A Bill of Divorcement (1932)

A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT  (1932)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: George Cukor
    John Barrymore, Katharine Hepburn, Billie Burke,
    David Manners, Henry Stephenson, Paul Cavanagh
Katharine Hepburn's first movie, a melodrama starring John Barrymore as a veteran of the Great War who escapes from the asylum where he's spent years being treated for shell shock and a hereditary mental condition. Claiming to be cured, he makes his way home to his wife and daughter, whose lives have moved on, while his hasn't. It's all a bit dated, but there's a chemistry between Barrymore and Hepburn that's hard to miss. As a father and daughter, they're perfectly matched. Barrymore doesn't overdo it for once (and he could have). He gives what for him is a restrained performance. Hepburn, meanwhile, makes her presence known the moment she strides onto the screen, staking her claim from the start as a force to be reckoned with. There's no doubt about it. She was always Katharine Hepburn.