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Alice Adams
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 1935
Rated: NR
Film Length: 99 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish
So ever trying to expand my classic film horizons,
I decided to take a look at Warner Bros. upcoming
release of Alice Adams, a film from George
Stevens the leading film director of the 1930s and
1940s known for movie standards such as Swing Time
(1936), Gunga Din (1939), and Woman of the
Year (1942). As is usual with material I am not
familiar with, I went and did a little homework. This
is what I found...
This 1935 film stars Katharine Hepburn, who was
under contract with RKO pictures. Hepburn never
wanted to sign a contract with the studio, so she
made several outlandish demands concerning salary
and choice of scripts. The studio surprisingly gave
in, and soon she emerged as the freshest and most
original actress in Hollywood. Alice Adams
is considered to be her best film of that period.
The film also stars Fred MacMurray, considered to
be one of the hottest young actors in town, emerging
as a favorite romantic sparring partner with many
of Hollywood's leading actresses. In fact, it
was Katharine Hepburn herself who requested his
services for this film.
This is the story of a socially awkward middle-class
girl named Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn) who lives
in a run down home with her mother, father and younger
brother. Her father (Fred Stone) has been ill for
quite some time, and hasn't been able to properly
provide for the family. Still, Alice has big dreams
of taking her place in high society, desperately
trying to enter a world where she clearly doesn't
belong.
Enter Arthur Russell (Fred MacMurray), a handsome
young man that represents the inner circle that
Alice so much wishes to be part of. When Arthur
takes a personal interest in her, she begins
wondering if all her dreams will suddenly come true.
I found Alice Adams to be a quaint and
charming film. I think the most remarkable aspect
of this film was watching a young Katharine Hepburn
with her bold, distinctive personality. You can
see how she became one of Hollywood's most powerful
leading ladies, always in complete control of
herself and her craft. One must also admire the
way this film honestly portrays the social scene
of that time, most particularly in the film's highly
memorable (and hilarious) dinner sequence that takes
place in the Adams home. Be sure to watch for
a rather amusing performance by the maid, Hattie
McDaniel, who went on to play Mammy in Gone With
The Wind.
How is the transfer?
Warner Bros. is touting an all-new digital transfer
from restored picture and audio elements, and judging
by the results, they did a pretty decent job.
One thing I need to stop doing in my reviews is
comparing one transfer against another. There are
some recent "classic" releases that look better
than others, and some that look a little too perfect.
Many of these B&W films don't go through the same
restoration process as films like Citizen Kane
and Sunset Boulevard did. Studios budgets
inhibit just how much effort can be put into a
particular film's restoration.
What am I getting at here? To be honest, Alice
Adams is not a perfect restoration. It does
have its shares of blemishes throughout. However,
based on the caliber of this title and the small
amount of money that was probably budgeted for its
restoration, it looks pretty damn good. Image looks
rather uniform throughout with very good contrast
levels. There is a lot of picture detail here and
black levels are nice and solid.
What I noticed the most about this transfer was
an aged mono soundtrack that was extremely clean
and smooth. Most classic movies I have reviewed
in the past all have one thing in common -- the
sound is always "tinny" and a bit too "shrill".
This is one of those rare times that a soundtrack
like this sounds more full-bodied, not entirely
existing in the higher ends of the dynamic range.
Special Features
Warner Bros. has offered a few extra extras on this
disc. Let's take a look at them...
George Steven: A Film maker's Journey is only
a small excerpt from the 1985 tribute to director
George Steven by his son. It recounts how the
Steven started his career as a cameraman in 2-reel
comedies and came to direct one of America's most
important stars -- Katharine Hepburn. This segment
of the documentary is mostly dominated by interviews
with Hepburn and RKO Executive Producer, Pandro
Berman. One interesting thing to watch for is
how bad the included film footage looks. It gives
you much appreciation for the restoration done for
this DVD.
(length: approx. 6 minutes)
Katharine Hepburn: The RKO Years is an essay
that takes us from Hepburn's early success on
Broadway in 1931 through her outlandish salary
demands that surprisingly won her a contract at
RKO studios and started a string of semi-successful
hits.
A Cast and Crew page does little more than
list the cast and film team. There are no click-on
filmographies here.
Final Thoughts
A rather interesting point has been made from
a friend about this film's release to DVD. While
I think it's great that a film like Alice Adams
is getting this sort of treatment, why is Warner
concentrating on lesser-known fare rather than getting
out their most requested classic films? Many of us
have been patiently waiting for James Cagney for the
past six years.
The problem I see with this release is that while
Alice Adams is a film that I think many
people will enjoy watching, it will only get the
attention of its die-hard fans. It's unfortunate
that the generation who dominates the sales of
DVD players will have no appreciation for a film
like this.
I'd hate to see Alice Adams get lost in the
shuffle. This was a first-time viewing for me, and
I found it time well enjoyed. I think those of you
that give it a chance will feel the same way.
Release Date: January 7, 2003
All screen captures have been further compressed.
They are for illustrative purposes only and do not
represent actual picture quality
