loretta during their time together, " ...there were only two women in my father's life...my mother and you."   While Katharine Hepburn may have been a great love in Spencer Tracy's life, so, too, was Loretta Young.  That surely was news to me!


NOTE:  All information and direct quotations derived from Forever Young, the Life, Loves, and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend, by Joan Wester Anderson, Thomas More Publishing, 2000.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (5 stars)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, from 1967, is a racial issues romantic drama starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine, Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier.  Produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, this bold (for its time) film garnered ten Academy Award nominations, coming away with two wins, including a Best Actress statue for Katharine Hepburn.  In celebration of Mr. Poitier's February 20th birthday, I recently enjoyed a first-time viewing of this film.

Joanna Drayton (Katharine Houghton) has arrived home unexpectedly from a trip to Hawaii; as if her earlier-than-planned arrival isn't unsettling enough, the white Joanna has a black man in tow with her...and he's not just any black man.  He is Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier), a man she met ten days ago and whom she intends to marry.  Having been raised by parents who have always loathed racial discrimination, Joanna is sure her parents will welcome John into their lives with open arms.

Surprisingly to Joanna, her parents (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) are speechless at first, and it is not just because of the suddenness of her marriage plans.  Quite honestly, Joanna marrying a black man was something they had never even considered.  While her dad says his concerns are about the difficulties the multi-racial couple will encounter, is it more than that?  Does he really believe in equality as much as he has always claimed?

For his part, John, who has told his parents about the upcoming nuptials over the telephone, intends to inform them of his intended's race via a letter.  However, that plan changes when they decide to make the short flight from Los Angeles to San Franciso in order to meet their future daughter-in-law.  Their reaction is not much different than Joanna's parents' reaction, and as the two families, along with the Drayton's priest friend (played by the delightful Cecil Kellaway), prepare to have dinner together, there are sure to be fireworks.

While John and Joanna are adults and don't need their parents' permission to marry, they do desire to have their blessing.  In fact, John has vowed that unless Mr. and Mrs. Drayton give their approval, the wedding will not take place, as he doesn't want to be responsible for bringing estrangement to their always-close relationship.  How everything works out is the balance of the film.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a wonderful movie and quite bold and ground-breaking for its time.  While the majority of people nowadays have zero problem with inter-racial marriage, audiences of the mid-to-late 1960's were definitely not on that page.  This had to be one of the most controversial films of the decade, and I would imagine that many people were furious at this film's message.

Not only is the subject matter of the film powerful, but so is the acting.  Both Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn received leading actor/actress nominations, and Cecil Kellaway and Beah Richards (who portrayed Sidney Poitier's mother) received supporting actor/actress nominations.  Quite honestly, I'm not sure why Mr. Poitier was overlooked...he was totally fantastic in his role.  In my opinion, though, this really was Spencer Tracy's film (more than Poitier's or Hepburn's), and he's the one I think ought to have come away with the win.  He was beyond sensational in his role.  The expression he had on his face for the majority of the film was priceless.  And, wow, the look in Katharine Hepburn's eyes as Tracy gave his grand speech at the end of the movie was amazing.  Her eyes were glistening with tears, and it was easy to believe that it was her real-life love for Spencer which was spilling forth.  Very touching!!  The score of the film was beautiful as well.

This film is a little heartbreaking to watch because of the knowledge that it was Spencer Tracy's final role; in fact, he passed away just 17 days after filming had been completed.  Yes, he definitely went out on top, but seeing him so old and so close to death makes the film a bit sad for me.

One final thought...at one point, Sidney Poitier says to his father, "Dad, you think of yourself as a colored man.  I think of myself as a man."  I've said this before and I'll say it again, every single Sidney Poitier film I've seen, he is defined by his race.  Instead of simply portraying a man, he has always portrayed a black man, a man whose race is the overwhelming focus of the movie.  I wonder if he ever grew weary of those kinds of roles.  I wonder if he ever wished he could, like his character said, "just be a man."

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is out on DVD, so it should be very easy to track down.  Additionally, it is on the TCM schedule for Saturday, May 12th.  I hope you get a chance to see it, because I think it is a definite must-see film.

Happy viewing!!

Cass Timberlane (3 stars)

Cass Timberlane, from 1947, is a romantic drama starring Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Zachary Scott.  Based on the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, this is a film which had been on my radar for a few months.  As I have grown in appreciation for Lana Turner, I have been on the lookout for some of her lesser-known films, and this one sounded interesting to me, so I kept hoping TCM would air it...which they did earlier this month.

Widowed Cass Timberlane (Spencer Tracy) serves as a judge in a small Minnesota town. While Judge Timberlane hobnobs with the high-society folks in his town, he is very much a down-to-earth guy and even has friends "on the other side of the tracks."  One of those friends is Ginny (Lana Turner), a woman several years his junior, whose acquaintance he made when she appeared in his courtroom one day.  The friendship between Ginny and Cass (who is nicknamed Tim by Ginny) soon blossoms into romance.

Despite her initial concerns about their societal differences, Ginny agrees to marry the judge.  Of course, the majority of his high-society friends have a problem with Ginny's lack of breeding, but his friend Brad Criley(Zachary Scott) supports him 100%.

Though Tim lavishes all the love in the world on Ginny, she soon finds herself bored with their small-town life and yearning for excitement and action.  Brad, too, desires that kind of life, and before long, he and Ginny find themselves developing feelings for one another.   Will Ginny leave Tim and seek out a more glamourous life with Brad?  For that matter, does Brad---a playboy---have more than a passing interest in Ginny?  How it all plays out is the balance of the film.

While this is not a spectacular film, I enjoyed it very much.  I found Spencer Tracy and Lana Turner to be a delightful couple.  I thought they had great chemistry together; however, my daughter---who watched the film with me---did not.  It's funny how two people can look at the exact same thing and come away with totally different perceptions.  The film has great lessons about integrity, forgiveness, and the sacredness of marriage.  It is very definitely a solid, 3-star movie, which I highly recommend.

The film is out on DVD, so I think it ought to be fairly easy to track down.  Happy viewing!!