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:

alliteration in title | two word title | name in title | female name in title | f rated | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

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:

$641,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO 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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Goofs

When Sylvia is cracking eggs, she cracks and opens the second egg twice.

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Quotes

Lily Levetsky: The little Pierrot boy! Were you a girl dressed as as a boy? Or are you a boy dressed as a girl?
Michael Fane: Sylvester is Sylvia.
Lily Levetsky: How charming!

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Connections

Featured in The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997)

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Soundtracks

HELLO! HELLO!
(uncredited)
Written by Alberto Colombo
Performed by Cary Grant, Dennie Moore, Katharine Hepburn 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.