Christopher Strong (1933) belongs to that breed of pre-code that has not aged gracefully. Though it concerns spicy topics such as infidelity, alcoholism, and pregnancy out of wedlock, this picture plays like a musty melodrama with only a young Katharine Hepburn endowing it with any interest for the modern viewer.
One wonders why the film was named after Colin Clive's character, a middle-aged politician whose long-lasting faithfulness to his wife comes to an end when he takes up an affair with Hepburn's free-spirited and virginal aviatrix, Lady Cynthia Darrington. Cynthia is the real main character, certainly the character who goes through the biggest transformation and suffers the most. The film ends with her learning she is pregnant. Rather than give up her career and ruin her reputation, she kills herself in a plane crash. It's as melodramatic as melodrama gets.
Unlike most other pre-codes which sizzle and even feel modern, CS is rather moldy. Unless you're a die hard Katharine Hepburn or Colin Clive completionist, this isn't worth your time.
One wonders why the film was named after Colin Clive's character, a middle-aged politician whose long-lasting faithfulness to his wife comes to an end when he takes up an affair with Hepburn's free-spirited and virginal aviatrix, Lady Cynthia Darrington. Cynthia is the real main character, certainly the character who goes through the biggest transformation and suffers the most. The film ends with her learning she is pregnant. Rather than give up her career and ruin her reputation, she kills herself in a plane crash. It's as melodramatic as melodrama gets.
Unlike most other pre-codes which sizzle and even feel modern, CS is rather moldy. Unless you're a die hard Katharine Hepburn or Colin Clive completionist, this isn't worth your time.