This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Katharine Hepburn.
It's class warfare blended with a battle of the sexes in The Philadelphia Story. Exceptional performances, brilliant pacing and a witty script all elevate The Philadelphia Story into being one of the standout films in the filmographies of everyone involved.
Two years after her contentious divorce, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) is set to remarry. Her fiancée is respectable George Kittridge (John Howard). George, unlike the Lord family, was not to the manor born. He is not a bad man but not on the same social position as the Lords. A man who is on the same level is C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). He just happens to be the first Mr. Tracy Lord. The Lords tend to like Dexter, especially Tracy's much younger sister Dinah (Virginia Weidler). Unfortunately, Tracy herself loathes her first husband.
Not as much, however, as she loathes the press. She finds the whole lot of them gouache and sensationalist. All the worse for Tracy, as Spy Magazine has its eyes on covering this high society wedding. The Lords are particularly private, making Spy more desirous to get the scoop. Dexter just happens to work for Spy's Argentina branch. He uses his connections to get two Spy reporters to essentially crash the wedding. One is photographer Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey). The other is writer Macaulay "Mike" Connor (James Stewart). Mike openly loathes the one percent, while Liz finds them more amusing than parasitic. Dexter pretty much blackmails Tracy to go along with a rouse accepting Mike and Liz into the home when he points out that Spy is ready to publish reports of her father Seth (John Halliday) and his dalliance with a dancer.
With all these people trapesing about, Tracy is at her wit's end. She inadvertently makes things worse when she introduces her Uncle Willie (Roland Young) as Seth. The Lords are convinced that Seth will not come to give his daughter away, but come he comes. Tracy, forever perfect and correct in her mind, manner and behavior, is set to get rid of Connor and Dexter. Unfortunately, she finds that Mike has a good mind and a way with words. Mike finds that Tracy is not a remote goddess but a full woman. Dexter finds a lot of this could help him win Tracy back. As the weekend reaches its climax, we find romantic entanglements going off all over the place but in the end, the right couples end up together.
The Philadelphia Story has so many elements that make it stand out as a bright, witty production. At the top of that list for me is Donald Odgen Stewart's adaptation of Phillip Barry's play. The screenplay manages to blend witty dialogue and silence to give us the story. The opening scene for example is a good showcase for the latter. Using only Franz Waxman's music, we see the breakdown of the Dexter/Tracy relationship. The music indicates that The Philadelphia Story is a comedy with its exaggerated tones. That is why the audience would be more amused than horrified when Dexter pushes Tracy down. This moment is played for laughs, especially given how Grant and Hepburn play this bitter couple storming out and breaking each other's property.
As The Philadelphia Story goes on, we have a natural build to the eccentric situations the characters fall into. I do not know if The Philadelphia Story is considered a screwball comedy, but it does have some elements of that genre. We have the wrong people falling in love, the right people right under those thwarted lovers' noses. We have mistaken identities, mostly due to Tracy's efforts to irritate Mike and Liz. We have people throwing out quips all about the place. Dinah, for example, wants to see if Dexter will "sock" Tracy again.
One thing that did surprise me while watching The Philadelphia Story is how both sides had contempt for the other. The Lord family accepts being wealthy as a fact of life and see nothing wrong with that. They look upon Mike and Liz as harsh and judgmental, who see the Lords not as individuals but as symbols of unearned wealth. Mike, for his part, has open contempt for the Lords. As Tracy tells him, he is a snob in his own way. "The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges", Mike quips. He fancies himself a champion of the people, but he is so bitter against those whose only fault is having more than he does. Yet, I digress.
The Philadelphia Story is one of Katharine Hepburn's finest performances. I think it might be fair to say that she is playing a variation of herself. That might not be too far off the mark seeing as how The Philadelphia Story was written for her and she was recreating her Broadway role. Hepburn's Tracy Lord is haughty and imperious. She holds high exacting standards for others and for herself. However, she is also a woman who is seen as remote precisely because she is so unforgiving. "You have a good mind, a pretty face and a disciplined body. You have everything it takes to make a lovely woman, except the one essential: an understanding heart. Without that, you might just as well be made of bronze". That assessment comes from her own father. In The Philadelphia Story, we see Tracy's evolution from strict and harsh judgments to a realization that all of us have frailties. That she maintains high standards for herself does not exclude her from failing those standards. Tracy learns to give grace to others and herself.
James Stewart plays against type as the cynical, jaded, bitter Mike Connors. The Philadelphia Story is his only competitive Oscar win in his career. It is a good performance. Stewart starts out as arrogant about his supposed superiority over the Lords due to him having to work and not have his writing appreciated. As the film goes on, we see his own softening in seeing the woman behind the goddess. I am unsure if Stewart, however, was the correct Best Actor choice. Again, it is not a bad performance. However, I think his loss the year prior for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington may have played a role in his Oscar win.
Cary Grant, who was not nominated, more than held his own as the shrewd C.K. Dexter Haven. Grant made Dexter a man of quick wit who did love Tracy despite how unforgiving she was. Charming, funny without being goofy or the butt of a joke, Grant brought a blend of elegance and hardscrabble to his role. Dexter, like Tracy, was born into wealth. Unlike Tracy, he also knew what it was like to work because he needed to.
Hussey, the last of the nominated performances, was able to rattle off quips with ease. However, she too had solid dramatic moments where her eyes and face told more. A glance or quick expression to show that she was in love with an oblivious Mike. Hussey handled the dialogue and the silences well.
The other actors all showed solid work. Roland Young was amusing, even a bit naughty, as Uncle Willie. He was a randy old man, having no issue pinching Liz. He also pained for his boozing with terrible hangovers played for laughs. Virginia Weidler was witty and brassy as Dinah, though again I question how she could be Tracy's sister given that Tracy looked old enough to be Dinah's mother.
The Philadelphia Story runs smoothly and keeps the romance and comedy going. Everything about it works brilliantly. The film has some of the best performances from its cast. It has a clever, witty script that moves the plot without being far-fetched. The City of Brotherly Love is well represented in this tale of love gone wrong but ultimately ending right.
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