Why Girls Today Need A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992)

I am going to give you all, beloved readers, a slice of the life of a starving writer. I was lying in bed last night thinking of all the ways I had failed in life - failed at relationships, jobs, writing, you name it. I was racking my brain for a single thing in my life I had ever done well. Do you know what came to mind? A catch. A really sweet catch.

In the words of Sophia Petrillo, "Picture it. Northern Virginia, mid-1990s." An eight-year-old Margaret Perry was playing first base in a Chantilly Youth Association softball game. I couldn't tell you the score if I wanted to, but at some point the batter hit a solid line drive my way. Without batting an eye I reached across and caught the ball with a backhand. Out! It was an awesome catch and everybody on that field knew it.

So, here I am - a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in a world that does not celebrate history/English lit. liberal arts graduates. And the one moment of personal glory I can claim without hesitation is an epic catch I made on the softball field over a decade ago. As I write this, I am remembering a dozen or so other examples of great plays I made on that field. Like that sweet grounder I hit into left field, right past the short stop. Or that time I got a huge strawberry sliding into third. Or the time I lobbed it from third to first, making an amazing double play.

Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin write for the silver screen's dream team

When Garson Kanin published Tracy & Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir in 1972, Katharine Hepburn was furious and refused to talk to him for years. But after time went by and many of her friends started passing away, including Kanin's wife and writing partner Ruth Gordon, Miss Hepburn came to value his friendship once again.

Most scholars have since dismissed Kanin's memoir as too biased to be considered a dependable account of the affair. Scholar Andrew Britton is most perceptive when he states the purpose of the book "suggests only that the authors of PAT AND MIKE wish to make it clear to the spectator that they are in the habit of addressing the leading actors by their abbreviated forenames." (Britton 170)

Hepburn and Tracy Get Steamy on TCM

Monday, October 22 Turner Classic Movies will be airing six of the nine films Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn made together.

WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942) - 8:00 pm
Directed by: George Stevens
Written by: Ring Lardner, Jr. and Michael Kanin
Genre: comedy, romance
Co-starring: Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Sara Haden
Synopsis: When down-to-earth, all-American sports writer Sam Craig (Tracy) first meets high-flying international political correspondent Tess Harding (Hepburn), sparks fly in more ways than one. The unlikely pair falls in love, but marriage proves difficult as the two attempt to coordinate their mismatched life priorities.
Margaret's rating: 8/10

Our Miss Fantastic on TCM this Friday: Katharine Hepburn on SUTS

This post is written in conjunction with the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon hosted by Sittin' on a Backyard Fence and ScribeHard on Film. A full day of Katharine Hepburn films will air on TCM on August 17.

Turner Classic Movies had selected an amazing line-up of movies for Miss Hepburn's day on Summer Under the Stars this year. As the self-proclaimed KH aficionado in the blogosphere, I'm going to rate Friday's movie selection to help the plebes decide which Hepburn films to DVR. You're welcome!

1.) ADAM'S RIB (1949)

Poll: What's your favorite Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy film?