Keeper of the Flame (1942)

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn's second film paring is not one of their better known, in part because it's not a romance film, at least not in any traditional sense. Keeper of the Flame is adapted (by Donald Ogden Stewart no less) from the novel of the same name by I. A. R. Wylie. It's a very topical story and kind of an odd one to have been produced during the United States involvement in the Second World War. I say its kind of odd because its a rather self-critical film when it comes to the American people, its a warning that fascism could happen here.

The story, which is set in the months of September and October 1941, just before American involvement in the war, concerns the death of American war hero, civic leader and millionair Robert Forrest, a beloved figure who accidently drove his car off a bridge that was washed out in a storm. Tracy plays Steven O'Malley, a dogged and well respected war correspond who looked up to Forrest, and upon hearing the news of his death quickly returned home to the United States with the intention of writing a glowing biography of the man, so that the deceased famed spirit of patriotism might live on. O'Malley tries to enlist the help of Forrest's reclusive widow Christine Forrest (Hepburn) in his efforts to write the mans life story, at first she demurs, but Robert's right hand man and personal assistant Clive Kerndon (Richard Whorf) manages to persuade her to cooperate, feeling that a book on Forrest by O'Malley would be of great service to Robert's legacy.

O'Malley starts on his book, is given access to Forrest's mountain estate, but quickly begins to feel that something about Forrest and his death is being covered up. He investigates, and starts to think that Mrs. Forrest may have been having an affair, and may have been more directly involved in her husbands death then she lets on. The truth of the matter is not what O'Malley at first suspects but turns out to be worse, Forrest had become a fascist, and was plotting to use his influence to bring about a fascist cue, and while his death was (for the most part) in fact an accident, it was one that Christine could have prevented as she, unlike her husband, was aware that the bridge had been washed out in the storm.

Keeper of the Flame is a wonderfully atmospheric film, it's rather reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic Rebecca, as both films are about a new comer to an isolated estate uncovering the hushed up legacy of its owners dead spouse. There's also a bit of Citizen Kane here too, a reporter investigating the life of a famous man who died under mysterious circumstances. Keeper of the Flame however is not up to par with those other films, even the movies very capable director George Cukor wasn't satisfied with it, to quote him about it on Wikipedia:

"Cukor himself was highly dissatisfied by the film. "I suspect the story was basically fraudulent," he told an interviewer.^[68] Like many critics, he felt that "as a piece of storytelling, the unfolding of a mystery, the first half of Keeper of the Flame is a damn good show", but the rest of the film had substantial problems. He praised Spencer Tracy's work, saying: "Tracy ... was at his best in the picture. Subdued, cool, he conveyed the ruthlessness of the reporter sent to investigate Forrest's death without seeming to try. He was ideally cast in the role, grimly and skeptically exploring the secret of the dead boys' club hero who was in fact a rampant fascist."^[69] <> Overall, though, Cukor felt the film was leaden, and that it had "a wax work quality".^[68] Even screenwriter Stewart eventually came to feel the film was "tedious, wooden, and heavy-handed".^[11]"

None the less I still feel that this is a good film, particularly interesting as an artifact of its time. Looking at it now I couldn't help but think of Forrest as a stand-in for Charles Lindbergh, another  "boys club hero" beloved of his countrymen, with supposed fascist leanings, and who could quite easily have been elected President of the United States, though maybe that's just Philip Roth's The Plot Against America intruding on my thoughts. Warts and all though Keeper of the Flame still earns ***