Customer Reviews

Christopher Strong [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film is a Warner Archive product. It is a DVD-R with no chapter stops. You are only able to go forwards and backwards in ten minute increments. I am reviewing the film and the quality of this product here, not the wisdom of paying this particular price for the product.

This film is Katharine Hepburn's second film and her first in a starring role. In her first film, 1932's "A Bill of Divorcement", Billie Burke had starred with Hepburn fourth billed. Here the situation has reversed itself, and Hepburn supplants Burke in more ways than one. Hepburn plays Lady Cynthia Darrington, a member of the British gentry whose family has lost its money. As a result, she pursues aviation for both her love of it and for money to try and restore the family fortune. She has forsaken love up to this point in her life, and as the result of a human scavenger hunt at a party attended by one of her friends, she winds up at the party because she is a virgin, and Christopher Strong (Colin Clive) winds up there because he is a faithful husband to Billie Burke's character. The two meet, fall in love, and eventually this leads to the loss of what distinguished both of them in the first place.

There are several things that make this film interesting - not the least of which being that Hepburn's role turns out to be semi-autobiographical. In actuality Hepburn was an athletic and independent woman of aristocratic roots who fell for a married Spencer Tracy who also never technically divorced his wife. Then there's that metallic moth suit complete with antennae that Cynthia wears to a party - yikes! And the middle-aged Lord Strong doesn't even do a double take when she walks in wearing this outfit. So much for the stuffy image of the British aristocracy. The ending is odd since it doesn't seem consistent with Cynthia's strong independent streak. Her solution to her dilemma when she realizes that, although Strong loves her, he would only actually leave his wife out of a sense of duty to Cynthia, seems completely out of character. Also, Billie Burke does such a good job of playing the wronged wife who suffers in silence and dignity that it is really hard to sympathize with anyone but her. Finally, the title is a bit of a mystery. The title character, Christopher Strong, is really secondary to Hepburn's Cynthia Darrington, and I can't help but wonder why the film wasn't titled after Hepburn's character instead.

Director Dorothy Arzner, the only female director in Hollywood during this time, certainly took some chances with this one. Some of the film worked and some of it didn't, but I don't think it would have had a chance without Hepburn in the lead. I recommend this film to anyone interested in the evolution of Hepburn's acting style.

The video and audio quality of this film is pretty good. The audio is particularly clear for an early 30's film, and the clarity and contrast on the video is very good with just some specks here and there.

For fans of classic horror, or classic films in general, this is an amazing cast. Colin Clive, Katherine Hepburn, Bille Burke, Helen Chandler...

Put it this way. Doctor Frankenstein is married to the Good Witch of The East. Their daughter is Mina, who Bela Lugosi terrorized in "Dracula" (she stays out all night in this movie as well). Mina introduces Katherine Hepburn (dressed like a silver moth) to Doctor Frankenstein; they eventually have an affair, which is devastating to the Good Witch of the East and to Mina, who once again wants to die (I've got three Helen Chandler movies; she wants to die in all of them).

Okay, I'm making fun of the film by associating the actors with their most famous roles, but you can't help thinking about these roles while watching this film, which is excellent (though it is hard to imagine Katherine Hepburn killing herself for Colin Clive).

The picture quality is bad, but not unwatchable. Blacks are crushed, detail is gone, and there are many scenes which are simply too dark to see. My DVD-R had lots of artifacting throughout and skipped a lot, but the movie was still good enough to keep me interested.

I got this DVD-R from Warner Archives on sale for $10. If they keep pressing DVD-Rs that are hit-or-miss in quality, they should cut the prices permanently. If I had paid Amazon's $26 for this defective disc, I'd be very, very angry. The picture quality and DVD-R defects brought my five stars down to four.

When director Dorothy Arzner cast Katherine Hepburn in the lead of CHRISTOPHER STRONG (1933), little did she realize that she was setting up Miss Hepburn as the first of Hollywood's tough-as-nails feminists who could fly around the world in one scene and proudly proclaim her virginity in the next. This was Hepburn's second film but her first starring role. Hepburn is Lady Darrington, an aviatrix who loves the thrill of flying even as she recognizes that this thrill is but a poor substitute for the love of the right man. At a party, she meets Christopher Strong (Colin Clive) who is happily married. Of course they fall in love with each realizing that such a relation can lead only to the hurt of all concerned.

Most reviewers of CHRISTOPHER STRONG point to the toughness and wardrobe of Miss Hepburn. Indeed, in her getup as a flier and an antennaed moth at a costume party, Miss Hepburn constantly dominates each scene with sartorial splendor all the while regaling the audience with her staccato-like delivery. Yet, a careful reviewing reveals that the film's encoded ideology of the sanctity of marriage encapsulates the then societal dilemma of the pitfalls that the feminist heroine must face when she begins an affair with a married man. There is an interesting subplot that mirrors the Hepburn-Clive affair. Helen Chandler is Christopher Strong's daughter who fools around with a married man (Ralph Forbes). They break up only to reunite when Forbes divorces. Chandler becomes conveniently pregnant as if to punctuate the now legitimacy of their union. Hepburn becomes pregnant as well in a scene that shows only a bedroom lamp that reflects on the offscreen lovers. Hollywood seems to say that if a woman carries on with a married man, he ought to become unmarried pretty fast. When that man does not do so, then the consequences become predictably tragic. CHRISTOPHER STRONG is a celluoid finger shaker that sets up a soap opera romance that is no less fascinating for that. Even now, the film's closing image of Hepburn in the circling airplane brings to mind a tragedy that is certainly common in the real world and unavoidable in the celluloid one.

