The Sea of Grass

57.000

A well shot and well acted film, but is not much more than a long parade of tragic villains.

I love Kazan, Tracy, and Hepburn, so this collaboration between them not being particularly good was especially disappointing. It has a lot of pacing issues and doesn't really make quite as good a use of Tracy and Hepburn's chemistry as it should. It also doesn't feel particularly like a Kazan--it could have been made by anyone.

The artists involved wasn't happy with the result, as MGM pushed through their vision of Conrad Richter gritty novel. The MGM applied that romantic and glossy touch that made them so successful in the 1930s, but post war moods had changed, and that style was in many ways dated. Naturally, being a fan of 1930s films, I didn't mind it so much. But it was clear that the hardship of the story had a lot more offer an audience than they were willing to apply. Tracy & Hepburn still was the appeal.