A Woman Rebels

Plot

Based on a novel by Netta Syrett, A Woman Rebels is the story of Pamela Thistlewaite (Katharine Hepburn), whose mission in life is to defy the restrictive and often hypocritical conventions of Victorian England. Refusing to conform to the status quo, Pamela lives alone, reads, and says whatever she wishes, and even -- horrors! -- takes a job. Her romantic dalliance with young Gerald (Van Heflin, in his film debut) results in an illegitimate daughter (Doris Dudley), whom Pamela raises as her niece until she decides it's high time to tell the truth in all matters. Faithful suitor Thomas Lane (Herbert Marshall) offers to make an "honest woman" of her, but Pamela refuses until she can stand on her own two feet financially. Fiercely independent to the last, she becomes the crusading editor of a pioneering pro-feminist magazine and an early champion of Women's Suffrage. It was hoped by RKO Radio that The Woman Rebels would restore the popularity of Katharine Hepburn, which thanks to a series of expensive failures had been flagging for the past two years. Though the film turned out to be a box-office loser (it posted a $220,000 deficit), in retrospect it can be regarded as an artistic triumph -- and a remarkably timely one at that. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

From its title alone, A Woman Rebels sounds like a great vehicle for Katharine Hepburn, and to some extent it is. But the film takes so long in establishing its heroine's situation (her love life hamstrung by a dark secret from her past) that what could have been the meat of the story -- Pamela's growing political awareness and her career as a crusading journalist -- seems truncated by the plot machinations swirling around her "niece" Flora (Elizabeth Allan) and Pamela's persistent suitor, the diplomat Thomas Lane (Herbert Marshall). Though Marshall and Hepburn really do strike sparks, and in his film debut Van Heflin impresses as Pamela's first lover, the story leaves Pamela's real accomplishments largely to the viewer's imagination. Its best sequence -- Flora applying for jobs as a secretary and retail clerk, positions not open to women in Victorian times -- hints of a more interesting film that could have followed her career more closely and shown how she overcame custom and tradition to appeal to women yearning for some measure of respect. Though Thomas' last line, "These modern women are so weak," is uttered with a wry twist, it's also true that Pamela is at that moment enfolded in his embrace and her fate in his hands. It's not exactly the way you'd expect a picture about a pioneering feminist to wrap up. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Cast

• Katharine Hepburn - Pamela Thistlewaite
• Herbert Marshall - Thomas Lane
• Elizabeth Allan - Flora Thistlewaite
• Donald Crisp - Judge Thistlewaite
• Doris Dudley - Young Flora

David Manners - Alan; Lucile Watson - Betty Bumble; Van Heflin - Gerald; Eily Malyon - Piper; Margaret Seddon - Aunt Serena; Molly Lamont - Young Girl; Lionel Pape - Mr. White; Constance Lupino - Lady Gaythorne; Lillian Kemble-Cooper - Lady Rinlake; Marilyn French - Flora, As Infant; Marilyn Knowlden - Flora, Age 10; Joe Mack - Italian; Bonnie June McNamara - Flora, Age 5; Inez Palange - Signora Grassi; Tony Romero - Italian Boy; Nick Thompson - Signor Grassi

Credit

Perry Ferguson - Art Director, Van Nest Polglase - Art Director, Hermes Pan - Choreography, Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer, Dewey Starkey - First Assistant Director, Mark Sandrich - Director, Jane Loring - Editor, Roy Webb - Composer (Music Score), Nathaniel Shilkret - Musical Direction/Supervision, Mel Burns - Makeup, Robert de Grasse - Cinematographer, Pandro S. Berman - Producer, Darrell Silvera - Set Designer, George D. Ellis - Sound/Sound Designer, Ernest Vajda - Screenwriter, Anthony Veiller - Screenwriter, Netta Stryett - Book Author

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