logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
28m 45s

Katharine Hepburn: Queen of the Screen

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

How did the actor Katharine Hepburn challenge the conventions of Hollywood’s studio system?

Stories of bold voices, with brave ideas and the courage to stand alone. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann shines a light on remarkable people from across history.

Archive courtesy of The G.Robert Vincent Voice Library in Michigan State University.

A BBC Studios Audio production.

Producer: Lorna Reader Series producer: Suniti Somaiya Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann Executive Producer: Paul Smith Commissioning editor for Radio 4: Rhian Roberts

Up next
Nov 18
History's Toughest Heroes: Henry Johnson: Hellfighter
<p>A Black soldier from the American South makes headlines when he fights off an entire German party in World War One. But his fame comes at a price.</p><p>In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the ... Show More
28m 35s
Nov 11
History's Toughest Heroes: Hugh Glass: The Real Story of The Revenant
The real-life Revenant who survived a savage bear mauling and crawled hundreds of miles across the American plains to confront the scoundrels who abandoned him.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on ... Show More
28m 29s
Nov 4
History's Toughest Heroes: Constance Bulwer-Lytton: Suffragette Rebel
Constance Lytton was raised an aristocrat. But when she wakes up to women's suffrage, she goes undercover in solidarity, joining her working-class comrades in prison and staging a series of dangerous hunger strikes.In History's Toughest Heroes, Ray Winstone tells ten true stories ... Show More
28m 56s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
Daniel Evans as Edward II, Laura Carreira's film On Falling, last night's Oscar winners
Sean Baker made Oscar history, becoming the first person to win four Academy Awards for directing, editing, writing and producing a single film, Anora. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh joins Samira to look at this year's Oscar winners and what they say about cinema today. The RSC's co-artisti ... Show More
42m 5s
Jul 2025
Stephen Fry on ODYSSEY and Allison Anders on GRACE OF MY HEART & PARIS, TEXAS
In this episode of Kermode on Film, Mark welcomes two legendary guests for a lively film conversation, recorded at the BFI Southbank on Monday 14th July 2025.This is Part 2 of that show, in which Mark is joined by Allison Anders, the director of Gas Food Lodging and Grace of My H ... Show More
43m 35s
Sep 2024
Kateryn Parr on Film: Firebrand
<p>In the last year of Henry VIII's life, his sixth wife Queen Kateryn Parr was accused of heresy and it looked as if her life could be on the line.&nbsp;This dramatic moment is the focus of a novel by Elizabeth Fremantle.&nbsp;Originally called <em>Queen's Gambit,</em> it has no ... Show More
36m 25s
Sep 18
I Might Have Been Your Dad?
Miquita Oliver and Jordan Stephens discuss the impact of astrology, the BTS dramas in getting TV made, and Elon MuskThis episode contains very strong language and adult themes. Credits: Producer: Natalie Jamieson Technical Producer: Will Gibson Smith Assistant Producer: Caillin M ... Show More
42m 29s
Jul 2025
Norma Percy, film-maker
Norma Percy is a documentary film-maker. She has been making programmes for over three decades and her productions have featured a range of political leaders from Tony Blair and Bill Clinton to Mikhail Gorbachev and Slobodan Milošević. Her film-making method, which she developed ... Show More
51m 6s
Nov 14
Pride and Prejudice Part 14
<p>Still reeling from Mr Darcy’s unexpected proposal, Lizzy is astonished to receive a letter from her now not-so-secret admirer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br><p>But far from entreating her to reconsider his offer, Darcy writes to defend his honour - in the affair of Jane and Bingley, and ... Show More
53m 42s
Mar 2025
50 Years Of 'Rocky Horror'
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is 50 years old, and still going strong in midnight theaters. We're listening back to Terry's 2005 interview with Tim Curry, who starred on stage and in the film as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the "sweet transvestite" from Transylvania. Also, we remember the ... Show More
46m 39s
Mar 2025
Chris Alexander, "Art! Trash! Terror! Adventures in Strange Cinema" (Headpress, 2025)
ART! TRASH! TERROR! Adventures in Strange Cinema (Headpress 2025) by Chris Alexander is a treasure trove of in-depth essays and edifying interviews that celebrate some of the most eccentric and unforgettable movies in cult cinema history. From recognized classics (George A. Romer ... Show More
55m 27s
Sep 23
Cillian Murphy on STEVE and BFI LFF highlights with Kristy Matheson
In this episode of Kermode on Film, Mark welcomes two brilliant guests for a lively film conversation, recorded at the BFI Southbank on Monday 15 September 2025.This is Part 1 of that show, in which Mark is joined by Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy to talk about his role in the new f ... Show More
44m 32s
Sep 2024
The Rebel's Cinema—Frantz Fanon on Screen #2, with Kazembe Balagun and Brent Hayes Edwards
Last April, Film Comment invited writer Adam Shatz on the Podcast to talk about The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon, his new biography of the Martinican writer, psychiatrist, and anti-colonial revolutionary. The Podcast explored Fanon’s lasting impression ... Show More
50m 41s