A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Clemence Dane (play)
Howard Estabrook (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A man, Hilary Fairfield returns home after fifteen years in a mental asylum. However, he finds things are not the way they were when he left.

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Engagement | Father Daughter Relationship | Lawyer | Aunt

Cast

John Barrymore	...	Hilary Fairfield
Billie Burke	...	Meg Fairfield
David Manners	...	Kit Humphreys
Katharine Hepburn	...	Sydney Fairfield
Paul Cavanagh	...	Gray Meredith
Henry Stephenson	...	Doctor Alliot
Gayle Evers	...	Bassett
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Aunt Hester Fairfield

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2546) (12 August 1936 for re-release) | Argentina:Atp

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The original play opened in London on 14 March 1921.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Toward the end, when Sidney convinces her mother to leave, she reaches for her mother's coat, and someone off-camera hands it to her. The hands of the crew member are clearly visible.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Good King Wenceslas

Kate's Striking Debut Opposite a Touching Barrymore in an Antiquated Drama About Family Obligations

At 25, fourth-billed Katharine Hepburn bursts off the screen with her characteristic persona already fully formed in her screen debut as Sydney, the headstrong daughter of WWI veteran Hilary Fairfield, in this antiquated 1932 melodrama. Fifteen years earlier, Hilary was shell-shocked triggering a latent mental instability, which required his wife to institutionalize him. On the day his wife Meg files for divorce, he escapes the asylum in a docile state little realizing how much time has elapsed. In fact, he mistakes Sydney for Meg, as ironically, both Meg and Sydney are soon to be betrothed, The crux of the drama lies in Hilary's insanity and how his sudden appearance forces Meg and Sydney to make life-altering decisions. Directed by George Cukor, the film already shows his innate ease with larger-than-life actors like Hepburn and John Barrymore.

However, the screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Harry Wagstaff Gribble (adapted from an earlier British play by Clemence Dane) is severely dated in its attitude toward familial self-sacrifice, and the film is further hampered by a stilted feeling of staginess throughout. Already in career descent from his alcoholism, Barrymore gives a poignant performance as Hilary giving into heated theatrical fervor in just a couple of key scenes. In what was likely her most substantial role, Billie Burke (later Glinda the Good Witch in "The Wizard of Oz") makes Meg's dilemma palpable, while Elizabeth Patterson (later babysitter Mrs. Trumble on "I Love Lucy") is surprisingly dour as self-righteous Aunt Hester. Hepburn's destiny seems assured from the very first scene, and this was to be the start of her remarkable 47-year professional relationship with Cukor. As of March 2008, the film is not available on DVD.