Review of The Philadelphia Story (1940) by Kim W — 17 Jul 2009

George Cukor's 1940 adaptation of Philip Barry's theatrical farce is the uncontested classic of all sophisticated slapstick comedies. Katherine Hepburn had starred in the play on Broadway and it is said that playwright Philip Barry based the leading female character on her reputation at the time. Having left RKO on less than ideal terms, the public saw Hepburn as bossy and unfeminine, certainly not the womanly ideal for the late 1930s.

In the opening scene, now famous for its virtually dialogue-free fury, heiress Tracy Lord (Hepburn) watches her recently divorced playboy husband Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) put a few of his belongings in the car, snapping a golf club over her thigh in anger. Trying to prove that she is not impossible to love, Tracy plans to marry a respectable if colorless man at the family mansion when Dexter returns with two reporters in tow, Mike Connor (James Stewart) and Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey), specifically to ruin the wedding. Never more luminous, Hepburn outdoes herself in a role which demands impeccable comic timing as well as true vulnerability. Her scenes with Stewart in the garden the night before her fateful wedding capture the essence of impetuous attraction.

Hepburn was responsible for the making of The Philadelphia Story as it stands. She owned the rights to the project, which she then wisely sold to MGM on condition that she recap her leading role as well as choose the director and cast. She wanted Clark Gable as Dexter and Spencer Tracy as Mike, but because of scheduling clashes neither were available. Instead Grant, her on-screen partner on three previous occasions, and Stewart were cast. Director George Cukor managed to make Hepburn's negative public image work for her through her character, eliciting feelings of sorrow for a beautiful woman so misunderstood. The film was an enormous success, with an award-winning screenplay that matched comedy with social commentary. In 1956, the play, with additional musical numbers, was made into High Society.