7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hepburn's First Oscar - Solid First Act and then...Melodrama, September 5, 2000
Katharine Hepburn won her first Academy Award for her portrayal of Eve Lovelace (nee Ada Love), a star struck girl who comes to the big city to be a star. The party scene in which a drunk Lovelace does Hamlet's soliloquy and the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet is usually cited as means of an explanation for why she won. But the quintessential Hepburn scene is when she arrives at the office of the successful Broadway producer and charms an old English character actor. Her is the quick, clipped speech that would become so caricatured down the road and it is far and away the best scene it the film.
The last half of the film resorts to the old chestnut of our young heroine having to go on opening night, where she becomes a star. The problem is there is no proof of the pudding here. We hear people talking about how wonderful Eve is on stage, but we see none of her performance. The film gives us indications of her talent but totally ignores her moment of triumph in favor of people talking about it instead. It is useful to remember that Hepburn also made "Little Women" the same year as "Morning Glory" and that certainly her body of work that year was taken into consideration (her Jo March won the prize at Cannes that year I believe-the closest contemporary parallel would probably be Diane Keaton who did "Annie Hall" and "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" the same year, which you must agree is certainly an indication of range).
The first half would get 4 stars the last half 2 stars, and that's how we get to 3. Simple mathematics.
Once you watch this film you should then screen Hepburn in "Stage Door," the climax of which certainly provides what is missing from "Morning Glory." Within 15 minutes of that particular film you see Hepburn play a bad actress and a very good actress. The transformation is stunning and certainly integral to that film in a way it would not be to this one. Given that when she made "Stage Door" Hepburn was considered Box Office Poison, it is interesting to look at this pair of films as a set. "Morning Glory" jump started Hepburn's career, and "Stage Door" heralded her revival. So I highly recommend you watch the two films as a double feature.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Off to a Great Start!, May 4, 2001
Katherine Hepburn's first Oscar winning role is the perfect introduction to her personality and talent. An aristocratic, beautiful girl from New England takes the entertainment world by storm with her unique charm and iron resolve. Sound familiar? The "I don't wear cheap furs" scene had me choking with laughter, along with what I call the "drunken best of Shakespeare" scene where she launches into a chamgagne-fueled random explosion of highlights from "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet" at a party for top theatre execs.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Self-confidence, December 31, 2006
"Morning Glory" is probably a movie that would be a lot harder to come across (and it isn't that easy to find as it is) if it weren't the movie for which Katherine Hepburn won her first Oscar. After watching it with mixed feelings the other night, it dawned on me that there is actually a pretty good facet to this movie. There are three main female characters and each of them gives us a portrait of a self-confident woman. What is interesting is that each of them gets their confidence from a different source. The first woman we are introduced to is an established movie star whose self-confidence arises from her career. She knows she will succeed because she has already done so repeatedly. The next woman we are introduced to is self-confident because she is having an affair with the producer. She knows she will succeed because her lover owes it to her. The last woman we meet is Hepburn's character whose self-confidence arises solely from her belief in herself. She knows she will succeed merely because she cannot envision any other outcome.
As I pondered the meaning of "Morning Glory", I came to understand that the writers and directors wanted to show that attitude IS the key to success. While the established star could lose her self-confidence with a series of flops and the gold-digger could find herself replaced by a new paramour, Hepburn's attitude would (and DID) carry her farther. While the acting, directing and other aspects gave me the impression that this was a "3 Star" movie at best, the subtle message made me realize that it actually deserved a "4 Star" rating.
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