By – Gareth Jones

For fans of Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, George Cukor, and early Queer Cinema

George Cukor was still at the beginning of his career as a Hollywood director when he directed Sylvia Scarlett, but it starred for the third time Katherine Hepburn.  They would go on to work together on 10 films.  Even before he had directed the film The Women, Cukor was already being labeled a “woman’s film” director because he directed films with strong female leads.  His collaborations with Hepburn helped confirm this.  Cukor was “out” as a homosexual director but was still reserved in his revelation of it, the direct opposite of his rival, James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. Their rivalry as well as Whale’s career is wonderfully shown in Gods and Monsters.

As opposed to Cukor, Hepburn and Grant could not be as open about their own queer relationships, although there were rumors.  Cary Grant lived with Randolph Scott for a considerable time before being married five times in his lifetime.  Hepburn had fled to Europe with Laura Harding before returning to Hollywood just before making Sylvia Scarlett.  In today’s world they might have been able to live with an open fluid sexuality but in the days of Hays Production Code, this was not possible.  All of this makes the film Sylvia Scarlett all the more remarkable for its exploration of queer behavior in 1935.

Sylvia Scarlett tells the story of a father (played delightfully by Edmond Gwenn) and daughter forced to flee France after the death of their wife/mother and because the father has bet away the family funds. To evade capture, Sylvia decides to cut her hair and dress as a man, becoming Sylvester. They flee to England, but along the way are conned and saved by con artist Jimmy Monkley, played to the hilt with cockney accented Cary Grant.  They team up as a trio of con artists, but after a series of failed attempts, decide to tour the country as a performing cabaret act. On that tour, many shenanigans, mistaken identity and affairs ensue.  Most of it is humorous but it takes several dark turns.

One of my favorite aspects of the film is the way that Hepburn and Grant speak. Both were known for a specific way of talking for the majority of their films. In fact, they were often both seen as an example of a particular kind of Hollywood speech pattern, although this is more of a myth than reality.  However, their own manner of speaking is manipulated for humor in this film.  At the beginning, when Sylvia is still Sylvia, her voice is higher pitched and demure.  Of course, once she becomes Sylvester it becomes deeper and more serious.  Jimmy’s,on the other hand, moves between more upper class when he is conning someone to full on cockney when he is himself.  It is a meta-conversation on performance in a patriarchal, classist society.

The tone and plot is not that different from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.  However, unlike that play, this film is comedic but at times feels like more of a drama, and the audience is left feeling uneasy as a result.  But that may be the intention as it really is a fantastic example of a queer film.  Queer is a term that has obviously evolved over time moving from negative connotations to being an umbrella term used for analyzing films through cinematic history.  In 1935, the Code was just starting and you can see how Cukor, Hepburn, and Grant are pushing boundaries with the film.  It is fascinating to see this film through contemporary eyes and how it was coded in areas and overt in others. It was at the beginning of each of their careers but it gave them an opportunity to perhaps show a bit of who they really were.

Available to stream on Amazon