DVD Review: Katharine Hepburn Collection

Katharine Hepburn's career in movieland, as she liked to call it, began opposite John Barrymore in 1932 with "A Bill of Divorcement," of which she observed, "I was very lucky to be in the film--it was a showy part."

It was also the beginning of a string of early hits, including 1933's "Morning Glory," for which she won her first Academy Award--and which is one of six films assembled in this new collection from Warner.

Other films include 1935's "Sylvia Scarlet," 1944's "Dragon Seed," 1945's "Without Love," 1946's "Undercurrent" and the 1978 television movie, "The Corn is Green."

The collection doesn't feature the best Hepburn films, though it does offer a glimpse into why she was one of our most enduring stars--she defied convention.

Physically, she was a reed, all angular lines and flat-chested boyishness beneath a toss of auburn curls that framed a square face; she was hardly what Hollywood was seeking at a time when the bold curves of Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard and Mae West were commanding the screen. Still, much like her Yankee counterpart Bette Davis, Hepburn quickly became a woman Hollywood--and the world--couldn't do without.

The camera loved her, especially how her cheekbones moved in concert with the upward slant of her eyes, but it was her fierce streak of independence and her seemingly bottomless talent that made her a star.

Grade: B