This film is Katharine Hepburn's second film and her first in a starring role. In her first film, 1932's "A Bill of Divorcement", Billie Burke had starred with Hepburn fourth billed. Here the situation has reversed itself, and Hepburn supplants Burke in more ways than one. Hepburn plays Lady Cynthia Darrington, a member of the British gentry whose family has lost its money. As a result, she pursues aviation for both her love of it and for money to try and restore the family fortune. She has forsaken love up to this point in her life, and as the result of a human scavenger hunt at a party attended by one of her friends, she winds up at the party because she is a virgin, and Christopher Strong (Colin Clive) winds up there because he is a faithful husband to Billie Burke's character. The two meet, fall in love, and eventually this leads to the loss of what distinguished both of them at this party in the first place.

There are several things that make this film interesting - not the least of which being that Hepburn's role turns out to be semi-autobiographical. In actuality Hepburn was an athletic and independent woman of aristocratic roots who fell for a married Spencer Tracy who also never technically divorced his wife. Then there's that metallic moth suit complete with antennae that Cynthia wears to a party - yikes! And the middle-aged Lord Strong doesn't even do a double take when she walks in wearing this outfit. So much for the stuffy image of the British aristocracy. The ending is odd since it doesn't seem consistent with Cynthia's strong independent streak. Her solution to her dilemma when she realizes that, although Strong loves her, he would only actually leave his wife out of a sense of duty to Cynthia, seems completely out of character. Also, Billie Burke does such a good job of playing the wronged wife who suffers in silence and dignity that it is really hard to sympathize with anyone but her. Finally, the title is a bit of a mystery. The title character, Christopher Strong, is really secondary to Hepburn's Cynthia Darrington, and I can't help but wonder why the film wasn't titled after Hepburn's character instead.

Director Dorothy Arzner, the only female director in Hollywood during this time, certainly took some chances with this one. Some of the film worked and some of it didn't, but I don't think it would have had a chance without Hepburn in the lead. I recommend this film to anyone interested in the evolution of Hepburn's acting style.

This film is an excellent example of prolific producer David O. Selznick's early pictures. Selznick's early pictures in particualr featured strong female leads in sophisticated dramatic roles. "Christopher Strong" should be entitled "Cynthia Darrington." Cynthia is the strong female lead in this film, played by Katharine Hepburn in one of her own first roles. She plays an aviator not unlike Amelia Earhart who falls in love with a married man. It is interesting that off screen, Katharine was a fan of flying as well--with Howard Hughes! She gives a touching performance; especially effective is her acting in the final, tragic scene of the film. Billie Burke co-stars with Katharine as Christopher Strong's wife. Billie and Kathatine were paired in Selznick's "A Bill of Divormeent" the previous year and it's a delight to see them together again. Billie Burke, known for her roles as scatterbrained society matrons, offers a rare glimpse into her considerable talent for dramatic portrayals in both this film and "A Bill of Divorcmeent." Her talent for drama is just as effective as the great Katharine Hepburn's. If you want to see a classy melodrama with top notch acting that allows you to glimpse the glamorous but tormented world of the upper crust in the 1930s, see this film!

After her debut in a pivotal supporting role in "A Bill of Divorcement," Katharine Hepburn (who turned 96 this week) received top billing in this 1933 film. Directed by Dorothy Arzner and Produced by David O. Selznick, "Christopher Strong" was based on the novel by Gilbert Frankau with the screenplay by "scenarist" Zoe Akins and the musical score by Max Steiner. Consequently, this film was a "woman's picture" on several levels and a concerted effort to make Hepburn a major star. Remember, this was the early days of sound pictures and Hepburn, with her Connecticut Yankee via Bryn Mawr accent coupled with her rapid-fire delivery had one of the most unique voices around. However, the film did not do as well at the box office as RKO had hoped.

Hepburn plays Lady Cynthia Darrington, an aviatrix of some renown, who has no time to waste for romance. Because she is a virgin and proud of it, she is dragged to a party as a chance encounter with a group of young adults out on a treasure hunt. There she meets Sir Christopher Strong (Colin Clive), who is the very paragon of the faithful husband to Lady Elaine Strong (Billie Burke, who played Hepburn's mother in "A Bill of Divorcement"). Sir Christopher is a politician, whose daughter Monica (Helen Chandler) is of an age to be married. Of course, Lady Cynthia and Sir Christopher fall for each other, but they go their separate ways rather than hurt his family or his political career. She takes off in her aeroplane for a trip around the world, but when he goes to New York City on business they meet again and give in to their love. Soon afterwards, Lady Cynthia learns that she is pregnant.

"Christopher Strong" is probably best remembered for the stunning "moth" dress Hepburn wears at a costume party, which showed off her athletic figure. Actually, she looks good dressed up in her flying suit as well. Since the actress was going to end up making a whole string of costume period pictures for most of the rest of the 1930s I can make a pretty good argument that Hepburn never looked better in any film in her entire career in terms of costumes. Unfortunately, while Hepburn does a solid job as a career minded woman of the upper class, I cannot see Colin Clive without thinking he is going to start screaming, "It's alive! It's alive!" at any moment. Seriously. That is why I just cannot believe the romance between the two. However, the persona of Hepburn as a 20th-century independent woman, is first developed in this film.

I love this movie. It's romantic and yet sad. How can I get a copy of this film video?