The Philadelphia Story (PG.)
Directed by George Cukor.
Starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey and John Howard. Black and White 112 mins. Out now on Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection.
It may not be Towering Inferno extensive, but in quality over quantity terms this is probably the greatest movie cast ever: three of the very best, at their very best. (The support is top notch too.) Philadelphia Story may also be the finest demonstration of star power in Hollywood history. A sparkling and sophisticated comedy centered around a high society wedding, much of its sparkle and sophistication has gone astray as it has been passed down to each new audience over the last seven decades but the Grant/Hepburn/Stewart magic is just as potent as if ever was, perhaps even stronger. Watching it today is like seeing a Jurassic Park of movie stars: you marvel that such mighty and majestic beings ever stalked the earth.
It needs all that star magic because Philadelphia Story ought to be objectionable in most every way, being both stuck up and patronising. Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is an elegant and sophisticated society lady about to marry for a second time to, oh the humanity, a man who has worked for his money. To stop Spy magazine exposing her father's philandering with a New York showgirl, they are forced to allow in a journalist and photographer (Stewart and Hussey) from Spy to cover the nuptials. Tracy is, as you would expect, not happy about this but that's just the beginning as everybody present, including her ex-husband Dexter (Grant) takes turns in running her down and telling her she could be such a great gal is she just came down from her pedestal.
(This was all an astute career move on Hepburn's part. The Broadway star was considered Box Office poison because audience couldn't warm to her haughty intelligence. This taking her down a peg or two was just what she needed to get them back on side.)
Quite why Philadelphia Story is still magical is a mystery, but it surely is. It's joyously funny and even quite moving. The only disappointing moments are when you hear a line that sounds like a cue for a High Society number, but then it doesn't come. Surely someone somewhere on that internet has edited the films together so we get the Grant/ Hepburn/ Stewart dialogue and the Crosby/ Sinatra/ Kelly songs.
Extras.
I always thought the appeal of the film was its mighty trident of stars, but for Criterion it is all Hepburn. There is a definite logic to that: it was concieved as a vehicle for her and was a vital career move for her. Without it she might have disappeared. I'd still liked to have heard a little about Grant and Stewart though.
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2005 featuring film scholar Jeanine Basinger
- In Search of Tracy Lord, a new documentary about the origin of the character and her social milieu
- New piece about actor Katharine Hepburn’s role in the development of the film
- Two full episodes of The Dick Cavett Show from 1973, featuring rare interviews with Hepburn, plus an excerpt of a 1978 interview from that show with director George Cukor
- Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1943, featuring an introduction by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille
- Restoration demonstration
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme
Directed by George Cukor.
Starring Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey and John Howard. Black and White 112 mins. Out now on Blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection.
It may not be Towering Inferno extensive, but in quality over quantity terms this is probably the greatest movie cast ever: three of the very best, at their very best. (The support is top notch too.) Philadelphia Story may also be the finest demonstration of star power in Hollywood history. A sparkling and sophisticated comedy centered around a high society wedding, much of its sparkle and sophistication has gone astray as it has been passed down to each new audience over the last seven decades but the Grant/Hepburn/Stewart magic is just as potent as if ever was, perhaps even stronger. Watching it today is like seeing a Jurassic Park of movie stars: you marvel that such mighty and majestic beings ever stalked the earth.
It needs all that star magic because Philadelphia Story ought to be objectionable in most every way, being both stuck up and patronising. Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is an elegant and sophisticated society lady about to marry for a second time to, oh the humanity, a man who has worked for his money. To stop Spy magazine exposing her father's philandering with a New York showgirl, they are forced to allow in a journalist and photographer (Stewart and Hussey) from Spy to cover the nuptials. Tracy is, as you would expect, not happy about this but that's just the beginning as everybody present, including her ex-husband Dexter (Grant) takes turns in running her down and telling her she could be such a great gal is she just came down from her pedestal.
(This was all an astute career move on Hepburn's part. The Broadway star was considered Box Office poison because audience couldn't warm to her haughty intelligence. This taking her down a peg or two was just what she needed to get them back on side.)
Quite why Philadelphia Story is still magical is a mystery, but it surely is. It's joyously funny and even quite moving. The only disappointing moments are when you hear a line that sounds like a cue for a High Society number, but then it doesn't come. Surely someone somewhere on that internet has edited the films together so we get the Grant/ Hepburn/ Stewart dialogue and the Crosby/ Sinatra/ Kelly songs.
Extras.
I always thought the appeal of the film was its mighty trident of stars, but for Criterion it is all Hepburn. There is a definite logic to that: it was concieved as a vehicle for her and was a vital career move for her. Without it she might have disappeared. I'd still liked to have heard a little about Grant and Stewart though.
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
- Audio commentary from 2005 featuring film scholar Jeanine Basinger
- In Search of Tracy Lord, a new documentary about the origin of the character and her social milieu
- New piece about actor Katharine Hepburn’s role in the development of the film
- Two full episodes of The Dick Cavett Show from 1973, featuring rare interviews with Hepburn, plus an excerpt of a 1978 interview from that show with director George Cukor
- Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1943, featuring an introduction by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille
- Restoration demonstration
- Trailer
- PLUS: An essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme
