Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress whose career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over six decades. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited personality, and outspokenness, cultivating a screen persona that matched this public image, and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Her work was in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and earned her various accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named the greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.
Mary of Scotland is a 1936 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn as the 16th-century ruler Mary, Queen of Scots. Directed by John Ford, it is an adaptation of the 1933 Maxwell Anderson play, with Fredric March reprising the role of Bothwell, which he also performed on stage during the run of play. The screenplay was written by Dudley Nichols. Ginger Rogers wanted to play this role and made a screen test, but RKO rejected her request to be cast in the part feeling that the role was not suitable to her image.
William Rose was an American screenwriter of British and Hollywood films.
A Bill of Divorcement is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring John Barrymore and Katharine Hepburn in her film debut. It is based on the 1921 British play of the same name, written by Clemence Dane as a reaction to a law passed in Britain in the early 1920s that allowed insanity as grounds for a woman to divorce her husband. It was the second screen adaptation of the play; the first was a 1922 British silent film also titled A Bill of Divorcement. The film was made again in 1940 by RKO Pictures.
Break of Hearts is a 1935 RKO film starring Katharine Hepburn and Charles Boyer. The screenplay was written by the team of Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, with Anthony Veiller, from a story by Lester Cohen, specifically for Hepburn.
A Woman Rebels is a 1936 American historical drama film adapted from the 1930 novel Portrait of a Rebel by Netta Syrett and starring Katharine Hepburn as Pamela Thistlewaite, who rebels against the social mores of Victorian England. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich; it was the film debut of Van Heflin, and the second last film of David Manners.
Christopher Strong is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama film produced by RKO and directed by Dorothy Arzner. It is a tale of illicit love among the English aristocracy and stars Colin Clive and Katharine Hepburn. The screenplay by Zoë Akins is an adaptation of the 1932 British novel Christopher Strong by Gilbert Frankau.
Sylvia Scarlett is a 1935 American romantic comedy film starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, based on The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett, a 1918 novel by Compton MacKenzie. Directed by George Cukor, it was notorious as one of the most famous unsuccessful movies of the 1930s. Hepburn plays the title role of Sylvia Scarlett, a female con artist masquerading as a boy to escape the police. The success of the subterfuge is in large part due to the transformation of Hepburn by RKO makeup artist Mel Berns.
Little Women is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee and Jean Parker. The screenplay, written by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, is based on the 1868-69 two-volume novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
The Kailyard school (1880–1914) is a proposed literary movement of Scottish fiction dating from the last decades of the 19th century.
Undercurrent is a 1946 American film noir drama directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, and Robert Mitchum. The screenplay was written by Edward Chodorov, based on the story "You Were There'" by Thelma Strabel, and allegedly contained uncredited contributions from Marguerite Roberts.
Holiday is a 1938 American romantic comedy film directed by George Cukor, a remake of the 1930 film of the same name. The film tells of a man who has risen from humble beginnings only to be torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's family. The film, adapted by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman from the 1928 play of the same name by Philip Barry, stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and features Doris Nolan, Lew Ayres, and Edward Everett Horton. Horton reprised his role as Professor Nick Potter from the 1930 version.
Quality Street is a 1937 period film made by RKO Radio Pictures. It was directed by George Stevens and produced by Pandro S. Berman. Set in 19th-century England, the film stars Katharine Hepburn and Franchot Tone. Joan Fontaine makes one of her early (uncredited) film appearances. The screenplay was by Allan Scott, Mortimer Offner, and Jack Townley, based on the 1901 play Quality Street by J. M. Barrie.
Alice Adams is a 1935 romantic drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Katharine Hepburn. It was made by RKO and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The screenplay was by Dorothy Yost, Mortimer Offner, and Jane Murfin. The film was adapted from the novel Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington. The music score was by Max Steiner and Roy Webb, and the cinematography by Robert De Grasse. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress.
Mother Goose Goes Hollywood is a 1938 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The short was released on December 23, 1938. The film parodies several Mother Goose nursery rhymes using caricatures of popular Hollywood film stars of the 1930s. The film was directed by Wilfred Jackson and was the third-to-last Silly Symphony produced.
Sentimental Tommy is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by John S. Robertson. It featured Mary Astor in one of her earliest roles, although her scenes were deleted before release. The story is based on James M. Barrie's novel. The film, which made a star of Gareth Hughes, is now considered a lost film.
The Little Minister is a 1915 British silent romance film directed by Percy Nash and starring Joan Ritz, Gregory Scott and Henry Vibart. It was based on an 1891 novel The Little Minister by J.M. Barrie which was subsequently turned into a play The Little Minister in 1897. It was one of five film adaptations of the story.
The Little Minister is a 1921 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on an 1891 novel and 1897 play by J. M. Barrie. Betty Compson stars in the film. Earlier film adaptations of Barrie's novel were mad and this one was released within weeks of a version by Vitagraph starring Alice Calhoun.
The Little Minister is a lost 1922 American silent drama film directed by David Smith and produced and distributed by Vitagraph Company of America. It is based on an 1891 novel and 1897 play by J. M. Barrie, The Little Minister. The film was released almost in direct competition with a late 1921 version from Paramount, The Little Minister starring Betty Compson. This version stars Vitagraph favorites Alice Calhoun and James Morrison.
Lady Babbie is a lost 1913 American silent drama film produced by the United States division of the French film company Eclair. The featurette was written and directed by Oscar A. C. Lund, a native of Sweden, who also costarred in the three-reeler opposite Barbara Tennant as Lady Babbie. That role was loosely based on a popular character originally performed by American actress Maude Adams in the 1897 Broadway production The Little Minister, a play adapted from the 1891 novel of the same title by Scottish writer J. M. Barrie. Filming for this motion picture was done at Eclair's studio facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey and on location at Lake George, New York.
