The Philadelphia Story
(1940)
Starring
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart
Director
George Cukor
Awards
Academy Awards
Best Actor- James Stewart
Best Adapted Screenplay - Donald
Ogden Stewart
Academy Award Nominations
Best Actress-Katharine Hepburn
Best Director
Best Picture
Plot Synopsis
Two tabloid magazine columnists attempt to infiltrate a high
society wedding that may turn out to be the biggest event on the social calendar. Tracy
Lord is the flighty wedding belle set to marry George Kittredge, a stodgy but dependable
type whom she sees as an antidote to her charismatic and philandering ex-husband. So the
reporters, the playboy, the fiance, and the bride-to-be all converge on the spacious
Philadelphia estate of Miss Lord's father. But just who will end up with whom at the altar
is anyone's guess.
Film Notes
"Re-creating the role she originated in Phillip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway
play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this
sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great
romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals
to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial
ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially
scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal
reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying
state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like
sparkling wine under the sophisticated direction of George Cukor in this film that turned
the tide of Hepburn's career from "box-office poison" to glamorous Hollywood
star." (Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com)
Remade in musical form in 1956 as High Society.
Rated: NR
Rated: NR