Katharine Hepburn made her stunning screen debut as John Barrymore’s daughter in 1932’s A Bill of Divorcement. In Christopher Strong, Hepburn’s second film and first star vehicle, the intelligent, liberated and unconventionally beautiful actress chose to play an intelligent, liberated and unconventionally beautiful aviatrix who soars into a torrid affair (with Colin Clive as a fellow aristocrat)…and crashes into unendurable heartbreak. The melodramatic story is as much keen-edged steel as tears, thanks to Hepburn’s gutsy performance and to the taut direction of Dorothy Arzner, classic Hollywood’s only major female director. Among the film’s highlights: Hepburn is simply astonishing in silvery lamé heading to a costume ball as the world’s most glamorous moth!

For thoughts on Christopher Strong, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/FjQ9S0XiZNo?si=Gj5ooKOfR9F7yL27&t=533]

Video Quality

Christopher Strong makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Warner Archive with a brand new 1080p master derived from a 4K restoration of the Original Nitrate Camera Negative. The results are quite stunning for a film that is 90 years old, as the label continues to prove it can handle nearly anything that is thrown at it with its virtually flawless presentations. The nitrate sheen can give the appearance of softness and age-related flicker, but it is Warner Archive balancing the desire to honor the source and providing an authentic visual experience for fans. This is a careful tightrope that they navigate admirably.

This new transfer shows off a favorable amount of depth and enhanced detail within the various interiors. There is a substantial amount of detail present with nice textures on the memorable costumes and within the production design. The black-and-white photography sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact. Black levels are deep with no signs of black crush or compression artifacts. Highlights hold firm, allowing the contrast to render well with no blooming in sight. Warner Archive has delivered an A+ visual presentation.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray release comes with a newly restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that emanates as well as the source will allow. While not the showstopper that the video side delivers, there is so much to love when it comes to this track. Dialogue and hurried exchanges come through pretty clearly throughout the duration with only small traces of distortion accompanying some lines. The environmental effects such as background chatter at parties never drown out the dialogue on this release. The music that pops up can register as a bit anemic in some of the peaks, but it is not a detrimental issue. There does not appear to be too much damage or age-related wear and tear to the track outside of some minor sibilance and harsher inflections. This audio presentation suits the material under the circumstances. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles available on the disc.

Special Features

Plane Nuts: A 20-minute live-action short is provided in which Ted Healy attempts to perform some vaudeville numbers while The Three Stooges cause a little bit of chaos. This is presented in HD with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Tomalio: A 22-minute Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle short is provided in which our hero heads to a third-world country where he squares off against an unruly dictator. This is presented in HD with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Buddy’s Beer Garden: A seven-minute early Looney Tunes animated short that shows the life of a young man who works in a German beer tavern. This is presented in HD with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Final Thoughts

Christopher Strong is an effective melodrama that tackles the somewhat prickly subject matter of infidelity in a fairly even-handed manner. While we do not approve of certain character decisions, there is nothing presented here that comes out of left field. Katharine Hepburn is a captivating presence every moment on screen, and one should not look over the quiet heartbreak of the great Billie Burke. Originating in the pre-Code era allows this one to have some teeth we would lose in mainstream movies for a spell, and the presence of certain eyebrow-raising elements is a welcome one. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a delightful A/V presentation and a nice selection of special features. If you are a fan of the performers or Pre-Code dramas in general, this is an easy purchase. Recommended

Christopher Strong can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers. The film will be released on October 24, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.