Bill of Divorcement [VHS]

This 1932 RKO film directed by George Cukor was Katharine Hepburn's screen debut, which means this particular melodrama will be preserved as evidence by this new video release. Hepburn plays Sydney Fairchild, with John Barrymore as her father and Billie Burke as her mother. The original play had elevated Katharine Cornell to stardom and it was hoped it would do the same thing for Hepburn. In retrospect, you can at least say it certainly opened the door.

The Story: Hepburn is engaged to be married and her mother is about to be remarried when her father arrives home from the insane asylum only to discover he is about to be divorced (hence, the title). Hepburn discovers that her father is not suffering from shell shock as she has always been told, but rather than he is insane (leading to the most melodramatic scene in the film where she soberly declares, "So, there is insanity in our family). As a result Hepburn sends her fiancée away. She will never marry, never have any children that would pass on the horrors of mental illness and instead will take care of her father. Face it: at the time people did not know any better (compare to "Suddenly Last Summer" where Hepburn's character wants to lobotomize Elizabeth Taylor).

Hepburn's debut is a relatively subdued performance. Cukor begins the film with her entrance, as she runs down a long staircase into the arms of her fiancée. At the time the quintessential movie star was Greta Garbo and clearly Hepburn is being fitted for that same mold: the striking looks with her high cheekbones and the accented voice, albeit it with more personality and vitality than the dour Garbo.

Barrymore, as usual, is a bit over the top. Watching him in film almost inevitably leads you to think that he was a greater stage performer when he did not have to contend with closeups. Of course at the time he was a major star with enough power that when he played Ahab in "Moby Dick" the film was turned into a romance where he kills the whale and returns to the arms of his beloved Faith ( I am NOT making this up). Barrymore does the stereotypical insane look with bugged out eyes and wild hair. Fortunately neither Hepburn nor Burke try to out emote him. Their quiet despair works off of his performance quite effectively, and there are times when they manage to bring him down to a more realistic level.

His best scene (and the most true in the movie) is when he and Hepburn meet for the first time. He mistakes her for his wife and when she replies, "I think I'm your daughter" there is the first indication of what she is capable as an actress. It might have been the first time we saw Katharine Hepburn with tears in her eyes, but it certainly was not the last (e.g., "Alice Adams" in particular).

In the history of Hollywood it is usually "The Snake Pit" that is mentioned as the film that shows how horribly the mentally ill were being treated in this country. Even thought "A Bill of Divorcement" takes place in England there is certainly a sense of the inherent fear and loathing "normal" people had for those with mental illness.

What Hepburn thought of the story line would have been interesting to know. After all, her mother was a leading proponent of birth control so she had to know that her character did not have to be so melodramatic. Ironically, there is a legendary story that Barrymore arrived at Hepburn's dressing room, threw off his dressing robe to reveal his naked body, whereupon young Kate frantically explained "My mother doesn't want me having babies."

There was a rumor floating around for a while that there was another remake it the works (the first one was in 1940 with Maureen O'Hara, Adolph Menjou and Fay Bainter), as a vehicle for Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie. It certainly would have been an interesting choice (please insert your own jokes about that particular father-daughter team trying to do this particular movie. Thank you).

This 1932 RKO film directed by George Cukor was Katharine Hepburn's screen debut, which means a lot of people will be checking out this particular melodrama now that the legendary actress has passed on. Hepburn plays Sydney Fairchild, with John Barrymore as her father and Billie Burke as her mother. The original play had elevated Katharine Cornell to stardom and it was hoped it would do the same thing for Hepburn. In retrospect, you can at least say it certainly opened the door.

The Story: Hepburn is engaged to be married and her mother is about to be remarried when her father arrives home from the insane asylum only to discover he is about to be divorced (hence, the title). Hepburn discovers that her father is not suffering from shell shock as she has always been told, but rather than he is insane (leading to the most melodramatic scene in the film where she soberly declares, "So, there is insanity in our family). As a result Hepburn sends her fiancee away. She will never marry, never have any children that would pass on the horrors of mental illness and instead will take care of her father. Face it: at the time people did not know any better (compare to "Suddenly Last Summer" where Hepburn's character wants to lobotomize Elizabeth Taylor).

Hepburn's debut is a relatively subdued performance. Cukor begins the film with her entrance, as she runs down a long staircase into the arms of her fiancée. At the time the quintessential movie star was Greta Garbo and clearly Hepburn is being fitted for that same mold: the striking looks with her high cheekbones and the accented voice, albeit it with more personality and vitality than the dour Garbo.

Barrymore, as usual, is a bit over the top. Watching him in film almost inevitably leads you to think that he was a greater stage performer when he did not have to contend with closeups. Of course at the time he was a major star with enough power that when he played Ahab in "Moby Dick" the film was turned into a romance where he kills the whale and returns to the arms of his beloved Faith ( I am NOT making this up). Barrymore does the stereotypical insane look with bugged out eyes and wild hair. Fortunately neither Hepburn nor Burke try to out emote him. Their quiet despair works off of his performance quite effectively, and there are times when they manage to bring him down to a more realistic level. In the history of Hollywood it is usually "The Snake Pit" that is mentioned as the film that shows how horribly the mentally ill were being treated in this country. Even thought "A Bill of Divorcement" takes place in England there is certainly a sense of the inherent fear and loathing "normal" people had for those with mental illness.

His best scene (and the most true in the movie) is when he and Hepburn meet for the first time. He mistakes her for his wife and when she replies, "I think I'm your daughter" there is the first indication of what she is capable as an actress. It might have been the first time we saw Katharine Hepburn with tears in her eyes, but it certainly was not the last (e.g., "Alice Adams" in particular). What Hepburn thought of the story line would have been interesting to know. After all, her mother was a leading proponent of birth control so she had to know that her character did not have to be so melodramatic. Ironically, there is a legendary story that Barrymore arrived at Hepburn's dressing room, threw off his dressing robe to reveal his naked body, whereupon young Kate frantically explained "My mother doesn't want me having babies."

There was a rumor floating around for a while that there was another remake it the works (the first one was in 1940 with Maureen O'Hara, Adolph Menjou and Fay Bainter), as a vehicle for Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie. It certainly would have been an interesting choice (please insert your own jokes about that particular father-daughter team trying to do this particular movie).

A Bill of Divorcement is Katharine Hepburn's first film, released in 1932. In this film, Hilary (played by John Barrymore) returns home after escaping from a metal asylum when he suddenly regains his sanity. After being gone for fifteen years he realizes that things have changed in his absence. His wife (played by Billie Burke known to the world as Glinda the good witch in the movie The Wizard Of Oz) has divorced him and is planning to remarry. His daugther, Sydney (Hepburn) who is also planning to marry discovers that it isn't shell shock that sent her father to the asylum after all and comes face to face with the fact that insanity runs in the family. She decides not to marry after all and dedicates the rest of her life to taking care of her father. This is a great film and I would highly recommend it to all. This film has never been released on DVD and I hope someday it will be.