Philadelphia Story, The (1939), a comedy by Philip Barry. [ Shubert Theatre, 417 perf.] Because the marriage of the socially prominent “virgin goddess” Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) to the self‐made, priggish George Kitteredge (Frank Fenton) is news, Destiny magazine assigns Mike Connor (Van Heflin), a tough special reporter, and Elizabeth Imbrie (Shirley Booth), a wisecracking photographer, to cover the event. The pre‐wedding festivities are made all the more interesting by the arrival of Tracy's first husband, C. K. Dexter Haven (Joseph Cotten), whose subtle baiting of Tracy exacerbates her private doubts about the marriage. The night before the nuptials she drinks too much and winds up swimming nude in the family pool with Mike. This proves more than George can take, but after he leaves the wedding goes on—with Dexter once again the groom. Barry wrote the comedy with Hepburn in mind and the Theatre Guild produced it, becoming a great success for all three. Although many critics felt it was inferior to some of the author's earlier works, the public disagreed. Often produced at colleges and in regional theatres, the play was successfully revived on Broadway in 1980 with Blythe Danner, Edward Herrmann, and Frank Converse. The play became the popular movie musical High Society (1956); when the film was adapted into a stage musical in 1998 with the same name, it quickly closed on Broadway.
DVD Release: The Philadelphia Story [Special Edition] [2 Discs]
Release Date: 2005
Subtitles: English, Français & Español
2 insightful documentaries about the star and director: Katharine Hepburn: All About Me - A Self-Portrait and The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor
Audio-only bonus: 2 radio adaptations featuring the movie's 3 stars
cc
Digitally remastered movie with commentary by film historian Jeannine Basinger
George Cukor movie trailer gallery
Robert Benchley short That Inferior Feeling
Cartoon The Homeless Flea
DVD Release: The Philadelphia Story [Special Edition] [2 Discs]
Release Date: 2005
Rating:
Genre: Comedy
Movie Type: Sophisticated Comedy, Screwball Comedy
Themes: Wedding Bells, Otherwise Engaged
Director: George Cukor
Main Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, John Howard
Release Year: 1940
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
We open on Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) as he's being tossed out of his palatial home by his wife, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Adding insult to injury, Tracy breaks one of C.K.'s precious golf clubs. He gallantly responds by knocking her down on her million-dollar keester. A couple of years after the breakup, Tracy is about to marry George Kittridge (John Howard), a wealthy stuffed shirt whose principal recommendation is that he's not a Philadelphia "mainliner," as C.K. was. Still holding a torch for Tracy, C.K. is galvanized into action when he learns that Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), the publisher of Spy Magazine, plans to publish an exposé concerning Tracy's philandering father (John Halliday). To keep Kidd from spilling the beans, C.K. agrees to smuggle Spy reporter Macauley Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) into the exclusive Lord-Kittridge wedding ceremony. How could C.K. have foreseen that Connor would fall in love with Tracy, thereby nearly lousing up the nuptials? As it turns out, of course, it is C.K. himself who pulls the "louse-up," reclaiming Tracy as his bride. A consistently bright, bubbly, witty delight, The Philadelphia Story could just as well have been titled "The Revenge of Katharine Hepburn." Having been written off as "box-office poison" in 1938, Hepburn returned to Broadway in a vehicle tailor-made for her talents by playwright Philip Barry. That property, of course, was The Philadelphia Story; and when MGM bought the rights to this sure-fire box-office success, it had to take Hepburn along with the package -- and also her veto as to who her producer, director, and co-stars would be. Her strategy paid off: after the film's release, Hepburn was back on top of the Hollywood heap. While she didn't win the Oscar that many thought she richly deserved, the little gold statuette was bestowed upon her co-star Stewart, perhaps as compensation for his non-win for 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Donald Ogden Stewart (no relation to Jimmy) also copped an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Philadelphia Story was remade in 1956 with a Cole Porter musical score as High Society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Playwright Philip Barry reportedly based the central character of The Philadelphia Story on Katharine Hepburn's brittle public persona, so it should be little surprise that she plays the part so well. The film is a quick-witted translation of the play, essentially a parlor drama with witty, Oscar Wilde-like banter and glib repartee from nearly every actor. There are moments of rare beauty in the dialogue, even if director George Cukor rarely uses them to give the film more visual flair or energy. The story both spoofs and plays sly homage to Clifford Odets' earnest socialist dramas, in which kind-hearted socialites learn to love and admire the working poor -- except that, in The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn turns her back on the working-class hero and returns to her own kind, the aristocratic, debonair, completely irresistible Cary Grant (who does a wonderful job of being...Cary Grant). The aristocrats are well-skewered by the delightful screenplay, and James Stewart is excellent as the cynical but smitten reporter, in a performance that won him his only Academy Award. Donald Ogden Stewart's faithful adaptation of the Barry play was also recognized by the Academy. High Society, the 1956 musical version of this story, was moderately successful, but not in the same classic league. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart. Based on a
Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry,
the film is about a bride-to-be whose plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a handsome
journalist. It is considered one of the best examples of a comedy of remarriage, a
genre popular in the 1930s and 1940s, in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders and then remarry - a useful ploy at a time
when depicting extra-marital affairs was banned in American film. The film was a great success.
The play was Hepburn's first great triumph after several movie flops (including the classic Bringing Up Baby), which had led to her being labeled "box office poison". Howard Hughes bought the rights to the film as a gift to Hepburn. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer decided to make a movie out of it, she stipulated in her contract that the film
could not be made unless she was allowed to reprise her stage role. Hepburn initially wanted Clark
Gable and Spencer Tracy for the male leads but they were not available.
Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is a wealthy Main LinePhiladelphia socialite who had divorced C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) and is about to
marry nouveau riche George Kittredge (John Howard). Wedding preparations are complicated when she is blackmailed by publisher
Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell) into granting an exclusive story to tabloid reporter Macaulay
"Mike" Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth "Liz" Imbrie (Ruth Hussey). In
exchange, Spy magazine agrees to refrain from exposing the antics of Tracy's philandering father Seth (John Halliday). As the wedding nears, Tracy finds herself torn between Mike, Dexter and George.
The night before the wedding, Tracy gets drunk for only the second time in her life and takes an impromptu, innocent swim with
Mike. When George sees Mike carrying an intoxicated Tracy into the house afterwards (both of them wearing only bathrobes), he
thinks the worst, that his bride-to-be has disgraced herself. The next day, Tracy takes exception to his lack of faith in her and
breaks off the engagement. Then she realizes that all the guests have arrived and are waiting for the ceremony to begin. Mike
volunteers to marry her (much to Elizabeth's distress), but Tracy graciously declines. At this point, Dexter makes his successful
bid for her hand.
In 1995, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
The character of Tracy Lord was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott
(1904-1995), a Philadelphia socialite, known for her hijinks, who married a friend of playwright Philip Barry.[1]
Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar! Click here to download now. Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.
