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.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

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

After a disastrous preview, director George Cukor introduced the Marseilles scene as an introduction to the original film, thus showing the feminine Sylvia Scarlette, with tresses and in a skirt, before showing the tom-boyish side of the character.

---

Goofs

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

---

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!

---

Connections

Featured in The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor (1973)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

A very odd curio where all the pieces don't quite fit together

This film should have been a lot better, but so often the writing was filled with holes, the acting (especially with Ms. Hepburn and Mr. Gwen) overdone and excellent actors wasted (in the case of Cary Grant). While it is still watchable, this isn't exactly a glowing endorsement.

The film begins in France where Edmund Gwen informs his daughter (Hepburn) he's being sought by the police for embezzlement. So, they sneak away to Britain--with Hepburn dressed as a young man to divert suspicion. While not the most convincing boy, this was believable enough. However, there was really no discernible reason for her to continue being a boy during the rest of the film. Inexplicably, she stayed in costume until she later fell in love with a Bohemian artist.

On the trip to Britain, Hepburn and Gwen fall in with con-man Grant. And, despite it appearing that the film would be about their criminal gang, all the sudden they abandoned their evil ways and started traveling about the countryside performing little song and dance shows. Why? I have no idea--especially since they don't appear to have much talent.

Also during this time, Gwen gets married to a lady and spends much of the rest of his screen time overacting and pretty much making a fool of himself. Some of this was deliberate, but most of it was just lousy acting. And, when he wasn't blubbering and acting foolish, Hepburn was doing much the same! Grant, while not overacting, was pretty much a cipher--giving an amazingly muted and uninspiring performance. He was there, but that's really about it! The only decent scenes in the film occurred when Sylvia fell in love with the artist. Their scenes together might have been the basis for a good movie--too bad everything leading up to it was so sub-par. Overall, this is a slightly worse than average film but I expected so much more with the talent involved. Ms. Hepburn was a good actress, but better parts were still a few years ahead.