


Product description BASED ON A NOVEL BY BOOTH TARKINGTON.A PRETENTIOUS SOCIAL CLIMBER, ALICE ADAMS, SUFFERS THROUGH VARIOUS TRAVAILS BEFORE FINDING A MODEST, DECENT MAN WHO LOVES HER. desertcart.com Hollywood's ability to conjure up a bittersweet small town (on the studio back lot, to be sure) has rarely been on better display than in Alice Adams, a gentle adaptation of a Booth Tarkington novel. For that matter, Katharine Hepburn rarely had a better chance to radiate her early youthful glow. She plays the title character, a lonely misfit who tries--too hard--to fit in with the snooty debutantes in her class-conscious town. Fred MacMurray is the suitor who miraculously feels comfortable in the front-porch swing of the faded Adams home. In the exquisitely timed comedy of MacMurray's miserable dinner with Alice's family, director George Stevens displays the tools he learned directing Laurel and Hardy two-reelers, and the sequence becomes a funny-painful classic of social embarrassment. Hepburn's performance, whether Alice is chattering pretentiously or briefly lowering her guard and revealing her loneliness, is simply incandescent. --Robert Horton Review: One of the best films of the 30s. - My three favorite Hepburn performances are Little Women, A Long Day's Journey Into Night, but this one beats all. She is enchanting in this film, one of my five favorite female performances in the history of film. She deserved the Academy award, even Bette Davis said so when she won it for Dangerous. Alice yearns for a higher place in society, but she was born on the wrong side of the tracks. The ironic thing is that she is clearly one of the prettiest women at the dance sequence, but the men reject her. The dinner sequence is one of the high comic points in film history. Hattie McDaniel clearly steals the show with a rib tickling performance as Malena, the hired maid. I could not stop laughing but it was painful for Alice, trying to impress her beau. The ending may not have been faithful to the book, but I felt she should have enjoyed a happy ending. Review: Classic movie! - Love old movies so buy my copy!
| ASIN | B000085OXY |
| Actors | Evelyn Venable, Frank Albertson, Fred MacMurray, Fred Stone, Katharine Hepburn |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 |
| Best Sellers Rank | #49,250 in Movies & TV ( See Top 100 in Movies & TV ) #1,881 in Romance (Movies & TV) #3,932 in Kids & Family DVDs #5,641 in Comedy (Movies & TV) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (285) |
| Director | George Stevens |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Language | English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) |
| MPAA rating | NR (Not Rated) |
| Media Format | Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Subtitled |
| Number of discs | 1 |
| Producers | Pandro S. Berman |
| Product Dimensions | 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 ounces |
| Release date | January 7, 2003 |
| Run time | 1 hour and 39 minutes |
| Studio | Turner Home Ent |
| Subtitles: | English, French, Spanish |
| Writers | Booth Tarkington, Dorothy Yost, Jane Murfin, Mortimer Offner |
R**T
One of the best films of the 30s.
My three favorite Hepburn performances are Little Women, A Long Day's Journey Into Night, but this one beats all. She is enchanting in this film, one of my five favorite female performances in the history of film. She deserved the Academy award, even Bette Davis said so when she won it for Dangerous. Alice yearns for a higher place in society, but she was born on the wrong side of the tracks. The ironic thing is that she is clearly one of the prettiest women at the dance sequence, but the men reject her. The dinner sequence is one of the high comic points in film history. Hattie McDaniel clearly steals the show with a rib tickling performance as Malena, the hired maid. I could not stop laughing but it was painful for Alice, trying to impress her beau. The ending may not have been faithful to the book, but I felt she should have enjoyed a happy ending.
M**G
Classic movie!
Love old movies so buy my copy!
M**T
Films like this made Kate Hepburn a star!
I saw this the first time late at night on a black and white TV in the fifties. Now I have my own copy. This is a comedy with a sharp edge about a fragile young woman and her dysfunctional family. Class war is also a theme. Fred Mac Murray was a very dashing young actor and no one plays neurotic better than Kate. Finally, there is a dinner party scene that is hilarious. Hattie McDaniel steals every scene she is in!
N**A
Really cute movie
This movie is really cute. The only thing I would have done differently is to make the end a little smoother. It just kind of suddenly ends.
K**R
A great movie!
Such classic Hepburn. A very sweet movie.
N**4
Fred McMurray is a good man who can see past the snarky way his ...
Katharine as a lower middle class girl (Alice) trying to find her way onto the next rung up in society is heart-breaking at times. She underplays some scenes with just the right level of pathos. Alice's family complications are difficult for her at times. Hattie McDaniels's portrayal of the maid at the dinner for Alice's beau is a hoot. Fred McMurray is a good man who can see past the snarky way his group of friends, especially the women, treat her. George Stevens directs her well. (What can I say, "I'm a sucker for romance", as Marsha Mason said in the Goodbye Girl-another of my faves.)
L**S
Loved it
Great early movie starring Kate Hepburn and FredMcMurray. Romance with a message about the difficulties of socioeconomic class differences.
F**A
Hard to find
This one of my 93 year old mothers favorite movies. I am so glad to find it.
S**E
Great
D**C
I got it for someone for a gift.
B**D
I believe this dvd to be one of the best editions of an old movie in existence - clarity of picture (black & white) and sound are outstanding and I heartedly recommend this import to all and sundry ! Thanks also due for the abrupt delivery of the same.
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