Sylvia Scarlett (1935)

Nice effects though.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I got the DVD going by the review here and the three names, Hepburn, Grant and Cukor, all of which I had high regards. But after watching this, I completely agree with the first two, who desperately tried to stop the release and even offered to do a movie free instead. After that I looked at Cukor, surprised at the way the movie is messed up. The story isn't that weak, but the characterization and visualization had been horrible. While looking at it, I found that my confidence in Cukor was highly misplaced. When did he make his first good movie, I have started wondering. When I looked at the notable films, quite a few was with Garbo, and probably that was the difference, which I have given misplaced credit to the director. Probably the real great one was Camille (there I come across the precocious Thalberg's interference). Holiday was good, but again I can't give him credit, it was a polished version of the 1930, which wasn't bad, considering it was infancy of talkies. Phil story, I don't know, whether was independently done, if so, may be that and My fair Lady are the only ones, may be just a handful more. Well it gives me a lesson, not to have too much faith on reviews or scores (surprisingly another supposed to be even better scorer rotten tomato gives it very high score). Anyway, looking at the movie, unless the DVD has chopped off very significant portions, it is an uniformly bad movie, starting from the very start.The character of the father, played by Gwenn, was a miserably, and to unbelievable manner, created, and that wasn't necessary. Nor was the impersonation of Sylvia, into Sylvester. It had been done earlier, but with plausible, and irrefutable reasons (e.g. Marian Davies in Little Old New York, where inheritance of millions was at stake, which was in her, recently demised, brother's name and so she had to impersonate the brother). Here it is as weak as homeopathic medicine. The swindler, even before it is exposed, is skipping the country, and doesn't want to be a man & girl company ! By the time they wake up and find he has skipped, it would be already over. Then his flirting with the maid, or any of such things. I couldn't get why Grant was so chummy with the maid, and if they were old acquaintances, she ought to know something about him. Well, the list like this goes on and on. Not worth even the time spent on watching, Grant/Hep or no Grant/Hep. Probably this movie should have been allowed to disappear, to protect their reputation, leave alone releasing it on DVD.

The sheer bizarreness of Syliva Scarlet is largely what keeps the film afloat. Watching it you certainly must question what everyone involved was thinking.Sylvia "Sylvester" Scarlet (Hepburn) is supposedly French and can speak only a little English or so the movie claims despite the fact that she speaks perfect English throughout the entire film nor are the reasons why Sylvia must dress in drag really make much sense but I digress; I could go on listing the inconsistencies present in this film. It's not hard to see why this film became a cult classic instead of falling into obscurity. Firstly there is Katharine Hepburn cross dressing, although with Hepburn's masculine facial features the idea that anyone would mistake her for a man is more convincing than some other cross dressing movies. This makes the movie full of homosexual undertones; most prominently in the scene in which a woman played by Dennie Moore clearly expresses an attraction towards Sylvia, unaware she is a woman in drag; commenting that her skin is as smooth as a girl's and kisses her after drawing a Ronald Coleman moustache on her. Make of that what you will.On top of that Cary Grant sprouts a cockney accent. Along with Hepburn and her father played by Edmund Gwenn they make for an enjoyable trio of not very good con artists who don't adhere to the philosophy Syliva proposes at one point in the film, "Why don't we all get jobs and go to work". I'm not sure if I can even distinguish the film's moments of humor between intentionally and unintentionally funny. Either way, the whole thing is ridiculous, funny stuff. In fact I could have given this film a higher score but I felt the romance dominated second half slowed the film's pace; I guess you could say the film started to drag (bad dumb tiss). Sylvia Scarlett is one of those films which has to be seen to be believed. The first film of the Kate and Cary quadrilogy can be classified as many things but "forgettable" isn't one of them.

A young woman traveling with her smuggler father poses as a man for reasons that are not clearly explained. Apparently just cutting her hair short convinces everyone that she's a male, although she still looks very much like a woman. Hepburn and Grant would go on to make "Holiday" and "The Philadelphia Story" with director Cukor, but this first effort is a disaster. The stars seem to be trying hard but the script is so bad that this film is painful to sit through. Thankfully, this laugh-less comedy did not end their careers. Actually, it can't decide if it's a comedy or drama. It seems as though the plot was made up as they went along. There's no narrative flow. A disappointment.

What a waste of talent due to a muddled script and some limp direction from George Cukor. Here we have KATHARINE HEPBURN (playing a boy, Sylvester, long before Streisand played Yentl!), CARY GRANT as a strolling player with a Cockney accent and BRIAN AHERNE as an unbelievably gullible artist bewitched by Hepburn.None of the stars are at their peak here, perhaps unable to rise above a mediocre and baffling script. Hepburn, even with her slim frame and narrow face, never is believable as a young man and the masquerade is something we're forced to believe could have happened.EDMUND GWENN is her n'er-do-well father who has to take to the road after he's accused of a crime, and Hepburn assumes a disguise as a boy so as to avoid capture. They join a traveling road show with CARY GRANT in charge, and from then on the plot takes a series of twists and turns involving BRIAN AHERNE and his eventual interest in Sylvia when she assumes her female counterpart. It's a cross-dressing tale best forgotten if you want to keep remembering Hepburn as a legendary star.CARY GRANT is the only one who comes off at least believable in his Cockney role, but no one is really given material worthy of their talent and George Cukor has been unable to make anything out of the awkward script. Hepburn is simply embarrassing to watch.Summing up: This offbeat comedy was obviously intended to be a charming romp for its three stars rather than the box-office flop that it was, to the extent that Hepburn was labeled "box-office poison" on the strength of this particular film.A look at this film must have convinced David O. Selznick why Hepburn was never seriously considered for Scarlett O'Hara.