Review of The Philadelphia Story (1940) by Bob V — 02 Dec 2010

Possibly the greatest of its kind, this comedy moves at a brisk pace, with zingers, snappy retorts and witty observations flying at you from all concerned.

A strong supporting cast ,that includes child star Virgina Weidler & Ruth Hussey, keeps its own against the 3 lead powerhouses. Hepburn is at her enunciated near-best (and it got her one of her many Oscar nominations) and Grant is great without showing off. But it is James Stewart who almost walks away with the whole movie, portraying his cynical reporter to maximum effect and engaging or endearing with every line he utters. Much deservedly he did win his Oscar, though he always felt it was a belated 'sorry Oscar' for not winning earlier for "Mister Smith Goes to Washington". Since I think he did a bang-up job in that movie as well, either way is good for me, he deserved at least one little nude gold man for the pair.