Anne or Kathy?


Which one did you think was better suited for Philip?

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Anne all the way. I really, really wanted her and Philip to get together. She matched him in wit and intellegence. She was a bit more effervescent than he which made them even more suited for eachother I think.

Dearie Dot Dot Dotdo Dearie Dot, Dearie Dot Dot Dotdo Dearie dot Doo!

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I just saw the movie and I have to go with KATHY!! I liked her the best and she did do the right thing at the end.

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[deleted]

I was rooting for Anne, but then she's not the domestic type. I mean, she has a job! She is the caricature of the Progressive, Modern Woman, meaning she is not fit to be a wife. Kathy is the caricature of the subservient, meek but kind woman who would make a much better wife and mother.

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I agree with you, repete66211. I'd also like to point out that Anne is, like Phil, a strong personality (and perhaps an even stronger one). Upon reflection, I think that she and Phil are too much ALIKE to go together well.

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[–] repete66211 16 years ago
I was rooting for Anne, but then she's not the domestic type. I mean, she has a job! She is the caricature of the Progressive, Modern Woman, meaning she is not fit to be a wife. Kathy is the caricature of the subservient, meek but kind woman who would make a much better wife and mother.


Actually, it wasn't that unusual for women to work as long as it was either out of necessity (lower class) or purely as a hobby (upper class).
What was unusual about the portrayal of Anne was that she was successful, in charge, and content (emphasis on content).

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I must say it shocked me in the end that there was no scene of what becomes of Anne at all. I guess that would have messed things up too much.
Poor Anne. Such a naturally good person and what does she get? Not even a final scene.

http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/487758

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At least Celeste Holm had the final word. She won the Academy Award for her wonderful portrayal of Anne. What a beautiful woman she was then and still is today. For those who don't know, June Havoc who played Elaine Wells, Pecks secretary, was none other than the little sister of Gypsy Rose Lee and also Jewish.

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Sorry, June Havoc was not Jewish.

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I think Anne was too good for him!

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I see what you all are saying but I think you are all missing the point. In order for anti-Semitism to be fought, it's not up to people like Phil and Anne, it's up to people like Kathy. Kathy represents the average, well meaning person who thinks she is not bigoted but still accepts bigoted customs and doesn't stand up to bigotry. In order for Phil's epiphany and the entire movie's message to work, Kathy must genuinely change. In the end Phil's going with Kathy represents hope. Without the Kathys of the world changing, anti-semitism of the 1940s would never have changed. So their union represents his trust in her that she is capable of working through her hypocrisy and do the right thing in the end. It did feel a little contrived but it's the only way it could have worked.

I do think Anne was the much more interesting character though and should have gotten more.

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Interesting argument, beet juice, and I think a strong one. However ... I didn't actually see change! I know that they stuck one speech in there, but ... a change it was not. She spent the whole film trying to hold him back from his ambition, and then suddenly had a light bulb go on? Too convenient. I really didn't see a change at all, and from that perspective, I thought it did the story a great disservice that he went with Kathy. The main character took an incredible bold, demanding, and passionate step that required a whole lot of hutzpah to do ... and then he went with the weak kneed wishy washy girl? I think it waters down the message a great deal. It is most difficult to see evil of any variety in those we love most ... and I think he SHOULD have seen that Anne was a better match for him.

All that being said, though, you do make a great argument.

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"Well Jane? Are you overwhelmed?"
~Mr Rochester
Jane Eyre 2006

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Neither.

The world is not limited to one cool colleague and your boss's niece.
Keep looking Phil!

I thought it was gutsy to introduce Kathy as the love interest and then let us discover that she is not what she seems even if she means well.
The last minute reconciliation seems tacked-on, a bit like if they wanted to please audiences after a screen test!

I wish Phil hadn't go back to Kathy. He could appreciate her gesture, but not go back.
I would also find it realistic if he let Anne with a broken-heart.
As someone pointed out. He too is more snobbish than he thinks he is.
Althought Anne shares his values, is courageous, king and fun, she is too low-brow for him. He wants the waspish, uper-class girl.

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I actually agree with this one. I hated Kathy the entire movie. She was snobbish and overly well-bred and all of the other things that she said to be a good fit for Phil. Plus, she was just a boring, wishy-washy character.

Anne was a supportive colleague and a very good friend, two things Phil needed, but she was probably too modern and career-oriented for him. He already had a son from his first marriage and was obviously open to getting into another traditional marriage. Anne wouldn't fit that role well.

Phil really needed someone in the middle. He needs someone who shares his values much more than Kathy did, but he also needs someone who is more family-oriented than Anne's fashion editor character. I'm sure he could have found someone like that, but with this being 1940s Hollywood, he ended up with the woman who (1) redeemed herself and (2) wanted to have the marriage and the family and such. Gotta reinforce those post-war values!

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Absolutely Anne. It's the one thing I hated about this movie...Kathy. She was a horrible person, and even worse, a hypocrite about it. "Oh, it's so wonderful, so brave,....but YOU"RE not, are you?" Always covering herself. Anne was cool and stylish and funny. Kathy is going to end up breaking up Greg and John Garfield's friendship in her snaky way, (we're busy that weekend), and undermine Greg's teaching of Tommy. She just doesn't see anything wrong is what she's doing because she think's she's wonderful. What a horror.

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I would have liked the movie so much better if he had ended up with Anne. It would have been surprising (for a Hollywood movie, not for real life). Kathy will not be able to change overnight, and her one brave gesture will be followed with many cowardly ones and many more quarrels between her and Phil.

Anne was perfect for him—as upright as he is, but with a sense of humor, which he desperately needed. Oh, well.


...Justin Glory be, Delbert, you should eat! You're a count, for God's sake!

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I agree that Kathy would not and could not have changed overnight. I think this part was meant to show the audience: we are all good Americans and if we just see the injustice we will all get up and fight it. But this is the Hollywood ending and not how things like that work out in real life. Poor Dave and his family, I am not sure Kathy will stand up for them once they have arrived at the little cottage.

Anne was much better suited for him, she was fun but also upright and sensitive (just look at how she comforts Dave in the restaurant). She has a great sense of humor but could also be very serious and courageous (look at how she declares her interest in Phil). She was also the only one who did not care at all if Phil was Jewish or not. I think this might be because she is a person who knows first hand about discrimination. She is the only woman in a leading position at the Magazine. I am sure she has heard jokes about herself ("she eats men alive for breakfast") and women as bad as the joke Kathy felt so ashamed about. However, Phil does not really see that and the film leaves the "career woman" all by herself after having opened her heart for the men she wants and who is probably right for her. I agree, Anne would have deserved much better.

It is still, unfortunately, typical for the time that Phil chooses Kathy rather than Anne. He might be a crusader against bigotry and anti-semitism, but does he want a woman with a career, who does not serve him breakfast in the morning? A woman he might need to justify in front of his friends and family for the choices she made? Probably not. He does not want the independent woman with courage and style ala Marlene Dietrich but rather the tame, 1950s woman in the flowing white dress he can educate and feel secure with. A woman who takes care of the children (even though his own son can make breakfast for himself and has much stronger values than his future stepmother) and who is a waspish schoolteacher rather than a colleague in her own right.

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