Keeper of the Flame

Very interesting to me, as an example of a moral dilemma you don't seem to see as much any more in modern movies and books - the idea that a scandal or even a crime must be hushed up to protect someone's honor or for the greater good. In this case there is a overblown dark secret that motivated Hepburn's character to commit a (sort-of) crime. Corny, overblown ending but the movie was entertaining.

Tracy's terrific and unusual performance (in more of a Bogie-type role) is the main attraction of odd, dated drama, which is far too cluttered with useless extraneous characters. Hepburn is miscast as a mousy, down-trodden woman, and unfortunately the screenplay does nothing to exploit the legendary chemistry between its stars. Has a few interesting points to make about heroism and patriotism, and is an intriguing footnote in the Tracy-Hepburn collection, but overall doesn't quite work.

For all the great films that found Tracy and Hepburn together, there was bound to be a dud, and this is it. I highly doubt it's coincidence that they never made a movie together again that was this light on the laughs.

Doesn't quite work, but interesting nonetheless.

68.000

"Keeper of the Flame" unfolds as a murder mystery, maintaining this allure until its conclusion. However, in its final moments, the narrative swerves right, taking an unexpected turn before culminating with a sermon. This surprising shift to a political theme enhanced my enjoyment of the film.

A twisty tale that ends with a bang, but that bang pushes the movie into melodrama. The best part of it all is the cabbie, played by Percy Kilbride, who steals every scene.

A melodrama wrapped in patriotic bunting. It wouldn't be surprising to hear Hepburn come out with the line about the calla lilies.

The finale here leaves a few questions unanswered and isn't fully satisfying, but the mystery tone of the film is pretty spot on and while I figured out what was probably happening, I wasn't sure until the end. Tracy and Hepburn are good as always. This is notable as I think their only film that didn't involve an overt romantic plot between them (though there is some implied connection.) Percy Kilbride made a big impression on me for some reason in a small part as a cab driver.

Keeper of the Flame (1943) had that special aura, but it kind of went too slow. Lurking for the longest time as to what wasn't feeling right about the situation and then bang! All at once. The end. Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn were excellent together and the film was captured in fine style. It was just the pacing of the reveal with very few hints before the ketchup bottle effect. Could have been so much more.