Features: DVD
Here comes the bride! And the ex-husband. And a gossip-rag columnist on assignment. Here come Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart in a peerless comedy romance (directed by George Cukor) about a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her comeuppance and an unexpected Mr. Right.
After being labeled "box-office poison," Hepburn rekindled her stardom with a beguiling reprise of her 1939 Broadway role. Top-billed Grant demanded and got a then-colossal $137,000 salary -- donating it to British War Relief. And Stewart won his only Best Actor Academy Award® as the wisecracking scribe. (Writer Donald Ogden Stewart won the film's second Oscar® for adapting Philip Barry's play). In 1998, Story's success story continued when it made the American Film Institute's 100 Best American Films list.
"Hollywood's most wise and sparkling comedy. All the performances are just perfect." Halliwell's Film Guide
Editor's Note
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY boasts an incredible cast, but it's Katharine Hepburn's picture in more ways than one. Tracy Lord (Hepburn), a Philadelphia heiress, is about to marry coal-company executive George Kittridge (John Howard). The wedding, promising to be the season's premier event, attracts the attention of magazine publisher Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), who sees it as an opportunity to break a story. Spy magazine's Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), Lord's ex-husband, is enlisted to "gain access" to the party, along with top scandal writer Macauley Connor (James Stewart, in an Oscar-winning role). However, the reporter is quickly smitten by the bride's charms--and he's not the only one. The film, based on the play by Phillip Barry, was first a Broadway sensation starring Hepburn, who acquired the screen rights, claimed the starring role, and chose the director, screenwriter, and lead cast. In addition to fine work by Grant and Stewart, notable supporting performances are delivered by Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler. One of nine films Hepburn made with director George Cukor, it remains one of the classics of their collaboration and of American cinema.
Plot Summary
An outstanding and much-loved version of Philip Barry's smart play in which a wealthy society girl is torn between her millionaire husband-to-be, her dashing ex, and a self-conscious reporter. Stars Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart give fabulous performances in this classic film.
|
