Tracy Lord in ‘The Philadelphia Story’

I’m not an amazing
Katharine Hepburn fan, although I’ve admired facets of her life and profession. Apart
from being barely allergic to The Nice Kate, I’m additionally not a fan of drawing
room comedies. I simply watched 1940’s The
Philadelphia Story for the primary time. As I strategy 66 years, I’m attempting
to make up for lacking many traditional motion pictures, regardless of contemplating myself a
life-long movie fan.

So I watched The Philadelphia Story primarily out of
curiosity, since this was hailed as Kate’s nice comeback. I can now see why.
Katharine Hepburn arguably performed her biggest position as Tracy Lord. It’s the
excellent distillation of the Katharine Hepburn persona, glowing because the
champagne Tracy imbibes an excessive amount of of the night time earlier than her wedding ceremony.

Katharine Hepburn with frequent collaborator, director George Cukor, on the set of MGM’s “The Philadelphia Story.”

Like loads of traditional
stars, I first noticed Katharine Hepburn in latter day motion pictures in my youthful years
of the ’70s and ’80s. Hepburn did some superb work later in Instantly, Final Summer season, Lengthy Day’s
Journey into Night time, and The Lion in
Winter; together with her different movies, I used to be averse to the sentimental Kate of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, On Golden Pond, and people final TV motion pictures
the place she performed her persona self to the purpose of self-parody. Most of her ’30s
work I discover unwatchable, although she was nice in Alice Adams, Stage Door,
and some others. Katharine Hepburn was usually badly solid or selected badly. No
shock that she was among the many movie stars labeled field workplace poison in 1938.

On Broadway, Katharine Hepburn bought BIG prime billing in “The Philadelphia Story.”

For Katharine Hepburn’s movie comeback, she bought second billing in 1940’s “The Philadelphia Story.”

The oft-told backstory
in a nutshell: after a string of bombs and even a few final movies that bought
good critiques, the general public and critics lastly had their fill of a flighty/eccentric/haughty
Hepburn. Kate was in dire want a comeback. So, Hepburn employed Philip Barry to
write a play for her. Based mostly on an incident involving a socialite good friend of
Barry’s, with Hepburn’s prodding, the character grew to become extra like Kate! She
discovered the backing to get Barry’s The
Philadelphia Story on Broadway and it was successful, with future movie stars Joseph
Cotten and Van Heflin. Kate bought Howard Hughes to purchase the movie rights for her so
she might take it to MGM, with herself as a part of the bundle. The outcome was a
smash for movie model of The
Philadelphia Story, adopted up by a studio contract for Hepburn.

After a string of movie flops, Kate Hepburn was among the many stars labelled “field workplace poison.” Kate was down however not out, when she got here again in “The Philadelphia Story.”

The massive query was
why did not this business and demanding hit get Kate a second Oscar? Effectively, the competitors
was powerful that yr, with Bette Davis in The
Letter and Joan Fontaine’s breakthrough in Rebecca. But, it was Ginger Rogers who gained for Kitty Foyle. On the time, Rogers was highly regarded with followers and
the trade, making a clean transition from musical to comedy/dramatic star.
Kate was making a comeback from Siberia. Nonetheless, I feel Katharine Hepburn’s
car holds up significantly better and is better-remembered as we speak. 

The MGM manufacturing is
top-drawer: George Cukor directing, Joseph L. Mankiewicz producing, script
by Donald Ogden Stewart, a snazzy rating by Franz Waxman, with Kate radiantly
photographed by Joseph Ruttenberg, in robes by Adrian, and hair styled by
Sydney Guilaroff. Oh—and Cary Grant and James Stewart as Hepburn’s main
males. Plus, an amazing supporting solid, together with Ruth Hussey. The ensuing movie of
The Philadelphia Story is studio period
fashion at its best.

It did not harm that Katharine Hepburn had two in style new stars in Cary Grant & James Stewart as her main males, in her comeback, “The Philadelphia Story.”

