A Bill of Divorcement

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. Plot Middle-aged Englishwoman named Margaret "Meg" Fairfield's family includes her daughter Sydney, Sydney's fiancé Kit Humphreys, fiancé Gray Meredith and husband Hilary, who has been a patient in a mental institution for 15 years. Sydney seems to have inherited Hilary's psychiatric problems. On Christmas Eve, Meg hosts a party in her English manor. Sydney happily discusses her future with Kit, as do Meg and Gray. When the group dedicate their performance of the song "God Bless the Master of This House" to Gray, Hilary's sister Hester objects because she considers Hilary to be the master of the house even though he is psychotic and institutionalized.