The seven deadly sins of Hollywood (1957)

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF HOLLYWOOD friend of hers assured me that her detestation of publicity is perfectly genuine. He thought this was due to the circumstances of her upbringing. As a child she had never had any privacy. She was one of a very large family. Her mother was a virulent progressive, always urging reforms, always seeking publicity for some pet scheme or other. Her greatest campaign had been on behalf of birth control. Katharine Hepburn grew up with a loathing for publicity and a determination not to allow her sex to be her limitation. Clearly she believes that men and women are equal, but that some women are more equal than most men. She sees no reason why she shouldn't play the great male roles in Shakespeare. She is the answer to all those critics who say that Shaw's women are unreal. Katharine Hepburn might have been written by George Bernard Shaw. But produced and directed by Katharine Hepburn. After a certain amount of psychological warfare I got Montgomery Clift to tell his plans. They were, if you will forgive the sensationalism, to lie in the sun somewhere in the Adriatic. To fulfil his programme Mr. Clift flew to Italy, where he was later absorbing more ultra-violet rays than an embryonic banana. This was precisely what he had been doing for the past two years. When I called on him he looked worn out by all this strenuous inactivity. While Mr. Clift was lotus-eating — and from his frail appearance one would think that is all he does eat — the movie moguls were inundating him with offers. While Mr. Clift was contemplating life on the best beaches of the world, the moguls were developing ulcers trying to get him to make a picture. 112