Details
Movie Description
Katharine Hepburn makes a powerful screen debut in A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT as the young Sydney Fairfield, a woman whose world is transformed when a stranger arrives in her life. John Barrymore gives a stunning, nuanced performance as her father, Hilary Fairfield, who, confined for years in a mental institution, finally escapes and returns to his wife and daughter. Arriving just after his wife has filed for divorce, Hilary upsets the balance established in his absence yet also lays the groundwork for an emotional drama in which the renewal of the father-daughter bond drives the story. Barrymore is at his finest, and Hepburn's onscreen magnetism rendered her an instant sensation; she would continue to work with director Cukor in many of his subsequent films. A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT is based on the play by Clemence Dane, which draws from Henrik Ibsen's GHOSTS.
Synopsis
Escaping as a shell shocked war veteran from a mental institution to return home, Hilary Fairfield (John Barrymore) is startled to find his daughter grown and his wife filing for divorce and engaged to another man. Katharine Hepburn makes her film debut as his daughter, Sydney, who sacrifices marital bliss to care for her father; he in turn is forced to cope with his unreciprocated love for his ex-wife, and his jealousy of her new life, in this moving screen adaptation of the Clemence Dane play from director George Cukor.
Film Notes
Theatrical release: September 30, 1932.
The film is based on the play by Clemence Dane.
A former theater director, Cukor was known for his successful adaptations of works from the stage to the screen.
This was Katharine Hepburn's film debut.
Hepburn caught director Cukor's attention in part by choosing a play with which Cukor was familiar--instead of performing a section from the film--for her screen test.
Initially studio technicians weren't sure how to deal with Hepburn's angular features and clipped New England accent.
A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT was so successful in launching Hepburn's career that it was remade as a vehicle for Maureen O’Hara.
Industry Reviews
"...This early Selznick is Hepburn's screen debut....A must..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (06/15/1990)
|
All rights reserved.
