Director: George Cukor
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Top Billed Actors: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
Won 2 Oscars:
Best Actor - James Stewart
Best Screenplay - Donald Ogden Stewart
Nominated for 4 more:
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director - George Cukor
Best Actress - Katharine Hepburn
Best Supporting Actress - Ruth Hussey
Plot: Two high class socialites divorce in order to appease the Code. A lot of champagne is drank the night before she marries a guy who can't even get on a horse. Things were done, assumptions were made, but the wedding must go on.
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Top Billed Actors: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
Won 2 Oscars:
Best Actor - James Stewart
Best Screenplay - Donald Ogden Stewart
Nominated for 4 more:
Outstanding Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director - George Cukor
Best Actress - Katharine Hepburn
Best Supporting Actress - Ruth Hussey
Plot: Two high class socialites divorce in order to appease the Code. A lot of champagne is drank the night before she marries a guy who can't even get on a horse. Things were done, assumptions were made, but the wedding must go on.
George Cukor had a hand in two of the most iconic films of 1939 but was ultimately replaced on both. With the blessing of Katharine Hepburn, he gets to see a project to completion with The Philadelphia Story (1940) and received a Best Director (his second) nomination to boot. This film is also Hepburn's return to Hollywood's good graces as she was dubbed "box office poison" due to some financial failures in the mid-to-late 1930s. The original Broadway play this film is based upon was written especially for her and she became a success with it. However, due to trepidation on the studio's part, they provided some insurance by hiring two A-list actors alongside the then one-time Oscar winner. She initially wanted to cast Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy (she sold the script and negotiated production rights), but scheduling conflicts enabled Cary Grant to re-connect with her in their fourth movie and James Stewart fresh off of his critically acclaimed role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). This is Stewart's one and only Oscar victory, one in which he thinks was delayed payment for that Mr. Smith role. In fact, he didn't even plan on attending the ceremony and was told late in the day to throw on a suit and be there. Grant also negotiated a rather high salary to go along with his top billing demand (something the studio gladly accepted due to Hepburn's "poisonous" reputation). The $137,000 salary, however, was all donated to the British War Relief Fund as World War II raged on in Europe. The film has garnered further accolades since its release. It's part of the AFI Top 100 American Films as well as the updated version, it has been entered into the National Film Registry, the script landed on the WGA Top 101, and it holds a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with over 100 reviews. Let's delve into why this picture is so heralded.
Starting off, the screenplay is revered as the perfect example of the "comedy of remarriage" subgenre of Code comedies. Because infidelity was not tolerated by the censors, divorce was a necessary component to show two otherwise-married individuals from exploring other avenues so to speak. The story here does this so deftly, and with so many funny moments at that. The Oscar-winning screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart later commented that the Broadway play was so perfect that adapting it was the easiest job he had the pleasure of taking. The way the story centers on Hepburn's Tracy character as the revolving door of men either talk to her along or in tandem (or talk about her) makes the deconstruction of her character all the more interesting. I don't consider this a very deep tale, but it's rather interesting and relatable for somebody who is constantly worried about what others think of them, even if it's as a goddess. To accompany this wondrous script is a set of top notch performances. The three A-listers are out-humoring one another throughout and Supporting-nominee Ruth Hussey only adds to the laughs. It's so pleasant to be taken on this whirlwind of drunken emotions escorted with whip-smart comedy. Even the child star in her limited screentime got a lot of hearty chuckles from me.
There's really only one detracting element for me, and it's more of a personal one. I have a stupid pet peeve regarding drunk acting. I can't really stand seeing sober performers try to act hammered as it always comes across as unauthentic. Here, almost the entire second act is soaked with alcohol. It creates the pivotal moment of the story and is great for the drama, but I just couldn't stand it from an acting perspective. Some of the one-on-one scenes with Hepburn from that aforementioned revolving door seem to go on a bit too long as well. A 95 minute version of this would have been splendid.
Overall, a witty character-centric story that combines three of our most beloved Hollywood actors makes for rousing time at the movies. Although the drunk acting is a personal pet peeve, it still makes for great drama as we see these characters with their guard down. After all, they need to be portrayed as human and not as goddesses or statues.
My Score: 8/10
Starting off, the screenplay is revered as the perfect example of the "comedy of remarriage" subgenre of Code comedies. Because infidelity was not tolerated by the censors, divorce was a necessary component to show two otherwise-married individuals from exploring other avenues so to speak. The story here does this so deftly, and with so many funny moments at that. The Oscar-winning screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart later commented that the Broadway play was so perfect that adapting it was the easiest job he had the pleasure of taking. The way the story centers on Hepburn's Tracy character as the revolving door of men either talk to her along or in tandem (or talk about her) makes the deconstruction of her character all the more interesting. I don't consider this a very deep tale, but it's rather interesting and relatable for somebody who is constantly worried about what others think of them, even if it's as a goddess. To accompany this wondrous script is a set of top notch performances. The three A-listers are out-humoring one another throughout and Supporting-nominee Ruth Hussey only adds to the laughs. It's so pleasant to be taken on this whirlwind of drunken emotions escorted with whip-smart comedy. Even the child star in her limited screentime got a lot of hearty chuckles from me.
There's really only one detracting element for me, and it's more of a personal one. I have a stupid pet peeve regarding drunk acting. I can't really stand seeing sober performers try to act hammered as it always comes across as unauthentic. Here, almost the entire second act is soaked with alcohol. It creates the pivotal moment of the story and is great for the drama, but I just couldn't stand it from an acting perspective. Some of the one-on-one scenes with Hepburn from that aforementioned revolving door seem to go on a bit too long as well. A 95 minute version of this would have been splendid.
Overall, a witty character-centric story that combines three of our most beloved Hollywood actors makes for rousing time at the movies. Although the drunk acting is a personal pet peeve, it still makes for great drama as we see these characters with their guard down. After all, they need to be portrayed as human and not as goddesses or statues.
My Score: 8/10