Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
When her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.
- George Cukor
- Kenneth Holmes
- W. Argyle Nelson
- Gladys Unger
- John Collier
- Mortimer Offner
- Compton MacKenzie
Rating: 6.3/10 by 82 users
Alternative Title:
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Français
Runtime: 01 hour 35 minutes
Budget: $641,000
Revenue: $497,000
Plot Keyword: family relationships, scam, disguise, confidence game, woman dressed as man
Of all of the collaborative efforts that Katharine Hepburn ever made, this one has to be the most bizarre. Not because it is bad - though it isn't actually very good - but because she spends much of it a boy! Upon the death of her mother, her father (Edward Gwenn) must flee his creditors and so she ("Sylvia/Sylvester") determines to accompany him, cutting her Rapunzel-like locks and donning a suit as she goes. They encounter dapper rogue "Monkley" (Cary Grant) on the boat to England where they conduct a series of petty cons. Determined to get straight, she sets them all up as a seaside entertainment troupe and all goes well until she meets the dashing Brian Aherne ("Michael Fane") and starts to want to be a girl again. Can she tell him? How? Things are not helped by his keenness on "Lily Levetsky"... The dialogue is pretty weak, and rather relentless - and once the joke/gimmick wears off we are exposed to a rather lacklustre, almost pantomime, style of of story. Grant and Hepburn look like they are enjoying themselves and that certainly helps, but the humour is just a touch too contrived to last the seemingly long 90 minutes. Glad I've seen it, but I'm not sure I could recommend it.
