51. The Philadelphia Story


    (1940) directed by George Cukor

Next: #50. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
Prev: #52. From Here To Eternity


To the victor goes the spoiled

My Thoughts Before I Watched It

The Philadelphia Story. Kind of a vague title, don't you think? It could mean Rocky. It could be Mannequin, 12 Monkeys, or even, God help us, Rocky V. It could even be one of the myriad Erik B. stories from college, like the time he was crossing 20th Street at 2 in the morning - no traffic anywhere, but the "Don't Walk" sign was lit - looked both ways, several times, went halfway across the street, looked both ways a few more times, then said confidently, "%$^# it, I'm going." It could even be the the story of the Mutter Museum. But it's not.

The Premise

Tracy Lord (Katherine Hepburn) is a society belle who's about to marry a stuffed shirt. But at the last moment, her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) and a couple nosy reporters show up, in the guise of covering the wedding for their crummy magazine, and convince her that her true love lies elsewhere. Specifically, in the person of...well, you have to see it. Or at least scroll down to the summary.

Notes and Stuff
  • When you come right down to it...this movie doesn't actually take place in Philadelphia, does it? I've been all over the so-called City That Loves You Back, and I've never seen acres of sprawling mansions and lovely manicured lawns. But I guess a movie called The Near-Philadelphia, Somewhere Out Near Villanova Story would strain the limits of even the most generous marquee.
  • I never really get into Tracy's character, but Dinah (the little sister) seems like a pretty cool kid. She's like the little sister I never had. Of course, I have a little sister, but that's a line I know I can always go to for a reaction. And that's far more than you needed to know, isn't it?
  • I do, however, like Mike (Jimmy Stewart) from the beginning. A brilliant writer, reduced to spitting out purple prose for a hack organization while waiting for the muse to point him towards literary fortune...hey, that actually hits close to home. But the scenes with him and his lady-reporter friend, spewing class venom and (especially) prank-calling on the estate's intercom, were priceless.
  • Do we ever find out exactly how C.K. Dexter Haven made his money? At least Tracy's fiancé is a self-made man. I have a sneaking suspicion that C.K. Dexter Haven comes from the same idle rich class as Tracy, and thus they're fated to wind up together at the end of the movie.
  • Dinah solidifies her lock on the "coolest character in the movie" award with her little act in front of the reporters. She plays up the ditzy pretentiously precocious moppet angle, then goes over to the piano and bangs out Lydia the Tattooed Lady. Good stuff.
  • For a brief minute, Tracy starts to show flashes of depth. She actually goes to the library to read some of Mike's serious literary work and considers sponsoring him by putting him up in one of her many underused country houses. Rawther generous, if you ask her.
  • I won't say Jimmy Stewart plays the drunk perfectly in this movie, but I had the hiccups for an hour after his big scene.
  • IMDB Trivia reports that the character of Tracy was written specifically to match the public's image of Katherine Hepburn at the time. Interesting. In this vein, I look forward to seeing upcoming movies starring Winona Ryder as a burglar, Mariah Carey as a one-woman train wreck, and Michael Jackson as a misunderstood, fearsome android. Of course, I'm projecting my own feeling onto the general public; but, hey, this is the Web.

Best Line

Mike: This is the Bridal Suite. Send us up some caviar sandwiches and a bottle of beer.
Mrs. Lord: Who is this?
Mike: This is the Voice of Doom calling. Your days are numbered, to the seventh son of the seventh son!

Summary (ending revealed)

Eh. The middle two thirds of the movie build up to Tracy and Mike running off together, but that was all a fakeout. She ends up with C.K. Dexter Haven; the two flighty dilettantes can now live, sail, and sip juleps on the veranda happily ever after. The movie was enjoyable; the acting was good and some of the dialogue sparkled (particularly that of little sister Dinah). But the plot really did nothing for me. Oh well. The countdown's halfway done, and isn't that all that matters?

Cast

Jimmy Stewart as the crack reporter, Cary Grant as the smoldering ex-husband, Katherine Hepburn as the snoot, John Howard as the stiff she's planning to marry, Ruth Hussey as Jimmy's true love, and Virginia Weidler as the cool little kid.