They rave over her cheekbones and her breeding.
We're not impressed by either.
We just note that the reality is that Hepburn's a so-so actress.
As producer Pandro Berman once noted of Hepburn, she couldn't carry a film and was bad in bad films and good in good films.
By contrast, Bette Davis could -- and did -- give a performance even with weak material.
Hepburn is an embarrassment in multiple films.
Here are ten of her worst performances ever.
1) The Iron Petticoat
She's no Greta Garbo and shouldn't have tried to be.
2) The Sea of Grass
So bad MGM delayed releasing it forever. A film that proves Hepburn and Tracy needed strong writing to appear to have chemistry.
3) Dragon Seed
Hepburn couldn't play Russian (see number 1) and she also couldn't play Chinese.
4) Rooster Cogburn
Many actresses had chemistry with John Wayne. Many more, like Joan Crawford, didn't but found a way to make the film amusing. Hepburn just draws attention to herself and her sexless presence.
5) Spitfire
Hepburn was once convinced she could play Booth Tarkington's Cherry. If she had played that role, that might have provided her with the most ridiculous lines of dialogue. Instead, she has this film.
6) Quality Street
Little Women aside, she really couldn't do period dramas.
7) Song Of Love
And was equally lost in bio pics.
8) Suddenly, Last Summer
While Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor turned in fine performances, what the hell was Hepburn doing? She would slam the film (and spit at the producer) but maybe the real problem was her dead acting?
9) Love Affair
She was jealous of other actresses. Over 80 and jealous of other actresses? How sad and it goes a long, long way towards explaining how she ended up with this clenched and embarrassing performance.
10) On Golden Pond
Hepburn is simply ridiculous in this film. Pauline Kael noted in The New Yorker in real that the actress "has become a Kate Hepburn windup doll-chipper and lyrical, floating in the stratosphere, and, God knows, spunky. Her star turn is a parody of the great Hepburn performances-it's all pirouettes."
