Rent Christopher Strong (1933)

Strong by Name, Weak by Nature - Christopher Strong review by griggs

A funny old film, this: directed by Dorothy Arzner, one of the few women directing in studio-era Hollywood, yet still titled after the dreary man at its centre rather than the woman doing all the living. That tells you plenty.

Katharine Hepburn gives Cynthia Darrington real force — modern, reckless, properly alive — but Christopher Strong keeps trying to turn her into a warning about female ambition and desire. The affair never really catches, and the whole thing feels airless.

There are elegant touches, and Hepburn is always watchable, but the film keeps mistaking repression for depth. Then the ending lurches into aviation martyrdom so abruptly it feels less tragic than downright silly. A curio, maybe. A great romance? Not a chance.