Katharine Hepburn’s
comeback was the best of these stars combating the “field workplace poison”
label. Joan Crawford countered hers by taking over the smaller, however juicy villain
position in The Girls. Marlene Dietrich
took a break from moody vogue plate posturing to carry out within the raucous
western Destry Rides Once more. With
Katharine Hepburn, she stepped down her pedestal to turn out to be the extra accessible Kate.
However actually, the change was not all that drastic from her earlier ‘30s persona,
simply recalibrated to be extra usually interesting. It jogs my memory of how Doris
Day’s picture makeover in Pillow Discuss
was thought-about such a departure for her. Apart from the emphasis on glamour and
sexuality, Pillow Discuss wasn’t that
a lot completely different than the earlier yr’s Trainer’s
Pet.

With Katharine Hepburn’s
Tracy, she is actually a heroine, however a judgmental one. And on the eve of
her wedding ceremony to a decent dullard, some champagne and flirtatious frivolity
makes her notice that she’s solely human, too.

Cary Grant and James Stewart
do superb work, regardless of Kate’s first preferences for Metro’s kings, Clark Gable
and Spencer Tracy. Grant had polished his persona as “Cary Grant” completely by
this time and it performs splendidly on this romantic comedy, as C.Ok. Dexter
Haven. Although Dexter has a ingesting drawback, he scolds Tracy for not being extra
understanding. That perspective clearly doesn’t play nicely as we speak. Mockingly,
Hepburn would quickly be an understanding companion to alcoholic Spencer Tracy!
Apart from needling Kate’s Tracy to return off her pedestal, Cary’s Dexter
clearly nonetheless adores her. Their banter is razor sharp and witty.

Cary Grant as C.Ok. Dexter Haven in 1940’s “The Philadelphia Story.”

Stewart, after his
breakout yr in 1939, entered the ‘40s as a boyish main man with nice
attraction. As all the way down to earth reporter Mike Connor, who turns into enchanted by Tracy, James
Stewart is simply superb. He’s charmingly skeptical and goofily besotted by
champagne and this society woman. I do assume his Oscar win for The Philadelphia Story is a make-up award
for lacking out for ‘39s Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington, as did Jimmy himself. However hey, Clark misplaced that yr for his signature position, Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind!

Is James Stewart wishing for his Oscar in “The Philadelphia Story?”

Ruth Hussey is a
sardonic delight as photographer Liz Imbrie, who accompanies Stewart’s reporter
to cowl the society wedding ceremony of the yr. Hussey is knowledgeable with the comedian
strains, but additionally imbues sure strains about Stewart’s Mike which might be touchingly
wistful.  She gained a Greatest Supporting Actress
Oscar nomination for her clever, fashionable fashion and holding her personal with star Hepburn.

Ruth Hussey was Oscar-nominated & James Stewart gained the Oscar, as visiting journal media, to cowl the society wedding ceremony of the yr, in 1940’s “The Philadelphia Story.”

There are a variety of
intelligent, enjoyable touches in The Philadelphia
Story, due to screenwriter Stewart’s script and George Cukor’s good, trendy
directing. An instance is that sensible and temporary setup, the place Tracy and Dexter
break up up within the movie’s opening scene on their entrance steps.

Love the opening scene of 1940’s “The Philadelphia Story!”

Tracy Lord grew to become a
primary boilerplate of the kind of ladies Hepburn would play in her finest mid-career
automobiles. Kate would play strong-minded ladies who by the finale, have been softened
by love. This was very like the character arc Rosalind Russell would play in
her profession lady roles. This could fulfill most mainstream audiences and the
audiences who beloved such spirited feminine stars might imagine that
transformation was simply to appease her main man’s character. Such was life
on movie in Hollywood’s golden age!

There’s rather a lot to love
in regards to the movie adaptation of The
Philadelphia Story, however you’ll love Katharine Hepburn at her main girl
finest, adored by three co-stars!

I really like this romantic shot of Grant’s Dexter discovering Hepburn’s Tracy asleep within the automotive, after imbibing an excessive amount of champagne, in 1940’s “The Philadelphia Story.”

Right here’s Kate in her second
outing with Spencer Tracy in a suspense drama, 1942’s Keeper of the Flame:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2025/05/tracy-hepburn-team-in-rare-drama-keeper.html

And right here is my take a look at
Katharine Hepburn in her solely villainous position, as Aunt Violet in Tennessee
Williams’1959 Instantly, Final Summer season,
with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2018/03/suddenly-last-summer-1959.html