A Bill of Divorcement

More of interest for its place in cinema history than its dramatic content, this film contains Katharine Hepburn's screen debut and introduced Hepburn to her favourite director, George Cukor, later responsible for such Hepburn delights as The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib. The Clemence Dane original is a hoary old thing, but star John Barrymore, though prone to ham, is extraordinarily moving as the former mental asylum inmate reunited with his family, including daughter Hepburn. Billie Burke - Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz - is also effective as Barrymore's wife, but many of today's viewers may find both the acting style and proscenium-based direction very creaky.