Keeper of the Flame (1942)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

I.A.R. Wylie (novel)
Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay)

Release Date:

December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

FIERY LOVE DRAMA! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Journalist Steve O'Malley is writing a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge...

Plot Keywords:

Bridge | Widow | Taxicab Driver | Biographer | Fire

Cast

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
Frank Craven	...	Doctor Fielding
Stephen McNally	...	Freddie Ridges (as Horace McNally)
Percy Kilbride	...	Orion Peabody, Taxi Driver
Audrey Christie	...	Jane Harding
Darryl Hickman	...	Jeb Rickards
Donald Meek	...	Mr. Arbuthnot
Howard Da Silva	...	Jason Rickards (as Howard da Silva)
William Newell	...	Piggot, the Horse Handler

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8871) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Van Johnson was driving to a special screening of Keeper of the Flame (1942) when he was involved in the road accident that left him with a metal plate in his forehead.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Katharine Hepburn: All About Me (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major

Keeper of the Flame is a good political drama. It has Hepburn, Tracy, and interesting plot twists, all of which will hold your attention.

Keeper of the Flame was made during the early days of World War II. It revolves around the life, beliefs, and death of one man but is a lesson for one nation, or one world, interested in the freedoms we were fighting for and the evils we were fighting against in 1942.

Spencer Tracy portrays a reporter-to-author who is to write the biography of a man recently deceased. The deceased was a very successful businessman who had launched a campaign for public office but was killed --- by accident, intention, or a combination of the two --- before he could claim his victory. And, it would have been a victory; The public was charmed by the man they believed embodied the American ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... or success. Hepburn plays the widow of this 'man of the people', and, as such, someone who must be interviewed by Tracy. The more questions Tracy asks of those near and dear to his subject, the fewer answers he finds. Our reporter eventually comes to believe there is one American ideal with which his deceased subject did NOT agree: The equality of all men, regardless of race or religion.

Ever the typical skeptical journalist, Tracy won't begin to write for publication until he can fully answer a few interesting questions: Who had this man really been? Had he been the steadfast and lone American patriot all believed him to be ... or had he been a member of an organization whose primary goal was to raise one ethnic, religious, and racial group above the rest? Had he really been killed in an 'accident'? And, if not, had he been killed by those who agreed or disagreed with his political motives?

Also of interest to our journalist: How well had Hepburn's character known her husband? Does she agree with his political agenda? How much does she really know about the 'accident' that killed him. And, most importantly, how far would she... or anyone else... go to make sure her husband was remembered as an honest American?

This movie is a mystery / political thriller / morality play / who-done-it. It is also a lesson to 'be careful what you wish for' and highly recommended.