Christopher Strong (1933)

An interesting role for Hepburn early in her film career

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. May 8, 2007

Feminist Film--Unfeminist Society

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. August 5, 2005

Katharine Hepburn's first role as a modern independent woman

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. May 14, 2003

excellent!

I love this movie. It's romantic and yet sad. How can I get a copy of this film video? July 15, 1999

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