The film is a very far-fetched tale about a woman whose husband has been insane for about two decades and in an institution. When she decides to finally re-marry, the man escapes and shows up with most of his faculties finally intact (this part is the tough to believe part). Naturally, this throws everything into chaos and it has a HUGE impact on his wife and daughter.
It is very obvious when you watch this that A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT was originally a play. This doesn't severely damage the impact of the film, but it IS a tad static and slow because it's confined just to a few rooms in a house. If you are able to look past this, it is a very interesting and thought-provoking film that offers up an interesting moral dilemma. Also, the film is worth seeing for film buffs because it's Katherine Hepburn's first film--and is A LOT better than some of her subsequent films (such as SPITFIRE and SYLVIA SCARLET). Finally, John Barrymore, as usual, is mesmerizing at times--his performance was the best of the film. The best part of his performance was when he realized his wife was marrying again and he cried and begged her to take him back as her husband (when he arrived he had no idea she'd divorced him and thought they'd pick up where they'd left off years earlier). It's a very moving and intense scene.
It is very obvious when you watch this that A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT was originally a play. This doesn't severely damage the impact of the film, but it IS a tad static and slow because it's confined just to a few rooms in a house. If you are able to look past this, it is a very interesting and thought-provoking film that offers up an interesting moral dilemma. Also, the film is worth seeing for film buffs because it's Katherine Hepburn's first film--and is A LOT better than some of her subsequent films (such as SPITFIRE and SYLVIA SCARLET). Finally, John Barrymore, as usual, is mesmerizing at times--his performance was the best of the film. The best part of his performance was when he realized his wife was marrying again and he cried and begged her to take him back as her husband (when he arrived he had no idea she'd divorced him and thought they'd pick up where they'd left off years earlier). It's a very moving and intense scene.