Lumbering Western Melodrama Slow On The Draw But Mostly On Target

Did anyone notice the similarities between this and McLintock?

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, USA

Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Lucille Ball in Without Love (1945)

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Woman of the Year (1942)

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)

Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Angela Lansbury, and Van Johnson in State of the Union (1948)

Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Aldo Ray in Pat and Mike (1952)

Stewart Granger, Rhonda Fleming, and Steve Rowland in Gun Glory (1957)

Randolph Scott in Thunder Over the Plains (1953)

Bruce Bennett, Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, and Jane Wyman in Cheyenne (1947)

Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Melvyn Douglas, and Robert Walker in The Sea of Grass (1947)

Why do women insist on loving men for what they want them to be instead of what they are?

Katharine Hepburn and Edgar Buchanan in The Sea of Grass (1947)

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in The Sea of Grass (1947)

Katharine Hepburn and Melvyn Douglas in The Sea of Grass (1947)

Katharine Hepburn in The Sea of Grass (1947)

9659-2 Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "The Sea Of Grass"

Katharine Hepburn

Spencer Tracy

Robert Walker

Marguerite Roberts

Vincent Lawrence

Conrad Richter

On America&apos;s frontier, a St. Louis woman marries a New Mexico cattleman who is seen as a tyrant by the locals.

Elia Kazan

The Sea of Grass

Soapy grass with not much splendour

It is very hard to not expect a lot from &apos;The Sea of Grass&apos;. A talented cast, including greats Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn (deservedly one of the most legendary screen pairings) in the fifth of nine films together. An interesting subject. And also that it was directed by one of the most influential directors Elia Kazan, responsible for classics such as &apos;On the Waterfront&apos;, &apos;East of Eden&apos; and &apos;A Streetcar Named Desire&apos;.

&apos;The Sea of Grass&apos; turned out to be something of a disappointment. Personally don&apos;t think it is that bad, not enough to make Kazan himself disown the film and regret making it, but it doesn&apos;t do Tracy, Hepburn or Kazan justice and doesn&apos;t really allow them to play to their strengths or show what made them as popular as they were and still are. All three have done much better than this, as far as Kazan films go from personal opinion it is down there with his worst and sees him at his least involved. And it is definitely a lesser film for Tracy and Hepburn together, might actually put it below &apos;Keeper of the Flame&apos;, had formed the opinion of that film being their weakest but that was before re-watching &apos;The Sea of Grass&apos; and noticing more flaws with it than remembered. It also sees them both in lesser roles to usual (especially Tracy).

Certainly there are good things. Cannot fault the production values, the sets and costumes are handsome and evocative but it&apos;s the quite outstanding cinematography that is particularly good in this regard. It is scored with a stirring atmosphere too.

Although they come too far and between, there are moments of tension and pathos, especially in a tragic scene later on involving Robert Walker. The supporting cast are very good, with Edgar Buchanan running away with the film. Harry Carey comes close, while there is sturdy support from Phyllis Thaxter, Robert Walker and Melvyn Douglas (whose chemistry with Hepburn is much stronger than hers with Tracy).

Mainly because the chemistry between Hepburn and Tracy isn&apos;t really there, seemingly curiously detatched. Neither of them are at the top of their game either, Hepburn is much better and is still quite good (she&apos;s heartfelt and spirited) but Tracy is out of his depth and looks like he wants to be somewhere else. Kazan&apos;s direction is uncharacteristically undistinguished and like he was not interested in the material.

Not that one can completely blame him there because the script is far too heavy in the soapy melodrama and rambles badly. Meaning that the story becomes long-winded and fails to sustain interest, due to the pace becoming very sluggish (a problem for a film that also felt overlong) and some of it is lacking in plausbility. Am another person to dislike the ending, very contrived and considering what was going on in the rest of the film what happens and the decision that is made just doesn&apos;t ring true at all and doesn&apos;t make sense.

Overall, far from a must avoid but to see what is appealing and influential about Kazan, Tracy, Hepburn and Tracy and Hepburn&apos;s chemistry it&apos;s best looking elsewhere because none are really done justice here. 5/10 for mainly the production values and the supporting cast. Bethany Cox

Trailer

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTQyN2UxZmEtNGQ2Zi00OTFjLWE4MDQtNzhlNTk2NTE5MzcwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

It is very hard to not expect a lot from 'The Sea of Grass'. A talented cast, including greats Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn (deservedly one of the most legendary screen pairings) in the fifth of nine films together. An interesting subject. And also that it was directed by one of the most influential directors Elia Kazan, responsible for classics such as 'On the Waterfront', 'East of Eden' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.

'The Sea of Grass' turned out to be something of a disappointment. Personally don't think it is that bad, not enough to make Kazan himself disown the film and regret making it, but it doesn't do Tracy, Hepburn or Kazan justice and doesn't really allow them to play to their strengths or show what made them as popular as they were and still are. All three have done much better than this, as far as Kazan films go from personal opinion it is down there with his worst and sees him at his least involved. And it is definitely a lesser film for Tracy and Hepburn together, might actually put it below 'Keeper of the Flame', had formed the opinion of that film being their weakest but that was before re-watching 'The Sea of Grass' and noticing more flaws with it than remembered. It also sees them both in lesser roles to usual (especially Tracy).

Certainly there are good things. Cannot fault the production values, the sets and costumes are handsome and evocative but it's the quite outstanding cinematography that is particularly good in this regard. It is scored with a stirring atmosphere too.

Although they come too far and between, there are moments of tension and pathos, especially in a tragic scene later on involving Robert Walker. The supporting cast are very good, with Edgar Buchanan running away with the film. Harry Carey comes close, while there is sturdy support from Phyllis Thaxter, Robert Walker and Melvyn Douglas (whose chemistry with Hepburn is much stronger than hers with Tracy).

Mainly because the chemistry between Hepburn and Tracy isn't really there, seemingly curiously detatched. Neither of them are at the top of their game either, Hepburn is much better and is still quite good (she's heartfelt and spirited) but Tracy is out of his depth and looks like he wants to be somewhere else. Kazan's direction is uncharacteristically undistinguished and like he was not interested in the material.

Not that one can completely blame him there because the script is far too heavy in the soapy melodrama and rambles badly. Meaning that the story becomes long-winded and fails to sustain interest, due to the pace becoming very sluggish (a problem for a film that also felt overlong) and some of it is lacking in plausbility. Am another person to dislike the ending, very contrived and considering what was going on in the rest of the film what happens and the decision that is made just doesn't ring true at all and doesn't make sense.

Overall, far from a must avoid but to see what is appealing and influential about Kazan, Tracy, Hepburn and Tracy and Hepburn's chemistry it's best looking elsewhere because none are really done justice here. 5/10 for mainly the production values and the supporting cast. Bethany Cox

On America's frontier, a St. Louis woman marries a New Mexico cattleman who is seen as a tyrant by the locals.

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