{"id":29793,"date":"2013-02-19T11:44:11","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T18:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29793"},"modified":"2020-12-31T14:48:45","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T21:48:45","slug":"bill-of-divorcement-a-1932","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29793","title":{"rendered":"Bill of Divorcement, A (1932)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;It&#8217;s in our blood, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster-153x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"153\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster-153x300.jpg 153w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster-65x128.jpg 65w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster-523x1024.jpg 523w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Poster.jpg 1424w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 153px) 100vw, 153px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA shellshocked veteran (John Barrymore) regains his sanity and returns home to find that his wife (Billie Burke) is now engaged to another man (Paul Cavanagh); meanwhile, his grown daughter (Katharine Hepburn) fears for her future with her fiance (David Manners) when she learns that her father&#8217;s mental illness may not be entirely due to the war.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Divorce<\/li>\n<li>Father and Child<\/li>\n<li>George Cukor Films<\/li>\n<li>John Barrymore Films<\/li>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is spot-on in his lambasting review of this &#8220;stagy, hokey adaptation [directed by George Cukor] of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Clemence_Dane\">Clemence Dane<\/a>&#8216;s bad play&#8221;. He accurately notes that &#8220;the overwrought characters take turns being the martyr&#8221;, without any relief in sight; indeed, for those who enjoy watching likable characters suffer (and\/or Barrymore at his hammiest), this film should suit the bill nicely. On the plus side, Burke (in a substantial role) actually gives a reasonably nuanced performance, rather than resorting to her typically ditzy socialite mannerisms; knowing that she suffered the loss of her real-life husband (Flo Ziegfeld) during the filming adds gravitas to her portrayal. Meanwhile, Peary points out that the film &#8220;at least&#8230; has historical significance in that it featured skinny Hepburn&#8217;s screen debut&#8221;, and she alone makes it worth a one-time look. While producer David O. Selznick was apparently concerned that audiences wouldn&#8217;t take to Hepburn, she&#8217;s positively luminous here (thanks in part to gorgeous cinematography by Sidney Hickox); one can easily understand why she went on to become a major &#8212; if resolutely iconoclastic &#8212; Hollywood star. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Hepburn&#8217;s creative collaboration with Cukor lasted throughout the next 17 years, resulting in a total of eight theatrical films, including the following titles: <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29818\"><em>Little Women<\/em> (1933)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=30083\"><em>Sylvia Scarlett<\/em> (1935)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29806\"><em>Holiday<\/em> (1938)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29064\"><em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em> (1940)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29701\"><em>Keeper of the Flame<\/em> (1942)<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29080\"><em>Adam&#8217;s Rib<\/em> (1949)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29531\"><em>Pat and Mike<\/em> (1952)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn as Sydney Fairfield<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Hepburn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Hepburn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Hepburn.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Hepburn-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Hepburn-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Billie Burke as Meg Fairfield<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Burke.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Burke.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Burke.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Burke-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Bill-of-Divorcement-Burke-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one-time look simply out of historical curiosity. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0022685\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.nytimes.com\/movie\/review?res=9801E7D81331E633A25750C0A9669D946394D6CF\">NY Times Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/68758\/a-bill-of-divorcement#articles-reviews?articleId=369\">TCM Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/a-bill-of-divorcement\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s in our blood, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221; Synopsis: A shellshocked veteran (John Barrymore) regains his sanity and returns home to find that his wife (Billie Burke) is now engaged to another man (Paul Cavanagh); meanwhile, his grown daughter (Katharine Hepburn) fears for her future with her fiance (David Manners) when she learns that her father&#8217;s mental illness may not be entirely due to the war. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Divorce Father and Child George Cukor Films John Barrymore Films Katharine&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29793\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29793"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60742,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29793\/revisions\/60742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}