A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

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.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Howard Estabrook (screen play), Harry Wagstaff Gribble (screen play)

Stars:

John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Barrymore	...	Hilary Fairfield
Billie Burke	...	Margaret
David Manners	...	Kit
Katharine Hepburn	...	Sidney
Paul Cavanagh	...	Gray
Henry Stephenson	...	Dr. Alliot
Gayle Evers	...	Bassett
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Hester

Storyline

After spending fifteen years in an asylum, Hilary Fairfield escapes from the institution after regaining his sanity. He finds that things at home are different than when he left them. His wife has divorced him and is already planning her next marriage, and his daughter has grown up throughout the years and is planning to marry as well.

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Plot Keywords:

party | christmas | divorce | clergy | insanity | 

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Taglines:

Only a few times in his career has S.L. Rothafel, "Roxy" stepped out into public print to praise a picture. Each year there is one "greatest" (Print Ad- New York Evening Post, ((New York NY)) 30 September 1932)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doble sacrificio

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Katharine Hepburn's performance as the "Amazon Queen" in the 1931 Broadway play The Warrior's Husband landed her a screen test with RKO. After executives saw the finished film in the projection room, they signed Hepburn to a contract, which called for her to appear in two films per year, with time off for stage plays.

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Goofs

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. Correction: The maid hands Sidney her mother's coat. You can see the maid's apron when she steps into view. Several scenes earlier the maid told Gray she had the mother's bags packed.

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Quotes

Hilary Fairfield: Do you know what the dead do in Heaven? They sit on their golden chairs and sicken for home.

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Crazy Credits

Sydney Fairfield is the name of Katharine Hepburn's character in the film, but ner name is spelled Sidney in the credits.

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Connections

Follows A Bill of Divorcement (1922)

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Soundtracks

Silent Night, Holy Night (1818)
(uncredited)
Music by Franz Xaver Gruber
Lyrics by Joseph Mohr
English lyrics anonymous
Sung by carollers on Christmas Eve

User Reviews

Shell-shock....

Worth seeing for Katharine Hepburn. The film starts out in a provincially normal household, a mansion complete with servants, and aging auntie (sister of the patient) and a suitor (Canvanagh) for Hepburn.

The story is rather basic, Barrymore wishes to return after his long hospitalization. Of course, life has not stopped (except for him.) A tragic story in any sense, and well portrayed here, if not a bit melodramatic. Billie Burke delivers a dated and frilly performance as a woman re-marrying. For 1932 the topic of psychological disorders being addressed at all is to be commended.

My mother had always loved Barrymore, and he does have the obsessive qualities which would categorize a man who has been traumatized. Billie Burke as the rejecting wife who now wants to re-marry. The topic of mental illness and post traumatic stress is still rarely covered in any semblance of realism, so this film is noteworthy on this issue alone. 8/10.