Keeper of the Flame

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Keeper of the Flame

1944

1h 40m

Drama

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4 Reviews

68%

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250+ Ratings

Steven O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) expects his reporting assignment to be a run-of-the-mill story. He is to cover the death of Robert Forrest, a hero in World War I, who died when a bridge collapsed under his car. The press conference given by Forrest's secretary (Richard Whorf), however, does not satisfy O'Malley, who decides that questioning his widow (Katharine Hepburn) could expose a richer story. The lies continue to build, until he discovers an estate building that may hold the true story.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

08/13/2020

3/10

Answers are kept from the audience for too long; even as the truth draws nearer, it's shrouded in enough obscuration that the big reveal can't possibly satisfy the hype.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

08/08/2006

C

Director Cukor thought the plot was fraudulent, and the film is the worst collaboration of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in her first role as a "mature" woman.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

01/24/2005

C

An ill-conceived political melodrama modeled after Citizen Kane.

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

08/02/2004

3/5

Middle-brow MGM variant on Citizen Kane. More interesting than good.

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tucker s

Nov 1

A better film than indicated by most reviews

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Lew M.

@Lemar69 Sep 21

Excellent story of fascism creeping into American society during the pre WWII era.

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Shadowman4710

07/05/2023

One of the rare Tracy/Hepburn films that is not a romantic comedy. Tracy plays a well known reporter who begins to investigate the death of a famous political/social figure. During his investigations he becomes involved with the widow (Katherine Hepburn) and discovers some unsettling facts about the "great man." This is classic film noir, heavy on atmosphere, not necessarily heavy on plot. It received mixed critical reviews and didn't do particularly well at the box office but I enjoy it quite a lot and would recommend it to any Tracy/Hepburn fans.

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j f

@LiberteBurrows 07/01/2023

It's good, except that kid is pretty annoying.

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Steve D

05/29/2023

There are a number of films like it but few better.

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07/21/2019

As relevant today -- fascist movements take root all over the globe, as well as within the United States -- as it was in the 1930s when Charles Lindbergh's political connections to the Third Reich became too close. .

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George Cukor

Director

Spencer Tracy

Steven "Stevie" O'Malley

Katharine Hepburn

Mrs. Christine Forrest

Richard Whorf

Clive Kerndon

Margaret Wycherly

Old Mrs. Forrest

Forrest Tucker

Geoffrey "Geoff" Midford

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Synopsis

Steven O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) expects his reporting assignment to be a run-of-the-mill story. He is to cover the death of Robert Forrest, a hero in World War I, who died when a bridge collapsed under his car. The press conference given by Forrest's secretary (Richard Whorf), however, does not satisfy O'Malley, who decides that questioning his widow (Katharine Hepburn) could expose a richer story. The lies continue to build, until he discovers an estate building that may hold the true story.

Director: George Cukor
Producer: Victor Saville
Screenwriter: I.A.R. Wylie, Donald Ogden Stewart
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Loew's Inc.
Production Co: Loew's Inc., Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 20, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Mono

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