| The Philadelphia Story | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | George Cukor |
| Screenplay by | Donald Ogden Stewart |
| Based on | The Philadelphia Story byPhilip Barry |
| Produced by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Starring | Cary Grant Katharine Hepburn James Stewart Ruth Hussey John Howard Roland Young John Halliday Mary Nash Virginia Weidler |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Edited by | Frank Sullivan |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's, Inc. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $914,000[1] |
| Box office | $3.3 million[1] |
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 Americanromantic comedy film[2][3] starringCary Grant,Katharine Hepburn,James Stewart andRuth Hussey. Directed byGeorge Cukor, the film is based on the 1939Broadwayplay of the same name byPhilip Barry[4] about asocialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid magazine journalist. The socialite, played by Hepburn in both productions, was inspired byHelen Hope Montgomery Scott (1904–1995), aPhiladelphia heiress who had married Barry's friend.[5]
Written for the screen byDonald Ogden Stewart and an uncreditedWaldo Salt, it is considered among the best examples of acomedy of remarriage, in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders and then remarry. The genre was popular in the 1930s and 1940s at a time when divorce was considered scandalous and the depiction of extramarital affairs was blocked by theProduction Code.[6][7]
The film was Hepburn's first success following several failures that caused her placement on a 1938 list of actors considered to be "box office poison" compiled by theater owner Harry Brandt.[8] Hepburn starred in the play and acquired the film rights, with the help ofHoward Hughes,[9] to control it as a vehicle for her screen comeback.[10]
Nominated for sixAcademy Awards, includingOutstanding Production (Best Picture), the film won two:Best Actor (Stewart) andBest Adapted Screenplay. MGMremade the film in 1956 as amusical retitledHigh Society, starringBing Crosby,Grace Kelly andFrank Sinatra.[11]
The Philadelphia Story was produced byJoseph L. Mankiewicz and was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry in 1995.[12]
Tracy Lord is the elder daughter of a wealthyPhiladelphia Main Line socialite family. She was married to C.K. Dexter Haven, a yacht designer and member of her social set, but divorced him two years prior because, according to her father, he does not meet the standards that she sets for all her friends and family. She is soon to marry the wealthy George Kittredge.
In New York,Spy magazine publisher Sidney Kidd is eager to cover the wedding and assigns reporter Mike Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie. Kidd intends to use the assistance of Dexter, who has been working forSpy in South America. Dexter tells Kidd that he will introduce them as friends of Tracy's brother Junius, a diplomat inArgentina. Tracy is not fooled, but Dexter tells her that Kidd has threatened her family's reputation with an innuendo-laden article about her father's affair with a dancer. Tracy deeply resents her father's infidelity, which has prompted her parents to live separately. Nonetheless, to protect her family's reputation, she agrees to let Mike and Liz stay and cover her wedding.
Dexter is welcomed by Tracy's mother Margaret and teenage sister Dinah, much to Tracy's frustration. She soon discovers that Mike has admirable qualities and finds his book of short stories in the library. As the wedding nears, she finds herself torn among George, Dexter, and Mike.
The night before the wedding, Tracy becomes drunk, kisses Mike and takes an innocent midnight swim with him. When George observes Mike carrying Tracy into the house afterward, he assumes the worst. The next day, George tells her that he was shocked and feels entitled to an explanation before proceeding with the wedding. She admits to having no excuse and realizes that he does not really know her and has loved her as an idealized, perfect angel, so she cancels the engagement.
Tracy realizes that the guests have arrived and are waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin. Mike quickly volunteers to marry her, but she graciously declines because she perceives that Liz is in love with him. Dexter then offers to remarry her, and she gladly accepts.
"Everyone had enormous fun on the movie. The days and nights were sweltering that summer of 1940, but nobody cared. Cary got along very well with Kate Hepburn. She enjoyed him pushing her through a doorway in one scene (so she fell over backward) so much that she had him do it to her over and over again. There was a scene in which she had to throw Cary out the door of a house, bag and baggage, and she did it so vigorously he fell over and was bruised. As he stood up, looking rueful, Kate said, "That'll serve you right, Cary, for trying to be your own stuntman."
