Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
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Director: George Cukor
Honors:
Katharine Hepburn officially revives her cinematic career with her
appearance in the romantic comedy The
Philadelphia Story, a picture that would be brought to the silver screen because
of her own prowess within the motion picture industry. Co-starring two of the
biggest leading men in MGM stable of seemingly endless stars, this feature
would not only remove Hepburn from the list of “box office poison,” but would
become one of the most beloved comedies of all time.
The Philadelphia Story is a
romantic comedy about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the
arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid journalist. Member of Philadelphia’s
social elite, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) has plans to wed the wealthy
man-of-the-people-type gentleman in George Kittredge (John Howard), which is
sure to be one of the biggest pieces of news in the city. A magazine publisher
wants to cover the news and events of the wedding, enlisting Tracy’s ex-husband
C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) to help get reporter Mike Connor (James Stewart)
and photographer Liz (Ruth Hussey) close to the family on the big day.
Tracy and Dexter share an abrasive reunion when he arrives as he
attempts to play Mike and Liz as friends of the family. However Tracy quickly
recognizes the ruse and efforts to ruin their possible tabloid story. Conversely
to the plans Mike and Tracy begin to grow close, while at the same time Dexter
gives Tracy reminders of why they originally fell in love, making Tracy warm up
a little towards him as well. All these actions make George incredibly
suspicious, and rightfully so. When George calls out Tracy she takes exception
to George’s lack of faith in her and calls off the wedding the morning of the
event. As wedding guests have already arrived Dexter reminds Tracy of their
love for each other and to two remarry to the film’s happy ending.
The feature is witty, creative, and very funny with wonderful comedic
timing and ingenious use of staging and actors to supply audiences with a
marvelous comedy that is enjoyed by multiple generations of movie lovers.
Katharine Hepburn is at a new peak in her career with a performance that was
literally meant for her. Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were in their primes and
as two top men in romantic comedies it is dream team of actors in this motion
picture for its time. Premiering at the tail end of 1940 and releasing in 1941
this film was easily one of the best pictures for either year.
The beginning and end of this film from writing to release completely
revolves around the film’s central star in Katharine Hepburn. After multiple
financial flops in the movie theaters recently, including the future classic Bringing Up Baby, Hepburn was deemed
“box office poison” by the independent movie theater owners, refusing to play
her features as they failed to bring in money. Playwright Philip Barry had
written the play “The Philadelphia Story” for Hepburn to star in, a production
she helped to finance to get produced, forgoing a salary for a percentage of
the box office profits, which was a huge business move on her part. With the
play a hit on Broadway Hepburn was determined to make the play into to comeback
vehicle in the movies. With the help of her good friend the famous Howard
Hughes she would acquire the rights to the play and shopped it to MGM with her
as the star.
With the mega movie studio MGM producing the film adaption studio head Louis
B. Mayer wanted to assure a box office success and cast both Cary Grant and
James Stewart to star as the film’s two male leads. Both men were marquee names
for MGM, Stewart being an Academy Award nominate from the previous year, and
Cary Grant having major box office appeal. Cary Grant would join the picture
with the condition that his name be given top billing along with a larger salary.
Interestingly his complete salary would be entirely donated to British War
Relief Society to help his home country with the war effort.
George Cukor was one of Katharine Hepburn’s favorite directors. Common
known for working well with actresses, Hepburn had worked with the filmmaker in
the past, knowing he would get the best performance out of her for the screen.
Hepburn was pulling most of her strings to get the best people in this film to
make it the best picture it could possibly be.
The result would be one of the most entertaining feature films and some
of the best performances from all three of the picture’s stars. Critics loved
the picture and the film came out of 1941 as the fifth highest grossing feature
film in the box office. “Hepburn” would no longer a bad word in movie theaters.
At the Academy Awards The
Philadelphia Story was nominated in six categories, including five of the
big six categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Stewart), Best
Actress (Hepburn), and Best Supporting Actress (Hussey). At the end of the
night the film received two wins, one for the film’s screenplay, and the second
for James Stewart, his first and only Oscar win of his illustrious movie career.
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| The closing image of the picture at Dexter and Tracy's wedding. |
The Philadelphia Story would
be a much beloved motion picture for years to come. The story would be remade
in 1956 as the musical comedy High
Society starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra, all major
names in their own right. Critics through the years would continue to praise
the original film, with the American Film Institute littering the motion
picture with praises on a multitude of their “Top” lists including naming it to
their Top 100 all-time lists in both 1998 and 2007. In 1995 it would be
preserved forever in the National Film Registry as a resemblance of national
cinematic treasure.
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