Spitfire

Director: John Cromwell

Overview

In this bittersweet melodrama, a temperamental backwoods faith-healer (Katharine Hepburn) is cast out of her Ozark community because of her staunch insistence that her hands can cure the sick. She suffers more trouble when she falls in love with an engineer, who unfortunately, is already married.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/20/2009
UPC:	0883316140277
Original Release:	1934
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00
Sales rank:	46,529

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Katharine Hepburn	Trigger Hicks
Robert Young	John Stafford
Ralph Bellamy	George Fleetwood
Martha Sleeper	Eleanor Stafford
Louis Mason	Bill Grayson
Sara Haden	Etta Dawson
Virginia Howell	Granny Raines
Sidney Toler	Mr. Sawyer
Bob Burns	West Fry
Therese Wittler	Mrs. Sawyer
John Beck	Jake Hawkins
Bob Kortman	Mountaineer
High Ghere	West Fry

Technical Credits

Pandro S. Berman

Producer

Editorial Reviews

Spitfire asks its audience to stretch credibility way past the breaking point. Can any audience be expected to buy Katharine Hepburn as a faith healer, let alone as one who is so far backwoods that even the hillbillies might have a hard time claiming her? Hepburn was an enormously talented motion-picture actress, and while she should be commended for wanting to stretch herself, it has to be admitted that she was fundamentally unsuited for the role of Trigger. As miscast as she undoubtedly is, however, she's still interesting to watch, as she mouths religious bromides, lets loose her hair-trigger temper, and adopts an accent never heard before or since anywhere on this or any other planet. Hepburn tended to give her all to a part, and the sheer energy with which she attacks Trigger makes for entertainment. And, despite all the obstacles, Hepburn still manages to find moments when her talent bursts forth and she creates an indelible instant of screen magic. She gets little help from the script, but director John Cromwell at least finds ways of showing her off in the best light possible under the circumstances.