Broadway playwrightPhilip Barry wrote the play specifically for Hepburn, who financially supported the play and declined a salary in return for a percentage of the profits.[14] Her costars wereJoseph Cotten as Dexter Haven,Van Heflin as Mike Connor andShirley Booth as Liz Imbrie.[4]
The original play, starring Hepburn, ran for 417 performances.[4]
Hepburn had hoped to create a film vehicle for herself that would erase the label of "box office poison" that she had acquired after a number of commercial failures (such asBringing Up Baby).Howard Hughes purchased the film rights for the play and gave them to her. Hepburn then sold the rights to MGM'sLouis B. Mayer for $250,000 and the power of final approval of the film's producer, director, screenwriter and cast.[10][14]
Hepburn selected directorGeorge Cukor, with whom she had worked forA Bill of Divorcement (1932) andLittle Women (1933), and Barry's friendDonald Ogden Stewart, a writer experienced with adapting plays to the screen.[14] Stewart, who won an Oscar for the script, said that "getting an Oscar forThe Philadelphia Story was the easiest Oscar you could imagine. All you had to do was get out of the way." He wrote the script while listening to a tape recording of a live performance of the play to ensure that he preserved the lines that received the most laughter.[15]
Hepburn wantedClark Gable to play Dexter Haven andSpencer Tracy to play Mike Connor, but both had other commitments.[11] The pairing of Cukor and Gable might have been problematic in any case, as they had clashed during the filming of the recentGone with the Wind, with Cukor replaced by Gable's friendVictor Fleming.[16] Grant agreed to play the part only if he were afforded top billing and that his salary would be $137,000, which he donated to theBritish War Relief Society.[17]
According to the documentaryMGM: When the Lion Roars, after Mayer purchased the film rights, he was skeptical about Hepburn's box-office appeal and took the unusual precaution of engaging two top male stars (Grant and Stewart) to support Hepburn.
The film was in production from July 5 to August 14, 1940,[18] five days under schedule,[10] at MGM's studios inCulver City.[19] The art director wasCedric Gibbons, and the costume designer wasAdrian.
The film premiered in New York City on December 26, 1940 and was shown in select theaters in December, but MGM had agreed to hold its general release until January 1941 to avoid competition with the stage play[10] that was touring the country.[4] It entered general American release on January 17, 1941.[20] It broke a box-office record atRadio City Music Hall by earning $600,000 in just six weeks.[citation needed]
According to MGM records, the film earned $2,374,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and $885,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,272,000.[1]
Writing forThe New York Times in 1940,Bosley Crowther wrote that the film "has just about everything that a blue-chip comedy should have—a witty, romantic script derived by Donald Ogden Stewart out of Philip Barry's successful play; the flavor of high-society elegance, in which the patrons invariably luxuriate; and a splendid cast of performers headed by Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant. If it doesn't play out this year and well along into next, they should turn theMusic Hall into a shooting gallery ... Metro and Director George Cukor have graciously made it apparent, in the words of a character, that one of 'the prettiest sights in this pretty world is the privileged classes enjoying their privileges'. And so, in this instance, will you, too."[21]
Life namedThe Philadelphia Story its film of the week in January 1941, describing it as "among the best funny pictures" of the year.[22]
The film has a100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The consensus reads: "Offering a wonderfully witty script, spotless direction from George Cukor, and typically excellent lead performances,The Philadelphia Story is an unqualified classic."[23] Rotten Tomatoes has also ranked it as the bestromantic comedy of all time.[24]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 96 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[25]
The film was the last of four starring Grant and Hepburn followingSylvia Scarlett (1935),Bringing Up Baby (1938), andHoliday (1938).
The film was nominated for sixAcademy Awards, winning two (Best Actor andBest Screenplay).James Stewart did not expect to win and felt that the award was given to him as compensation for his role inMr. Smith Goes to Washington the previous year.[14] Stewart later provided hisOscar statue for use in his father's hardware store inIndiana, Pennsylvania, where it was displayed for many years.[26][27]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Outstanding Production | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | Nominated | [28] |
| Best Director | George Cukor | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | James Stewart | Won | ||
| Best Actress | Katharine Hepburn | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Ruth Hussey | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Donald Ogden Stewart | Won | ||
| National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | [12] | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [29] | |
| Best Actress | Katharine Hepburn | Won | ||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Film Hall of Fame: Productions | Inducted | [30] | |
The film was named the third-best of the year byThe Film Daily.[31]
In 1995, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by theLibrary of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry.[12]
The film was included in variousAmerican Film Institute lists:
The stars ofThe Philadelphia Story appeared in a one-hour radio adaptation on the premiere episode of theDepartment of War's specialVictory Theater summer series,[37][38][39] airing on July 20, 1942.[40]Lux Radio Theatre produced a second adaptation for its own use on June 14, 1943, starringRobert Taylor,Loretta Young andRobert Young.[10][41] The film was also adapted for two half-hour episodes ofThe Screen Guild Theater, first withGreer Garson,Henry Fonda andFred MacMurray (April 5, 1942),[42] and then with Hepburn, Grant and Stewart reprising their film roles (March 17, 1947).[43]
The film was adapted in 1956 as the MGMmusicalHigh Society, directed byCharles Walters and starringBing Crosby,Grace Kelly,Frank Sinatra,Celeste Holm andLouis Armstrong.[11]
The final scene from the film is viewed by two characters in season seven, episode eight ofGilmore Girls, "Introducing Lorelai Planetarium." Another scene is viewed in season four, episode fourteen ofGossip Girl, "While You Weren't Sleeping."InThe Half of It (2020), two of the characters watch and discuss the movie.
Despite taking place in 1938, a character inDouble Indemnity (1944) makes a reference to the title of the film and play.
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