The Philadelphia Story

UPC: 027616661326

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations]

Summary: We open on Philadelphia socialite C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) as he's being tossed out of his palatial home by his wife, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Adding insult to injury, Tracy breaks one of C.K.'s precious golf clubs. He gallantly responds by knocking her down on her million-dollar keester. A couple of years after the breakup, Tracy is about to marry George Kittridge (John Howard), a wealthy stuffed shirt whose principal recommendation is that he's not a Philadelphia "mainliner," as C.K. was. Still holding a torch for Tracy, C.K. is galvanized into action when he learns that Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), the publisher of Spy Magazine, plans to publish an expos� concerning Tracy's philandering father (John Halliday). To keep Kidd from spilling the beans, C.K. agrees to smuggle Spy reporter Macauley Connor (James Stewart) and photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) into the exclusive Lord-Kittridge wedding ceremony. How could C.K. have foreseen that Connor would fall in love with Tracy, thereby nearly lousing up the nuptials? As it turns out, of course, it is C.K. himself who pulls the "louse-up," reclaiming Tracy as his bride. A consistently bright, bubbly, witty delight, The Philadelphia Story could just as well have been titled "The Revenge of Katharine Hepburn." Having been written off as "box-office poison" in 1938, Hepburn returned to Broadway in a vehicle tailor-made for her talents by playwright Philip Barry. That property, of course, was The Philadelphia Story; and when MGM bought the rights to this sure-fire box-office success, it had to take Hepburn along with the package -- and also her veto as to who her producer, director, and co-stars would be. Her strategy paid off: after the film's release, Hepburn was back on top of the Hollywood heap. While she didn't win the Oscar that many thought she richly deserved, the little gold statuette was bestowed upon her co-star Stewart, perhaps as compensation for his non-win for 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Donald Ogden Stewart (no relation to Jimmy) also copped an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The Philadelphia Story was remade in 1956 with a Cole Porter musical score as High Society. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – New York Film Critics Circle 10 Best Films – Film Daily Best Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Interactive menus
Theatrical trailer
Scene access
Subtitles: English, Fran�ais & Espa�ol

The Philadelphia Story

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/02/2000

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 112 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Index
1. Opening Logos [:23]
2. Main Title/The Havens Part [2:06]
3. Two Years Later [4:56]
4. Enter George Kittredge [2:20]
5. Enter Mike, Liz & Dex [4:07]
6. "Spies" at the Lord Manse [4:18]
7. "Dexter, You've Come Back!" [2:47]
8. Dexter's Small Blackmail [5:00]
9. Lydia the Tattooed Lady [:57]
10. Tracy Meets the Press [4:13]
11. Having Sherry on the Porch [4:08]
12. "Uncle Willie"/The Library [3:48]
13. With the Rich and Mighty [3:18]
14. Scolding the Virgin Goddess [5:43]
15. "My, She Was Yar." [3:59]
16. Tracy Challenges Her Father [4:27]
17. The Reporters are Exposed [1:18]
18. The Virgin Goddess Drinks [4:47]
19. "Okay, C.K. Dexter-Haven!" [1:53]
20. "Still in Love with Her?" [5:35]
21. The Class System [4:44]
22. Hearthfires and Holocausts [4:46]
23. Dexter, George, Mike & Tracy [4:41]
24. Uncle Willie/Dinah Suspects [4:15]
25. Dinah's Dream [2:43]
26. The Morning After [4:36]
27. Dex Medicates Tracy [5:04]
28. George's Letter [7:29]
29. Tracy's Announcement [3:16]
30. End Credits [:32]

Dan Jardine

Playwright Philip Barry reportedly based the central character of The Philadelphia Story on Katharine Hepburn's brittle public persona, so it should be little surprise that she plays the part so well. The film is a quick-witted translation of the play, essentially a parlor drama with witty, Oscar Wilde-like banter and glib repartee from nearly every actor. There are moments of rare beauty in the dialogue, even if director George Cukor rarely uses them to give the film more visual flair or energy. The story both spoofs and plays sly homage to Clifford Odets' earnest socialist dramas, in which kind-hearted socialites learn to love and admire the working poor -- except that, in The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn turns her back on the working-class hero and returns to her own kind, the aristocratic, debonair, completely irresistible Cary Grant (who does a wonderful job of being...Cary Grant). The aristocrats are well-skewered by the delightful screenplay, and James Stewart is excellent as the cynical but smitten reporter, in a performance that won him his only Academy Award. Donald Ogden Stewart's faithful adaptation of the Barry play was also recognized by the Academy. High Society, the 1956 musical version of this story, was moderately successful, but not in the same classic league. ~ Dan Jardine, Rovi

Cast and Crew: George Cukor  Director 
Joseph L. Mankiewicz  Producer 
Donald Ogden Stewart  Screenwriter 
Franz Waxman  Composer (Music Score) 
Waldo Salt  Screenwriter 
Cary Grant  Actor 
Katharine Hepburn  Actor 
James Stewart  Actor 
Ruth Hussey  Actor 
John Howard  Actor 
Roland Young  Actor 
John Halliday  Actor 
Mary Nash  Actor 
Virginia Weidler  Actor 
Henry Daniell  Actor 
Lionel Pape  Actor 
Rex Evans  Actor 
Hillary Brooke  Actor 
Veda Buckland  Actor 
Lita Chevret  Actor 
David Clyde  Actor 
Dorothy Fay  Actor 
Claude King  Actor 
Florine McKinney  Actor 
Lee Phelps  Actor 
Hilda Plowright  Actor 
Helene Whitney  Actor 
Russ Clark  Actor 

Country: USA