The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Philadelphia Story is an American comedy romance film first released in 1940, directed by George Cukor.  The film is based on a play by Philip Barry and stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey and John Howard.  Our overall rating for this film is: excellent.


Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord is about to marry humdrum businessman George Kittredge.  Publisher Sidney Kidd sees this as the ideal opportunity to run an exposé that will boost his magazine sales. To that end, he sends reporter Macaulay Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie to inveigle their way into the Lord household, with the help of Tracy’s first husband, C.K. Dexter Haven.  Connor’s antipathy for the idle rich soon fades when he gets to know Tracy and realises that she has a vulnerable side.  He cannot imagine why she should choose to marry a man as dull as Kittredge and wonders whether he wouldn’t make a better husband for her...

The Philadelphia Story marked Katherine Hepburn’s triumphant return to Hollywood, only two years after she had been branded box office poison by the Independent Theater Owners of America as a result of the failure of the films she appeared in during the 1930s.  Hepburn had spent the interim starring on Broadway in the film’s original stage version, which had been written for her by Philip Barry.  The play’s phenomenal success prompted the canny actress to purchase the rights to a film adaptation, which she sold to MGM for a quarter of a million dollars, on condition that she star in the film and could choose her co-stars and director.  The enormous box office success of this film completely changed Hepburn’s fortunes and she became overnight one of the most popular and sought after actresses in Hollywood. 

The Philadelphia Story is a classic screwball comedy – perhaps not the funniest or liveliest, but certainly one of the most memorable, on account of its stellar cast.  James Stewart won an Oscar for his portrayal of a man with obvious Bolshevik tendencies who succeeds in revealing a gentler side in Hepburn, not an easy task when you are sharing the limelight with another actor as charismatic as Cary Grant. All three actors give sublime performances, making this a career highpoint for each of them.  George Cukor’s slick direction and Donald Ogden Stewart’s Oscar winning screenplay make this one of Hollywood’s most enjoyable romantic comedies, and a telling satire on how America regards its well-heeled elite.  The film was remade in 1956 as High Society, starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

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