The Philadelphia Story (1940)

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Donald Ogden Stewart (screen play), Philip Barry (based on the play by),

Stars:

Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart

Won 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	C.K. Dexter Haven
Katharine Hepburn	...	Tracy Lord
James Stewart	...	Macaulay Connor
Ruth Hussey	...	Elizabeth Imbrie
John Howard	...	George Kittredge
Roland Young	...	Uncle Willie
John Halliday	...	Seth Lord
Mary Nash	...	Margaret Lord
Virginia Weidler	...	Dinah Lord
Henry Daniell	...	Sidney Kidd
Lionel Pape	...	Edward
Rex Evans	...	Thomas

Storyline

Philadelphia socialites Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven married impulsively, with their marriage and subsequent divorce being equally passionate. They broke up when Dexter's drinking became excessive, it a mechanism to cope with Tracy's unforgiving manner to the imperfect, imperfections which Dexter admits he readily has. Two years after their break-up, Tracy is about to remarry, the ceremony to take place at the Lord mansion. Tracy's bridegroom is nouveau riche businessman and aspiring politician George Kittredge, who is otherwise a rather ordinary man and who idolizes Tracy. The day before the wedding, three unexpected guests show up at the Lord mansion: Macaulay Connor (Mike to his friends), Elizabeth Imbrie - the two who are friends of Tracy's absent brother, Junior - and Dexter himself. Dexter, an employee of the tabloid Spy magazine, made a deal with its publisher and editor Sidney Kidd to get a story on Tracy's wedding - the wedding of the year - in return for Kidd not ...

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | reporter | socialite | love | marriage | 

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Taglines:

Uncle Leo's bedtime story for you older tots! The things they do among the playful rich - Oh, boy!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 December 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Nacht vor der Hochzeit

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James Stewart wasn't at all comfortable with some of the dialog, especially in the swimming pool scene, which also required him to act in a dressing gown. He said at the time that if he'd played the scene in just a swimming costume it would have been the end of his career.

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Goofs

When Tracy and Dexter are talking about the information that Kidd has on her father, Dexter hands her pictures and the story of her father and the dancer, Teena Mara. After Tracy shuffles through the paper multiple times, there doesn't seem to be anything written, typed or have pictures on this paper.

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Quotes

Macaulay Connor: [telling off Sidney Kidd, his boss] Quote: No hunter of buckshot in the rear is cagey, crafty Connor. Un-quote. Close paragraph.
Elizabeth (Liz) Imbrie: Close job. Close bank account.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.68 (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Sobre las olas (Over the Waves)"
(1887) (uncredited)
Music by Juventino Rosas
Hummed by Dexter while "playing" the candles

User Reviews

The Great Romantic Comedy

Definitely the greatest romantic comedy of all time The Philadelpha Story raises the bar in Hollywood movies. The film is set around the wedding of one of Philadelpha's highest society women (Katherine Hepburn). Her ex-husband who is expertly played by Cary Grant hears of this and decides to crash the party. He does this by bringing along two reporters (James Stewart & Ruth Hussey). They come undercover to get some behind the scene snapshots of the wedding. Of course the results of all this is hilarious.

Stewart and Hussey give ground breaking performances as the reporters. Besides this winning best picture Jimmy Stewart won a well deserved Oscar for best actor in his role. Of course a great comedy would not be complete without the beautiful, charming, hilarious, Katherine Hepburn who never fails to impress. Gave yet another fantastic and unforgettable performance.

Films like this aren't made nearly as well or even made anymore. All the more reason to treasure these wonderful works of art and history. Gerg Cukor does a fine and memorable job in directing but it's the acting and one of films finest screenplays that blows this film way ahead of most romantic comedies. It was originally a play by Philip Barry, and turned into one of the greatest screenplays heard on the silver screen. The screenplay was done by the masterful Donald Stewart. As you can see this is film at its very best and is probably never going to be forgotten.