Little Women (1933)

Directed by George Cukor. Starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, Jean Parker, Douglass Montgomery, Paul Lukas, Spring Byington, Edna May Oliver, Henry Stephenson, Samuel S. Hinds, Nydia Westman, John Davis Lodge.

First “talkie” film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel; its warm, agreeable sentimentality buoyed spirits during the Great Depression and the pic became a major financial success, but it’s too timeless to describe as a profitable product of its environment. Postcard sets, wardrobe, and photography are of a high class, and although Hepburn isn’t my idea of the quintessential Jo March (it’s too hard for me to separate her from her snappier, more contemporary roles to come in screwball comedies, Spencer Tracy pairings, etc.), she’ll do in a pinch and then some—with Jo being the smartest, boldest New Englander in whatever room she occupies, you certainly can’t argue Hepburn was miscast. Director Cukor demonstrates a deft touch, and there’s some solid work lower in the character roster (Oliver, especially, as the crotchety March aunt), but the male roles aren’t as well cast, with Montgomery making for a squishy, unappealing Laurie. Although a bit too saccharine for its own good, David Hempstead and company’s page-to-screen translation is a sturdy one; carried over from Alcott’s literature, who would have expected these gals to be so forward-thinking when it comes to profane names that are best forgotten? (“Christopher Columbus!” “Don’t use such dreadful expressions!”) Screenplay credited to Victor Heerman and Sarah Y. Mason, a husband-and-wife team who picked up Academy Awards here.

75/100