The Philadelphia Story (1940)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay)
Philip Barry (play)
(more)

Release Date:

26 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Uncle Leo's bedtime story for you older tots! The things they do among the playful rich - Oh, boy!

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Wedding | Philadelphia | Heiress | Socialite

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 19

9:00 AM

TCM

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
King Baggot	...	Extra as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Hillary Brooke	...	Main Line Society Woman (uncredited)
Veda Buckland	...	Elsie (uncredited)
Lita Chevret	...	Manicurist (uncredited)
Russ Clark	...	John - Chauffeur (uncredited)
David Clyde	...	Mac (uncredited)
Robert De Bruce	...	Dr. Parsons (uncredited)
Dorothy Fay	...	Main Line Society Woman (uncredited)
Claude King	...	Uncle Willie's Butler (uncredited)
Eric Mayne	...	Extra as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Florine McKinney	...	Main Line Society Woman (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Librarian (uncredited)
Mildred Shay	...	Main Line Society Woman (uncredited)
Joseph Sweeney	...	Butler (uncredited)
Helene Whitney	...	Main Line Society Woman (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Donald Ogden Stewart		(screenplay)
Philip Barry		(play)
Waldo Salt		contributing writer (uncredited)

Produced by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz	....	producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman		(musical score)

Cinematography by
Joseph Ruttenberg

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Adrian		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
Jack Dawn	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Keith Weeks	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Woehler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Wade B. Rubottom	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Tom Gunn	....	re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Loew's (produced by) (as Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Loew's (1940) (USA) (theatrical) (uncredited)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1942) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1955) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1986) (Finland) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• DVD Magic (2005) (Russia) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Atalanta Filmes (????) (Portugal) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Theatre Guild  play produced by
• Turner Entertainment  package design

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U (re-rating) (1998) | Finland:K-16 (1942) | Finland:S (1986) | USA:Approved (certificate #6594) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2005) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | 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, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

On Broadway, Katharine Hepburn played opposite Joseph Cotten (in the role played by Cary Grant in the film), Van Heflin (the James Stewart role) and Shirley Booth (the Ruth Hussey role). Anne Baxter played the younger sister. The play ran for 415 performances, making nearly $1 million at the box office. It then went on tour for another 250 performances and an additional $750,000 in box-office receipts.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: As Connor and Tracy exit the library, the boom mic is reflected on the windshield of Tracy's car.

Quotes:

Dinah Lord: Oh, it won't rain. Tracy won't stand for it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: The Philadelphia Story (#4.26)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Over the Rainbow

The most sophisticated comedy ever!

Firstly, let me say, that I love Kate Hepburn. She's my favourite actress, and in my opinion, she can do no wrong. For this reason, I'd probably give a good rating to every movie she made.

But 'The Philadelphia Story' really does deserve wonderful praise. It's by far the most sophisticated, and in my opinion, the greatest comedy ever made, one of Kate's greatest roles. She's absolutely hilarious as Tracy Lord, bringing perfection to the role she created on the stage a year before the film, mocking, insulting and making fun out of Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant.

Her drunken scene with Stewart is pure magic and her mockery of him ('dear professor') is wonderful.

Grant and Stewart are fabulous, Stewart as the rough and tumble reporter infatuated with Tracy and Grant as the neglected ex- husband.

Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler are fantastic in supporting roles, and really add to the hilarity of the whole picture.

A funny, bouyant ride through the 1940's- I completely recommend it!