{"id":29064,"date":"2013-03-22T11:30:06","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T18:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29064"},"modified":"2021-01-20T00:50:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-20T07:50:12","slug":"philadelphia-story-the-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29064","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Story, The (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You have everything it takes to make a lovely woman except the one essential: an understanding heart. And without that, you might just as well be made of bronze.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Poster1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Poster1-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Poster1-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Poster1-82x128.jpg 82w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Poster1.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn exacting heiress (Katharine Hepburn) finds her upcoming marriage to a wealthy social climber (John Howard) disrupted by the presence of her alcoholic ex-husband (Cary Grant), who has sought revenge by enlisting the help of a meddling magazine reporter (James Stewart) and his photographer (Ruth Hussey) to cover the wedding &#8212; but the situation becomes even more complicated when Stewart falls for Hepburn himself, ignoring the fact that his colleague (Hussey) is smitten with him.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cary Grant Films<\/li>\n<li>George Cukor Films<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart Films<\/li>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Revenge<\/li>\n<li>Roland Young Films<\/li>\n<li>Romantic Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Weddings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;classic screwball comedy&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;adapted from Philip Barry&#8217;s 1939 Broadway success, which he&#8217;d written especially for&#8230; Hepburn&#8221; &#8212; was Hepburn&#8217;s strategically chosen &#8220;vehicle for her return to Hollywood after a two-year hiatus&#8221; due to being &#8220;designated box office poison&#8221;. Peary notes that Hepburn &#8220;got to play with her own public image, in an effort to show that underneath her haughty, classy exterior&#8230; she was vulnerable and loyal&#8221;. Indeed, the central premise of the film revolves around Hepburn&#8217;s character &#8220;com[ing] to see her own imperfect side&#8221;, and embracing herself as a &#8220;<em>woman<\/em>&#8221; rather than a &#8220;priggish goddess&#8221;. Yet as Peary points out, &#8220;the major problem with the play-film is that [Hepburn&#8217;s] Tracy Lord never seems like a prig or someone who will accept only perfection&#8221;, given that &#8220;she is eccentric, funny, wild, and <em>tolerant<\/em> of unconventional people, like her flighty mother (Mary Nash), quirky younger sister (Virginia Weidler), and dirty old uncle (Roland Young).&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Peary further writes that &#8220;two other problems are that Grant is too passive a character and that Hussey really gets mistreated by Stewart without telling him off&#8221; &#8212; but he notes that &#8220;despite all, this is a scintillating comedy, because the acting by the wonderful cast transcends the material&#8221;. In addition, &#8220;as directed by George Cukor, the comic dialogues have a marvelous rhythm&#8230; The characters could be speaking Japanese, but so snappy are their comebacks and so sly are their expressions that we&#8217;d laugh anyway&#8221;. I&#8217;m in full agreement with Peary&#8217;s overall assessment: it&#8217;s the stellar performances and witty dialogue that ultimately &#8220;sell&#8221; me on <em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em>, which I&#8217;ll admit to finding a tad too romantically convoluted for my tastes (though at least we&#8217;re kept in genuine suspense until the very end about who will end up with whom, and why). However, while not a personal favorite, this classic <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comedy_of_remarriage\">&#8220;comedy of remarriage&#8221;<\/a> &#8212; remade with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby in 1956 as the musical <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31011\"><em>High Society<\/em><\/a> &#8212; is most definitely must-see viewing for all film fanatics at least once. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hepburn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hepburn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hepburn.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hepburn-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hepburn-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart as Macaulay Connor<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Stewart.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Stewart.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Stewart.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Stewart-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Stewart-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ruth Hussey as Liz Imbrie<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hussey.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hussey.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hussey.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hussey-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Hussey-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Haven.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Haven.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Haven.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Haven-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Haven-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Weidler.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Weidler.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Weidler.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Weidler-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Philadelphia-Story-Weidler-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Witty dialogue:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Nash:<\/strong> &#8220;We must just be ourselves&#8230; Very much ourselves.&#8221;<br \/>\n<strong>Weidler:<\/strong> [Without missing a beat] &#8220;But you want us to make a good impression, don&#8217;t you?&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a beloved classic and for the standout performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032904\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1940\/12\/27\/archives\/the-screen-a-splendid-cast-adorns-the-screen-version-of-the.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=7200\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/12778\/the-philadelphia-story#articles-reviews?articleId=21376\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=7200\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/phil.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AyJWZumqOGY\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You have everything it takes to make a lovely woman except the one essential: an understanding heart. And without that, you might just as well be made of bronze.&#8221; Synopsis: An exacting heiress (Katharine Hepburn) finds her upcoming marriage to a wealthy social climber (John Howard) disrupted by the presence of her alcoholic ex-husband (Cary Grant), who has sought revenge by enlisting the help of a meddling magazine reporter (James Stewart) and his photographer (Ruth Hussey) to cover the wedding&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29064\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29064"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64623,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29064\/revisions\/64623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}