Many of Miss Hepburn's co-stars couldn't stand her. The movie Stage Door (1936) called for her to make a speech which would cause Ginger Rogers to cry. The director Gregory La Cava knew that Conservative Ginger Rogers hated Liberal Hepburn, so he called Ginger to set alone. "Babe I got terrible news. Your mother called, your new house burned down." After filming Ginger's tearful reaction, La Cava excused her, and Hepburn was called to set to make her speech.

Another film that gave Hepburn problems was comedy Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Cary Grant. She didn't at first understand concept of playing comedy straight, letting script dictate humor. Her meddling and constant suggestions drove director Howard Hawks to distraction. Finally he confronted her on set. "Katie, will you please shut up!" Hepburn replied calmly," Howard, you shouldn't talk that way to me. I have many friends on set. They might arrange for an accident to happen to you." Hawks looked up into rafters at one of film techs manning a huge spotlight. "Hey Joey, who would rather drop that light on, me or Miss Hepburn?" "Get out of way, Mr. Hawks."

Low budgets can mean small paydays to horror actors. Universal Studios founder Carl Laemmle became disenchanted by movie stars demands for perks and high salaries. Horror movies were an antidote, if Invisible Man or Mummy demanded too much you could hire someone else and public wouldn't know difference. One casualty was Boris Karloff who endured having make-up applied by Jack Pierce for four hours a day to play Frankenstein's Monster. Although he loved creature Karloff, who founded screen actors union, complained publicly about Frankenstein movies," I was only in three of them but I get blamed for all nine." He also said," I get all fan mail but somebody else gets check." Each Halloween Boris's resentment grew when neighborhood kids in Beverly Hills would ask him to go trick or treating.