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The Philadelphia Story (1940)
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Overview
Release Date:
1 December 1940 (USA) moreTagline:
Uncle Leo's bedtime story for you older tots! The things they do among the playful rich - Oh, boy! morePlot:
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. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)Awards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Movie Reviews: Made Of Honor (From Studio Briefing. 2 May 2008, 10:33 AM, PDT)
Screen Legend Katharine Hepburn Dies at 96 (From WENN. 30 June 2003)
User Comments:
Dictating her own comeback moreCast
(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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
112 minCountry:
USAColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)Certification:
South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:S (1986) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | UK:U (re-rating) (1998) | Finland:K-16 (1942) | USA:Approved (certificate #6594) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating)Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USAMOVIEmeter: 
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: Immediately after Tracy emerges from the pool, we see her talking with George, wearing her robe and no swim-cap, perfectly dry. moreQuotes:
Macaulay Connor: My father was a history teacher.Tracy Lord: English history has always fascinated me. Robin Hood, Cromwell, Jack the Ripper. Where did he teach? Your father I mean.
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Soundtrack:
Bridal Chorus moreFAQ
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?What song was playing during the ball? It sounds like a Cole Porter tune.
Is this movie based on a novel?
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After Katharine Hepburn was one of a group of stars dictated "box office poison" by the ruling moguls of Hollywood she went east and scored a complete triumph on stage with The Philadelphia Story. But our Kate was the shrewd one, she had the foresight to buy the film rights from author Philip Barry and peddle them to the studio that would guarantee her repeating her stage role and giving her creative control.
On stage she had co-starred with Joseph Cotten, Van Heflin, and Shirley Booth all of whom became movie names later on, but meant nothing to Hollywood in 1940. She had the choice of leading men and cast in their places, Cary Grant, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey.
This was Grant's fourth and final appearance on screen with Hepburn. It's a typical Cary Grant part, witty and urbane, with a touch of the rogue in him. He's Hepburn's ex-husband, still very much in love with his ex-wife, but she's marrying stuffed shirt John Howard.
Reporter James Stewart and photographer Ruth Hussey are covering Hepburn's wedding for Spy Magazine, the National Enquirer of the day. Through a little judicious blackmail they're invited to this premier society wedding, but both feel out of place and used.
After The Philadelphia Story, Katharine Hepburn was a movie name the rest of her long life. Even with an occasional clinker no one ever questioned her about being box office poison.
James Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar in probably the most romantic he was ever on the screen. A lot felt it was a consolation Oscar for not winning it for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939. Stewart himself proclaimed to all who'd listen that he voted for good friend Henry Fonda in the Academy Sweepstakes for The Grapes of Wrath. I've always felt that when Stewart talked about those hearth fires banked down low to Hepburn, he was really talking about himself. He's a cynical fellow at first and his romantic side comes as a surprise to him more than even the audience.
The Philadelphia Story has become such a classic that even the musical remake High Society doesn't try to copy it, it just presents a softer musical alternative. But I'd kind of liked to have seen Hepburn do this with her original cast as well. Oscars were in the future for Van Heflin and Shirley Booth and Joseph Cotten the following year made his debut in the biggest film of all.