Hi Samantha, and welcome to the group! :)

I've never seen the Marion Davies version and have it on my list of
To Watch. I imagine Marion would do a good job in the dual role,
her demeanor is perfect for that and she was so good at comedy!

Franchot was loaned out from MGM to RKO for this picture, probably
because it was a costume piece and he was adept at injecting humor
into those types of roles with ease. He doesn't have a great
chemistry with Hepburn in this film (this was their only film
together) compared to his work with other actresses, and I tried to
get an interview with her to ask her about working with him but was
declined due to health issues.

The only other time they somewhat worked together was when both were
invited to join The Group Theatre when it first formed. Hepburn is
famous for not wanting to join because she was interested in
becoming a star and The Group was more about all for one and one for
all.

They both came from well to do East Coast families but I think
that's where their similiarities end, aside from the fact that
Franchot was a great admirer of Spencer Tracy (despite Tracy's
affair with Joan Crawford, hee!)

Lisa

--- In franchottone@yahoogroups.com, "maleejandra"
<maleejandra@y...> wrote:
>
> I liked this one, but I thought the silent with Marion Davies was
> better. She made a much better transition from the beautiful young
> girl to the old maid. Franchot was so great in this one though, so
> playful and fun. He made it more into a screwball comedy than a
> straight drama or a romantic comedy.
>
>
> --- In franchottone@yahoogroups.com, "Pietro Scionti"
<piddu1985@g...>
> wrote:
> >
> > So I've just watched Quality Street on TV. It was in original
> > language, so I could listen to Tone's beautiful deep voice for
the
> > first time :-)
> >
> > The film itself was nothing special, but it was sweet at the
end.
> > Certainly the lovely Katharine Hepburn did not look really
> believable
> > as an "ugly" (!!!) "old" (!!!) maid...!
> >
> > Chiara
> >
>