Written by Sir James Barrie and produced in the U.S. in 1901, "Quality Street" was a hit play, but it fails to satisfy as a film. The Marion Davies 1927 silent version of the story did well at the box office, but this version lost almost $250,000, and there was some concern that Hepburn
was no longer a force to reckon with. That, of course, was soon disproved, and she has been one of the most enduring actresses of all time, though not necessarily the best judge of scripts. It's the 1790s, in England, and Hepburn is being wooed by Tone, a young physician. Before he can ask for her
hand, he goes off to help defeat Napoleon. While Tone is away fighting for king and country, years pass and Hepburn and her sister, Bainter, grow into spinsterhood, transform their large home into a school, and settle into an old maid existence. Tone returns after the war has been won and must be
shell-shocked because he doesn't recognize Hepburn. She comes up with the far-fetched idea of masquerading as her own (purely fictitious) niece, a flirtatious 16-year-old, and attempts to win a husband before the bloom is entirely off the rose.
That Tone accepts Hepburn as a teenager is ludicrous and destroys any credibility in his role. Hepburn overacts to a fault, raising eyebrows, wringing hands, strutting and fretting until we can barely watch another second. The play was a gentle, often amusing farce that was lost in the cinematic
translation by Hepburn and Stevens, who attempted to direct this like a Woody Van Dyke three-week wonder. Any whimsy was lost in overwrought playing. Webb's score was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Charles Previn's work on 100 MEN AND A GIRL. The excellent costumes and photography, and a
superb rendering of gardens in London are far better than the story or the acting. leave a comment
