The Philadelphia Story
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| The Philadelphia Story | |
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| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Produced by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Written by | Philip Barry (Play) Donald Ogden Stewart (Screenplay) |
| Starring | Jimmy Stewart Katharine Hepburn Cary Grant |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Running time | 112 min |
| IMDb profile | |
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant. 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. 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.
It is one of the best examples of the comedy of remarriage, a genre popular in the 1930's and 1940's, in which a couple divorced, flirted with outsiders and then remarried - a useful ploy at a time when extra-marital affairs were banned. The film was a great success.
It was remade in 1956 as a musical titled High Society, starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
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[edit] Synopsis
Tracy Lord (Hepburn), is a wealthy "main line" Philadelphia socialite who had divorced C.K. Dexter Haven (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 (Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey). In exchange, Spy magazine agrees to refrain from exposing the antics of Tracy's philandering father Seth (John Halliday). Dexter has cooked up the scheme so he can try to derail the marriage--he still loves his ex-wife. As the wedding nears, Tracy finds herself torn between Mike, Dexter and George.
The day before the wedding, Tracy gets drunk for only the second time and takes an impromptu, innocent, late night swim with Mike. When George learns about it the next day, he thinks the worst, that his bride-to-be has disgraced herself. 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. Mike volunteers to marry her (to Elizabeth's distress), but Tracy graciously declines. At this point, Dexter makes his successful bid for her hand.
[edit] Awards and honors
The film won Academy Awards for James Stewart (Best Actor), and screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart (Best Adapted Screenplay). It also received Academy Award nominations for George Cukor (Best Director) Katharine Hepburn (Best Actress), Ruth Hussey (Best Supporting Actress), and Best Picture (Joseph L. Mankiewicz - producer). Most Oscar watchers consider Stewart's Oscar the quintessential "Should Have Won Last Year" award; after "robbing" him for his performance in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, the Academy gave him the Oscar at the earliest opportunity.
The film was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1995.
[edit] Cast
- Cary Grant as C. K. Dexter Haven
- Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord
- James Stewart as Macaulay Connor
- Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth Imbrie
- John Howard as George Kittredge
- Roland Young as Uncle Willie
- John Halliday as Seth Lord
- Mary Nash as Margaret Lord
- Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord
- Henry Daniell as Sidney Kidd
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Philadelphia Story at the Internet Movie Database
- Ruth Hussey
- NYTimes Review
- skyjude - movie legends
Categories: 1940 films | Black and white films | Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award winning performance | Films featuring a Best Actress Academy Award nominated performance | Best Picture Academy Award nominees | Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominated performance | Comedy films | Screwball comedy films | MGM films | United States National Film Registry | Films directed by George Cukor | Films based on plays
