This was Katherine Hepburn's second film, and she gives a very strong performance indeed (pun intended). She plays a young woman aviator, clearly based upon Amelia Earhart, who has never loved a man and, although beautiful, is convinced that 'there is nothing about me that a man could love'. How wrong she is, as the character Sir Christopher Strong, played sturdily if stodgily by Colin Clive with an upper lip so stiff it cracks, proceeds to demonstrate by cheating on his wife, the wimpish and idle Billie Burke, who likes to lie in bed in a lace bed jacket or welcome guests to soirees in a warbling affected voice. This is such a period piece that anyone who wants a genuine glimpse of pre-War London 'society' should make a point of watching it. How artificial can manners get? Talk about a veneer of politesse thinly covering a seething mass of prejudice, arrogance, and superciliousness! The film was sensitively directed by Dorothy Arzner (1897-1979), the only important female director in Hollywood between 1927 and 1943, who made 21 films in those years, of which the best known today is probably CRAIG'S WIFE (1936) with Rosalind Russell. Although one can imagine being attracted to Hepburn, it is difficult today to imagine anyone taking a character like Christopher Strong seriously, as he is so incredibly boring and formal that any modern woman faced with having to spend a day with him would probably become suicidal very quickly. But in the 1930s, people like that were simply everywhere. Some of the 'fun parties' shown in this film are truly extraordinary. If you can sit back and pretend that you are alive in 1933 and all the 'strange stuff' is normal, then you will get a lot out of this film. It is based on a novel by the popular author of the day, Gilbert Frankau. You would never know that on the other side of the Atlantic, the Great Depression was underway, since the frivolity and frolicsome behaviour of these London socialites gives an effervescent air of limitless wealth and privilege. And it is perfectly natural that Katherine Hepburn has her own private plane in which she can fly around the world solo if she feels like it, and does. Like I said, this is a period piece, and because Hepburn throws her all into it, the drama is powerful within its period limitations.

The film is about Sir Christopher Strong (MP--member of Parliament--played by Colin Clive) and his affair with the Amelia Earhart-like character played by Katherine Hepburn. Up until they met, he had been a very devoted husband but when he met the odd but fascinating Hepburn, he "couldn't help himself" and they fell in love. You can tell, because they stare off into space a lot and talk ENDLESSLY about how painful their unrequited love is. Frankly, this is a terribly dated and practically impossible film to watch. Part of the problem is that in the Pre-Code days, films glamorizing adultery were very common. Plus, even if you accept this morally suspect subject, the utter sappiness of the dialog make it sound like a 19th century romance novel...and a really bad one at that. Sticky and with difficult to like characters (after all, Clive's wife is a nice lady and did no one any harm) make this one a big waste of time. About the only interesting aspect of this film is the costume Hepburn wears in an early scene where she is dressed in a moth costume! You've gotta see it to believe it--and she looks like one of the Bugaloos (an obscure, but fitting reference).

Merry madcaps in London stage a treasure hunt, with one young woman inadvertently fixing up her married politician father with a strong, independent lady-flier who's never been in love. Intriguing early vehicle for Katharine Hepburn, playing an Amelia Earhart-like aviatrix who's been too self-involved to give herself over to any man. The director (Dorothy Arzner) and the screenwriter (Zoe Akins, who adapted Gilbert Frankau's book) were obviously assigned to this project to get the female point of view, but why are all the old clichés kept intact like frozen artifacts? Billie Burke plays the type of simpering, weepy wife who takes to her bed when thing go wrong, and Hepburn's final scene is another bummer. A curious artifact, but not a classic for Kate-watchers. ** from ****

CHRISTOPHER STRONG (RKO Radio, 1933), directed by Dorothy Arzner, with a haunting score by Max Steiner, began production as "A Great Desire." Starring Katharine Hepburn in her second feature film following her successful debut in A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT (1932), it pairs her opposite Colin Clive for the only time. Set in England, she plays Lady Cynthia Darrington, an enthusiastic aviatrix (possibly inspired on Amelia Earheart), who is over 21 and has never had a lover or an affair because she makes no time for it. All that changes when she meets Sir Christopher Strong (Colin Clive), whose life is not only absorbed in his political career, but with his wife (Billie Burke) and his single adult daughter (Helen Chandler) who has a married lover (Ralph Forbes), but becomes her husband after he is finally granted his divorce.CHRISTOPHER STRONG is particularly interesting mainly because of some pre-production code stuff, and seeing Kate playing "the other woman" on screen for the only time who meets her dismal climax, something not common in a Hepburn movie. There is even a "bedroom scene" which camera focuses mainly on Kate's hand by the lamp while the viewer only hears some mono dialog exchange between her and Chris before she turns off the lights, leaving something to the viewer's imagination. By today's standards, this is nothing compared to what Hollywood would make of this particular scene today. I won't reveal any more about the plot, but this is early Kate Hepburn as the liberated woman with carefree ideas that come back to punish her. Maybe casting Hepburn in this type of role was RKO 's way of trying to develop her into a tragic heroine like MGM's own Greta Garbo. Worth a look, however, especially seeing Colin Clive in something other than that as Dr. Henry Frankenstein, his most famous performance(s) in Universal's FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935). CHRISTOPHER STRONG, which formerly played on the American Movie Classics cable channel prior to 2001, can be seen occasionally on Turner Classic Movies. It was once available on video cassette through the Nostalgia Merchant and RKO Home Video, but presently, it's out of print. Look quickly for future Warner Brothers actress Margaret Lindsay appearing in a small role as a girl who wants to get Cynthia's autograph. Not a box office success when released, but better roles for Kate in 1933 would soon follow with MORNING GLORY and LITTLE WOMEN. (**1/2)