This RKO Radio Picture directed by George Stevens isn't mentioned a lot, but is a nice little romantic comedy evocative of the mid '30s. The Throssel sisters Phoebe(Katherine Hepburn)and Susan(Fay Bainter)are both smitten with the dashing Dr. Valentine Brown(Franchot Tone). The sisters are crushed when he enlists in the British Army and claims he is leaving no sweetheart behind. Two nosy neighbor spinsters on Quality Street(Cora Witherspoon and Estelle Winwood)keep reminding Phoebe and Susan that Dr. Brown will return someday from the war, but who will he possibly propose to. After ten years, the still stunning Brown comes marching home and proudly appears at the Throssel house. When it is Miss Phoebe that Brown invites to the Homecoming Ball, he hardly recognizes her. Feeling humiliated Phoebe changes her hair style and buys a new gown and passes herself off as her niece. What effect will this have on the returning soldier, let alone the nosy neighbors? Also in the cast: Helena Grant, Eric Blore and Joan Fontaine.

For her second time in a James M. Barrie role, Katharine Hepburn starred in a remake of Quality Street. Hepburn had previously played a little Scot's minx in The Little Minister also for RKO. Barrie did right by her again, she was well cast as one of the Throssel sisters of Great Britain of the Napoleonic Era. She and sister Fay Bainter look like they're doomed to be spinsters. Bainter has resigned herself to that fate, but Hepburn still has hopes.But when she thinks Franchot Tone might be popping the question, he's only around to tell her he's doing what Admiral Nelson expects of every man, his duty to England. In 1805 he enlists in the army and Hepburn and Bainter go on teaching school.Ten years go by and when Tone doesn't at first recognize Hepburn when he returns, she thinks her prime has passed. But she'll teach Tone a lesson by impersonating her own made up niece. And what a niece, a naughty flirt who entrances all the young blades returned from the wars and doing a job on Tone's ego as well.Quality Street has a quality history, it was first performed on Broadway by the immortal Maude Adams in 1901 and then made a silent film in 1927 starring Marion Davies and Conrad Nagel. I can certainly see why William Randolph Hearst thought this a good role for Davies. She could be both a crinolined heroine and also use her comic talents as well. Hepburn also gets to use her full talents playing one role straight and imitating a fictitious person at the same time.Quality Street got an Oscar nomination for Best Musical Score. If it sounds familiar the theme was recycled later on for the frontier film Rachel And The Stranger. It was even given words that were sung on record by that film's star Robert Mitchum. And George Stevens after doing Alice Adams with Hepburn was assigned this one as well. He'd do even better the third and last time he worked with Hepburn in Woman Of The Year.Quality Street is a good film, but I'm sure that Depression Era audiences found a Victorian Era comedy a bit dated.

No wonder KATHARINE HEPBURN was considered box-office poison around the time of QUALITY STREET. As a James M. Barrie heroine, she's as mannered and coy as ever in a silly, very dated comedy of manners that never manages to be the witty romp it strives to be.Only FRANCHOT TONE gives the story any semblance of wit or reality, looking handsome and fit as the suitor who finally sees through the deception around him.James M. Barrie has had little success in being transferred to the screen, except, of course, for his PETER PAN. His other works became feeble domestic comedies on screen--namely "Alice Sit By the Fire" which became DARLING, HOW COULD YOU? with Joan Fontaine, and worst of all, QUALITY STREET. Both deserve to be forgotten.I would venture to guess that this is the sort of dated period fluff that gives films of the 1930s a bad name. (Unfairly so, since many films of the '30s were deservedly praised). It's so stylized in its comedy, so forced in its humor that even the wonderful ERIC BLORE is at a loss as to just how many double takes he should do. Even such wonderful actresses as ESTELLE WINWOOD and FAY BAINTER have a hard time doing anything with their material.Do yourself a favor and skip this one. Not even the staunchest James M. Barrie fan will want to sit through it.Trivia note: If you're alert enough, you can catch Joan Fontaine in a bit role.

Gosh, I hate to disagree with the previous posters/reviewers, but this is awful! Watching it was like taking a ninety minute dose of mental Castor oil.Hepburn is WAY too old to be playing such a silly, frivolous part. One can almost see her teeth lengthening as the movie goes on! She looks ridiculous as the ingénue and more ridiculous as the "niece". Franchot Tone, who was a real hunk in his day, looks exhausted and bemused, as well as totally embarrassed to be in this stinker. Joan Fontaine is in the movie for about three minutes. For those three minutes, she is insufferable.Fay Bainter is excellent as her usual vague, dithering self, but dear old Estelle Winwood looks like one of David Ickes lizard people! Her sole contribution to the movie is some stellar eye popping. I kept wondering why they ( the sisters) didn't just lock their doors!Perhaps this movie is simply hopelessly dated, but after awhile, I just wanted it to be over so I could crawl up to bed at 1:30 AM.Even my Mother, who is old enough to have seen this when it was out in the theaters, said, " That was the worst movie I ever saw. why did we stay up this long??" Good question, Mom!! Maybe we just couldn't believe Katherine Hepburn actually did this to herself.James Barrie needed to stick to Neverland.