Review of Christopher Strong

Chiefly of interest as one of Katharine Hepburn's early RKO films, "Christopher Strong" is worth a look for her fans, yet other than that, it's pretty much just another melodrama. Hepburn plays a feminist flier who falls in love with the married man of the title, played by Colin Clive. Lots of tears and hand-wringing follows as the affair deepens. I like Hepburn in the role, she is always interesting to watch, but even now (as she did back then) she seems a bit too arch to really connect to the audience. I have no idea why she falls for Clive in this one. The man is as stiff as a board and not that attractive. Helen Chandler's performance as Clive's troubled daughter fascinated me. Chandler herself was an alcoholic, and she is unnervingly right for her role. Billie Burke also stars as the wife who Clive cheats on. It's a pre-code so we even get a bedroom scene of sorts, but the film reaches a very post-code solution by the end. All in all, a decent melodrama from Arzner, and a striking Hepburn (she wears the moth suit in this one) performance, but not really anything great here.