Undercurrent, 1946, Vincente Minnelli

There is a rich tradition of movies from the 40's and 50's about husbands who marry heiresses only to stalk, harass, and plot their deaths. Usually the husband is a broke cad-about-town who needs his wife's fortune e.g. "Dial M for Murder" or "Suspicion." Or the wife finds out a guilty secret from her husband's past e.g. "Gaslight" or "Julie." Undercurrent, starring Kate Hepburn in her only film noir and directed by a man made famous for his movie musicals, is awkward at best. Hepburn's bumpkin character Ann marries the charming, famous inventor Alan Garroway. As they begin to set up house in glamorous Washington DC society, she starts to suspect him of murder. But Minnelli is no Hitchcock, and Hepburn's strength as an actress is certainly not to play the naive, wide-eyed bride. She is much too quick-witted an actress for that and it's totally unbelievable. This film is saved in part by its three scenes with Robert Mitchum, who plays Hepburn's mysterious brother-in-law. Best Kate Line: "He's here .. He's here and he's hiding. But he doesn't dare show his face."

Love Among the Ruins, 1975, George Cuckor

Kate Hepburn and Lawrence Olivier. Is there any more delightful phrase in the whole world? Two actors in their advancing years directed by George Cuckor in a television gem entitled "Love Among the Ruins." Such an unexpected picture. I adored it. Hepburn plays a women in her sixties being sued by a twentysomething dandy for breach of promise. She engages the assistance of a prominent attorney-and unbeknownst to Hepburn-former lover of hers from over 40 years ago. Olivier still feels her youthful scorn and defends her with a mixture of adoration and contempt. In his words: "After almost 50 years of devotion, she doesn't remember me!" A sweet movie deserving of Emmys won for both Hepburn and Olivier (despite a melodramatic courtroom scene bordering on the absurd). Best Kate Line: "My world-the only world I knew-had been destroyed so suddenly, so cruelly and lay about my feet in ruins. Why should any other world endure?"

Summertime, 1955, David Lean

I love Summertime. Despite the cartoony opening credits, it is a sincere and deeply-moving story of a Midwestern secretary's journey to Europe. Hepburn's character, Jane Hudson, has saved a lifetime to leave her native Ohio and travel to Italy. She has come for a bit of adventure and perhaps even romance. She records every bit of her trip via a 16mm camera always on her person. By requisite, Jane meets a married Italian man and gets her heart broken amongst the dazzling Venice backdrop. The absolute beauty of Hepburn's solitude at the beginning of the trip comes full circle as she returns to America again in solitude but now with a broken heart. Upon returning, however, she is more sorrowful, wise, and somehow strong. Best Kate Line: "All my life, I’ve stayed at parties too long because I didn’t know when to go."