Little Women is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Kenneth MacGowan. It stars Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee, and Jean Parker. The screenplay, written by Sarah Y. Mason and Victor Heerman, is based on the 1868–1869 two-volume novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. The film, which broke box office records, is considered one of RKO's most-liked with audiences in 1933. It has received generally positive reviews from film critics, both in the 1930s and more recently.