Year of Release: 1975Country of Origin: UK
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier
Plot outline: An aging actress is being sued for breach of promise by her much-younger ex-fiance. She hires as her lawyer a man who was an ex-lover and is still in love with her (IMDb).
This made-for-television movie brings together the formidable talents of director George Cukor, Katherine Hepburn and Laurence Olivier. These old stagers, at Hepburn's suggestion, came together to bring to film a tale set in London's courts and barrister's chambers. Hepburn plays the aged and widowed Jessica Medlicott, who had foolishly promised to marry a young spivvish fortune-hunter Alfred Pratt (Leigh Lawson), a man some 40 years younger than her. It's not totally an unlikely scenario - after all, veteran actress Celeste Holm, aged 91, in 2004 married an opera-singer 40 years her junior. But Alfred Pratt was no opera-singer. He's definitely made of cheaper stuff. And when Jessica comes to her senses and breaks off the relationship, he sues her for 'Breach of Promise'. Enter Olivier. He's hired to defend her, but recognises her instantly as the actress with whom, while he was visiting Canada very many years earlier, he had had an intense affair. He fell in love with her, and though she quickly disappeared from his life, he never fell out of love. But strangely, Jessica doesn't recognise him at all, nor remember anything about their liaison. Or is she just feigning forgetfulness? While he fights her case, he keeps trying to trigger her memory. And when it becomes apparent that the only way he can win her case is to paint her in front of the jury as a pathetic and absurd creature, he's trapped in an agonising dilemma - would the woman he still loves ever forgive him if he takes that course? This is a quite charming period-piece, low on action of course, while very high on dialogue. It captures Hepburn in a less-mannered performance than usual, and Olivier also gives a more natural performance than he often did. This was the first and only time these old friends had acted together - for that reason alone, and for the direct, unsensational direction by George Cukor, this has undeniable historical value. (DNA)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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