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Keeper of the Flame

  • 1942
  • Passed
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3K
YOUR RATING
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:05
1 Video
61 Photos
DramaMystery

Journalist Steve O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him que... Read allJournalist Steve O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him question what the truth about the hero is.Journalist Steve O'Malley (Spencer Tracy) wants to write a biography of a national hero who died when his car ran off a bridge. Steve receives conflicting reports and tales that make him question what the truth about the hero is.

  • Director
    • George Cukor
  • Writers
    • I.A.R. Wylie
    • Donald Ogden Stewart
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Richard Whorf
  • See production, box office & company info
    • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • George Cukor
    • Writers
      • I.A.R. Wylie
      • Donald Ogden Stewart
    • Stars
      • Spencer Tracy
      • Katharine Hepburn
      • Richard Whorf
    • 64User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
    • 61Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro

    • Videos1

    Keeper of the Flame
    Trailer 2:05
    Watch Keeper of the Flame

    Photos61

    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Spencer Tracy, Mary McLeod, and Forrest Tucker in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Spencer Tracy and Stephen McNally in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Margaret Wycherly in Keeper of the Flame (1942)
    Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and Margaret Wycherly in Keeper of the Flame (1942)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Spencer Tracy
    Spencer Tracy
    • Steven O'Malley
    Katharine Hepburn
    Katharine Hepburn
    • Christine Forrest
    Richard Whorf
    Richard Whorf
    • Clive Kerndon
    Margaret Wycherly
    Margaret Wycherly
    • Mrs. Forrest
    Forrest Tucker
    Forrest Tucker
    • Geoffrey Midford
    Frank Craven
    Frank Craven
    • Dr. Fielding
    Stephen McNally
    Stephen McNally
    • Freddie Ridges
    • (as Horace McNally)
    Percy Kilbride
    Percy Kilbride
    • Orion Peabody
    Audrey Christie
    Audrey Christie
    • Jane Harding
    Darryl Hickman
    Darryl Hickman
    • Jeb Rickards
    Donald Meek
    Donald Meek
    • Mr. Arbuthnot
    Howard Da Silva
    Howard Da Silva
    • Jason Rickards
    • (as Howard da Silva)
    William Newell
    William Newell
    • Piggot
    Walter Bacon
    • Mourner
    • (uncredited)
    Barry Bernard
    • Forward American Boy
    • (uncredited)
    Clifford Brooke
    Clifford Brooke
    • William
    • (uncredited)
    Steve Carruthers
    Steve Carruthers
    • Reporter
    • (uncredited)
    Ricardo Lord Cezon
    • Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • George Cukor
    • Writers
      • I.A.R. Wylie
      • Donald Ogden Stewart
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Louis B. Mayer was very unhappy about the film's political content, thinking it noncommercial. Katharine Hepburn too felt that the storyline was too dull and needed to be pepped up with some romance. She complained to producer Victor Saville about this but he ignored her comments, so Hepburn went directly to Mayer who was only too happy to make the film into a more conventional Hollywood romance.
    • Goofs
      In the denouement scene in the arsenal, while standing near the safe, Christine begins wearing a rain coat which then becomes a fuzzy cloth coat.
    • Quotes

      Christine Forrest: But what was really shocking to me, was the complete cynicism of the plan. Each of the groups was simply to be used until its usefulness was exhausted. Hates were to be played against hates. If one group threatened to get too powerful, it would be killed off by another group. And in the end, those poor little people who never knew to what purpose they were lending themselves would be in the same chains, cowed and enslaved.

    • Connections
      Edited into Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Marcia Funebre
      (uncredited)
      from "Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major "Eroica", Op.55" (1806)
      Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
      played as background music during the funeral

    User reviews64

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Enduring parable
    Even though the story about fascism on the home front is strongly connected to its time period during World War II, the film's deeper warning remains true -- people who play hero to the masses may not be what they appear.

    Great performances from the great team, Tracy and Hepburn. The atmosphere of mystery and gradual revelation of the amazing truth makes the film absorbing and tense. Though the film is not well known, this is definitely a classic.
    helpful•15
    1
    • mermatt
    • Apr 27, 1999

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1942 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Čuvari plamena
    • Filming locations
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,172,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $15,392
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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