KEEPER OF THE FLAME

George Cukor’s film KEEPER OF THE FLAME, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, from 1942, details precisely and with some detail what has been done to us in order to introduce fascism into the USA. It’s remarkable and should be rented and viewed by everyone. It’s the story of the mystery surrounded the death of a ‘great man’. Tracy plays a war correspondent who intends to write a glowing portrait of the fallen hero, whom he’s admired. Hepburn plays his widow, who knows better. Between them the film creates a low-key emotional tension and gradually peels back the layers to reveal not only the rotten core but what it means to the rest of us. The script by Donald Ogden Stewart, (who knows, maybe a relative), is based on a novel by Australian/British/American writer I.A.R. Wylie, many of whose works you’ll know through movies. The film requires an attentive, adult mind, as much of it is presented indirectly; Spencer Tracy is masterful in his eloquent underplaying. This is as good as or a better performance than his in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, another favorite of mine. By the end, the revelation is startling not only for the mysteries cleared up, but for the acerbic, astringent listing of manner and method by Katharine Hepburn. Amazing movie of the top quality, strongly recommended.