Sylvia Scarlett (1935)

Escaping to England from a French embezzlement charge, widower Henry Scarlett is accompanied by daughter Sylvia who, to avoid detection, "disguises" herself as a boy, "Sylvester." They are ... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Gladys Unger (screenplay), John Collier (screenplay),

Stars:

Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Brian Aherne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Katharine Hepburn	...	Sylvia Scarlett a.k.a. Sylvester
Cary Grant	...	Jimmy Monkley
Brian Aherne	...	Michael Fane
Edmund Gwenn	...	Henry Scarlett

Storyline

Escaping to England from a French embezzlement charge, widower Henry Scarlett is accompanied by daughter Sylvia who, to avoid detection, "disguises" herself as a boy, "Sylvester." They are joined by amiable con man Jimmy Monkley, then, after a brief career in crime, meet Maudie Tilt, a giddy, sexy Cockney housemaid who joins them in the new venture of entertaining at resort towns from a caravan. Through all this, amazingly no one recognizes that Sylvia is not a boy...until she meets handsome artist Michael Fane, and drama intrudes on the comedy.

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Plot Keywords:

disguise | pursuit | family relationships | scam | chase | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

3 January 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

En förtjusande pojke

Filming Locations:

Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first of four movies pairing Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

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Quotes

Jimmy Monkley: Oh, what's 'appened to me ideas?
Sylvia Scarlett: They're *all* bad.
Jimmy Monkley: What's that?
Sylvia Scarlett: These eggs.

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Connections

Featured in The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind (1988)

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Soundtracks

"HELLO! HELLO! WHO'S YOUR LADY FRIEND?"
(uncredited)
Music by Henry Fragson (as Harry Fragson)
Lyrics by Worton David and Bert Lee (1914)
Sung by Cary Grant and Edmund Gwenn

User Reviews

Loved the Pink Pierrots!

I loved it when the characters became the traveling show. I thought I had read about Cary Grant entertaining in the English music halls (before he went to Hollywood?), so it seemed like he was such a natural for this hilarious scene. When I saw the characters starting to sing and dance, I was very happy. Cary Grant's character was having a good old time, and he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Katharine Hepburn's character was taking part in the hi-jinks, as well as her father and the maid. All dressed in their clown costumes made me wish there were more of these vaudeville frivolities. The makeup transformation of Katharine Hepburn into a boy is just fabulous, and the scene where she becomes a young lady for Brian Aherne is exceedingly convincing and lovely. She is just great at doing these chameleon changes.