The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Keeper of the Flame
Drama · Mystery · 1943
Famed reporter Stephen O'Malley travels to a small town to investigate the death of a national hero.
Movie details
Keeper of the Flame
“The screen's most exciting lovers in their newest romantic triumph!”
1943 Drama · Mystery 1h 40m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.6 / 10
Community rating
Famed reporter Stephen O'Malley travels to a small town to investigate the death of a national hero.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Keeper of the Flame?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Fedora
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Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement, only to discover the horrifying truth behind her success.
Agatha and the Truth of Murder
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England, December 1926. Although her personal life is in tatters, the famous writer Agatha Christie decides to leave everything behind to help unravel an unsolved murder committed on a train six years ago, unable to imagine the disproportionate consequences that such a selfless act will cause.
Agatha and the Midnight Murders
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As bombs fall on London, writer Agatha Christie decides it is time to kill off her most famous creation.
Inseparable
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A troubled engineer faces pressure at work and problems at home with his moody wife. American expat Chuck, rescues him from the brink of despair and becomes an unlikely mentor.
Marlowe
Crime · 1969
Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.
Fathers and Daughters
Drama · 2015
A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.
Agatha
Drama · 1979
England, 1926. An American journalist looks for mystery writer Agatha Christie when she suddenly disappears without explanation, leaving no trace.
Premonition
Thriller · 2007
A depressed housewife who learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the day after to a world in which he is still dead.
Murder on the Orient Express
Drama · 1974
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
TalhotBlond
Drama · 2012
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
George Cukor
Written by
Donald Ogden Stewart
Spencer Tracy
Stevie O'Malley
Katharine Hepburn
Christine Forrest
Richard Whorf
Clive Kerndon
Margaret Wycherly
Old Mrs. Forrest
Forrest Tucker
Geoff Midford
Frank Craven
Docteur Fielding
Stephen McNally
Freddie Ridges
Court is in session
Put Keeper of the Flame on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.