Alice Adams (film)
Encyclopedia
Alice Adams, also known as Booth Tarkington's Alice Adams, is a 1935 romantic film made by RKO. It was directed by George Stevens
and produced by Pandro S. Berman
from a screenplay
by Dorothy Yost
, Mortimer Offner adapted by Jane Murfin
from the novel, Alice Adams, by Booth Tarkington
. The music score was by Max Steiner
and Roy Webb
, and the cinematography by Robert De Grasse
.
The film starred Katharine Hepburn
as Alice Adams with Fred MacMurray
, Fred Stone
, Evelyn Venable
, Frank Albertson
, Ann Shoemaker, Hedda Hopper
and Hattie McDaniel
.
This plot differs from the book Alice Adams, in which Alice is estranged from Russell.
for Best Picture
and for Best Actress
(Katharine Hepburn).
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
and produced by Pandro S. Berman
Pandro S. Berman
Pandro Samuel Berman , was an American film producer.-Biography:His father, Henry Berman, was general manager of Universal Pictures during Hollywood's formative years. The younger Berman, Pandro Samuel, was an assistant director during the 1920s under Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince...
from a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Dorothy Yost
Dorothy Yost
Dorothy Yost was an American screenwriter. She wrote for 74 films between 1920 and 1966.She was born in St...
, Mortimer Offner adapted by Jane Murfin
Jane Murfin
Jane Murfin was an American playwright and screenwriter.Born in Quincy, Michigan, Murfin began her career with the play Lilac Time, which she co-wrote with Jane Cowl. The Broadway production opened on February 6, 1917 and ran for 176 performances...
from the novel, Alice Adams, by Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams...
. The music score was by Max Steiner
Max Steiner
Max Steiner was an Austrian composer of music for theatre productions and films. He later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Trained by the great classical music composers Brahms and Mahler, he was one of the first composers who primarily wrote music for motion pictures, and as...
and Roy Webb
Roy Webb
Roy Webb was a film music composer.Webb has hundreds of composing credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures, and while most of the movies he scored were fairly light in content, he is today best known for his dark horror and film noir scores...
, and the cinematography by Robert De Grasse
Robert De Grasse
Robert De Grasse was an American cinematographer.-Career:Born in Maplewood, New Jersey where his family was working in the fledgling movie industry, he was the nephew of film actor Sam De Grasse...
.
The film starred Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
as Alice Adams with Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
, Fred Stone
Fred Stone
Fred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...
, Evelyn Venable
Evelyn Venable
Evelyn Venable was an American actress. In addition to starring in several films in the 1930s and 1940s, she is notable as the voice and model for the Blue Fairy in the Walt Disney's Pinocchio....
, Frank Albertson
Frank Albertson
Frank Albertson was an American character actor who made his debut in a minor part in Hollywood at age 13....
, Ann Shoemaker, Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
and Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
.
Plot
Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn) is the daughter of a family of modest means but she dreams of making her way in society and being accepted by the "better people." She meets the well-to-do Arthur Russell (Fred MacMurray) at a social gathering; he is charmed by her, despite her lower middle class background, and accepts her invitation to dine at the Adams' home. The meal is a disaster: Alice's parents (Fred Stone and Anne Shoemaker) embarrass her, and the food is terrible. However, everything turns out for the best as Russell declares his love anyway.This plot differs from the book Alice Adams, in which Alice is estranged from Russell.
Cast
- Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
as Alice Adams - Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurrayFrederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
as Arthur Russell - Fred StoneFred StoneFred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...
as Mr. Adams - Evelyn VenableEvelyn VenableEvelyn Venable was an American actress. In addition to starring in several films in the 1930s and 1940s, she is notable as the voice and model for the Blue Fairy in the Walt Disney's Pinocchio....
as Mildred Palmer - Frank AlbertsonFrank AlbertsonFrank Albertson was an American character actor who made his debut in a minor part in Hollywood at age 13....
as Walter Adams - Ann Shoemaker as Mrs. Adams
- Charles GrapewinCharles GrapewinCharley Ellsworth Grapewin was an American vaudeville performer and a stage and film actor, who portrayed Uncle Henry in MGM's The Wizard of Oz and Grandpa Joad in the film The Grapes of Wrath ....
as Mr. Lamb - Grady SuttonGrady SuttonGrady Harwell Sutton was an American film and television actor from the 1920s to the 1970s.-Biography:Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised in Florida where he attended St. Petersburg High School. He began his career during the silent film era and made the transition to sound films...
as Frank Dowling - Hedda HopperHedda HopperHedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Palmer - Hattie McDanielHattie McDanielHattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
as Malena - Jonathan HaleJonathan HaleJonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
as Mr. Palmer - Janet McLeod as Henrietta Lamb
- Virginia Howell as Mrs. Dowling
- Zeffie TilburyZeffie TilburyZeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury was an English actress-Career:Born in Paddington, Middlesex, England Tilbury was known first on the London stage and later for playing wise or evil older characters in films, such as the distinguished lady gambler at dinner with Garbo in The Single Standard, as Grandma...
as Mrs. Dresser - Ella McKenzie as Ella Dowling
Academy Awards nominations
The film was nominated for two Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
and for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Katharine Hepburn).