Watch Alice Adams For Free

Wonderful Movie

Excellent but underrated film

As Good As It Gets

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There's a famous scene in Alice Adams where Katharine Hepburn cries at her bedroom window. Reportedly, she wasn't able to act convincingly in the scene until director George Stevens yelled at her. Humiliated, she was thrust in front of the camera and sobbed. I always thought that was terribly mean of George Stevens, but if you dig deep enough, you'll learn countless Hollywood horror stories.Katharine Hepburn plays the title character, a girl from a poor family who wants a better life. She tries terribly hard to act as though she's more wealthy and classy than she actually is, and when she's noticed by the truly wealthy and classy Fred MacMurray, she enlists her family in the effort to pretend they're well-to-do. This is the premise for many old comedies, but Alice Adams is a drama. It's heartbreaking at times, and one of my favorite Katharine performances. She isn't strong and tough; she's frightened of poverty and constantly hides where she comes from. If you like Stella Dallas or Pocketful of Miracles, you'll like Alice Adams.

George Stevens directed this adaptation of the Booth Tarkington novel about a social climbing mother (Ann Shoemaker) and daughter (Katharine Hepburn, in the title role). Hepburn and the film were Oscar nominated.Alice is a small town girl whose brother (Frank Albertson) is "forced" to take her to a society party, hosted by Mildred Palmer (Evelyn Venable, who's parents are played by Hedda Hopper and Jonathan Hale), in their dumpy automobile. There she meets the wealthy Arthur Russell (Fred MacMurray), who she thinks is "attached" to the hostess. Though she's embarrassed by her brother (found gambling with the hired help) and later their shabby home, Alice has intrigued Arthur with her plain, simple, self-deprecating nature and he begins to pursue her. He invites Alice to another party, hosted by her father's employer J. A. Lamb (Charley Grapewin), but she's too embarrassed to accept. Alice's mother, upset by this, shames her husband Virgil (Fred Stone), who's been recovering from a long illness, into getting off his butt to better provide for their family.Virgil decides that the glue formula he invented while working for Lamb is his, and goes into business for himself. This leads to an obvious conflict between himself and his "former" employer, who'd been supporting him through his illness. Her father's newfound success and "wealth" enables Alice to feel comfortable enough to be courted by Arthur, and invite him to their home for dinner. Mrs. Adams hires a cook-servant (Hattie McDaniel) for the occasion and, in an hilarious scene, all does not go as planned. Evidently, one can't "buy" class;-) However, a happy ending is (of course) a foregone conclusion.

Thank goodness that World War II allowed America to grow up! Poor Alice Adams -- a young woman (Katharine Hepburn) who lives in a fantasy world where she pretends to to be happy, while all the time being lonely. Poor Mother Adams who nags her husband constantly to make more money, even though it appears he is recovering from a heart attack. Poor Father Adams, suffering from a nagging wife while wanting all the best for his daughter, even though her prospects seem slim. And poor Brother Adams who has to take his sister to dances, putting a crimp on his ability to play craps.And then, into Alice's life comes a ray of sunshine -- Fred Mac Murray.Katharine Hepburn is excellent here, although the part is absolutely the opposite from the type of role that Hepburn later excelled at. This film was made only 3 years after Hepburn's film career first began.Fred MacMurray is excellent here as the beau. Today, audiences have forgotten just how popular MacMurray was, and how long his Hollywood career lasted. He was a very pleasing actor who could handle comedy or drama equally well.Fred Stone play's Alice's father here. He's an actor with whom I'm not familiar, but he had a very successful career dating back to the days of Annie Oakley, up through important roles in a number of motion pictures. Ann Shoemaker plays the mother, and plays the role so well that you'd like to see the poor husband shoot her dead; everyone hates a nag! Frank Albertson (not the one from "Chico And The Man") is good as the not very likable brother. Although their roles are small, it's interesting to see Hedda Hopper and Hattie McDaniel in supporting roles (the later, of course, as a maid, but here in a most demeaning nature).Once this film gets off the ground -- and it takes so LONG for it to do so -- it gets quite interesting. We could have learned that Alice was a wallflower much quicker at the beginning of the film. It really takes MacMurray to bring some life to the flick, and the dinner party scene is quite humorous...a comedy of errors. Admittedly, this happy ending could only happen in a much earlier era.I don't give this film the high marks some sources do, but it's a pretty decent outing about a very different time.

I think it is her best RKO film, as it shows Ms. Hepburn's depth, her precise characterization, her beauty. It is a film that at times makes you frustrated, and at other times to want you to move closer to the screen. Charming, heart-warming, courageous. Her recognition of her father's simplicity, so finely acted, never diminishes her love for him, and his self awareness makes him awkward in expressing his love for his daughter. I don't think that any direction was needed for their interplay, she was genuine as was he. I think it was her own relationship with her father which inspired her to this great acting.Every scene in this film was treated as a vignette, and perfect in the costume design, and staging, which sets it apart as theater, not appearing low-budget, yet not being high-budget, all the more remarkable.This is a film to hold as beloved, endearing, heart-felt.