 Cukor himself was highly dissatisfied by the film . " I suspect the story was basically fraudulent , " he told an interviewer . Like many critics , he felt that " as a piece of storytelling , the unfolding of a mystery , the first half of Keeper of the Flame is a damn good show " , but the rest of the film had substantial problems . He praised Spencer Tracy 's work , saying : " Tracy ... was at his best in the picture . <unk> , cool , he conveyed the ruthlessness of the reporter sent to investigate Forrest 's death without seeming to try . He was ideally cast in the role , grimly and skeptically exploring the secret of the dead boys ' club hero who was in fact a rampant fascist . " Hepburn , he felt , was hindered by the role and her approach to it . " It was Kate 's last romantic glamour @-@ girl part , and she acted with some of that artificiality she 'd supposedly left behind at RKO . That first scene , floating into a room in yards and yards of draperies with these lillies — well , it was all far , far too much . I don 't think I really believed in the story , it was pure <unk> , and her part was phony , <unk> . " He particularly disliked Hepburn 's entrance in the film , with the long dress and lillies . But he felt Hepburn did her best : " That 's awfully tricky isn 't it ? And doesn 't she give long , piercing looks at his portrait over the mantel ? Well . I think she finally carried a slightly phony part because her humanity asserted itself , and her humor . They always did . " Overall , though , Cukor felt the film was leaden , and that it had " a wax work quality " . Even screenwriter Stewart eventually came to feel the film was " tedious , wooden , and heavy @-@ handed " . 
