The Philadelphia Story (film)

For the TV adaptation by Fielder Cook, see The Philadelphia Story (1959 film).

The Philadelphia Story
Theatrical poster
Directed byGeorge Cukor
Screenplay byDonald Ogden Stewart
Based onThe Philadelphia Story
1939 play
by Philip Barry
Produced byJoseph L. Mankiewicz
StarringCary Grant
Katharine Hepburn
James Stewart
Ruth Hussey
CinematographyJoseph Ruttenberg
Edited byFrank Sullivan
Music byFranz Waxman
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's, Inc.
Release dates
  • December 26, 1940 (1940-12-26) (New York City)
  • January 17, 1941 (1941-01-17) (US)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$914,000 [1]
Box office$3.3 million[1]

The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 American romantic comedy film[2][3] starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. Directed by George Cukor, the film is based on the 1939 Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry[4] about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid magazine journalist. The socialite, played by Hepburn in both productions, was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott (1904–1995), a Philadelphia heiress who had married Barry's friend.[5]

Written for the screen by Donald Ogden Stewart and an uncredited Waldo Salt, it is considered among the best examples of a comedy of remarriage, in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders and then remarry. The genre was popular in the 1930s and 1940s at a time when divorce was considered scandalous and the depiction of extramarital affairs was blocked by the Production Code.[6][7]

The film was Hepburn's first hit following several flops that caused her placement on a 1938 list of actors considered to be "box office poison" compiled by theater owner Harry Brandt.[8] Hepburn starred in the play and acquired the film rights, with the help of Howard Hughes,[9] to control it as a vehicle for her screen comeback.[10]

Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, the film won 2: James Stewart for Best Actor and Donald Ogden Stewart for Best Adapted Screenplay. MGM remade the film in 1956 as a musical retitled High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra.[11]

The Philadelphia Story was produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1995.[12]

  1. ^ a b Glancy, H. M. (1992). "MGM film grosses, 1924–1948: The Eddie Mannix Ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 12 (2): 127–144. doi:10.1080/01439689200260081. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Philadelphia Story". Variety. November 26, 1940. p. 16. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Philadelphia Story". Harrison's Reports. December 7, 1940.
  4. ^ "The Philadelphia Story (1939 play)". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
  5. ^ Irvine, Ian (April 16, 1995). "The Philadelphia Story (1940)". Sunday Telegraph – via ReelClassics.com.
  6. ^ "Waldo Salt". TCM.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (February 12, 2015). "The Philadelphia Story review – fun and wit rise like champagne bubbles". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "The New Pictures". Time. January 20, 1941. Archived from the original on December 23, 2009. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  9. ^ Hyde, Douglas (February 23, 2005). "The Hughes-Hepburn affair; Hepburn biographer describes 'tender' relationship". CNN.com.
  10. ^ "The Philadelphia Story — Notes". TCM.com.
  11. ^ Hay, Peter (1991). MGM: When the Lion Roars. Turner Publishing. pp. 206–207, 310. ISBN 978-1878685049.
  12. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved April 26, 2023.