Classic Movie Review: 'The Philadelphia Story'

Class warfare comedies, and especially romantic comedies, have a particular tenor and familiar pattern and much of that pattern was navigated first by the legendary director George Cukor whose films such as Born Yesterday and My Fair Lady were all about the clash of cultures as the background to comic romance. Arguably, Cukor’s finest example of the culture clash romance is the 1940 Academy Award nominee The Philadelphia Story starring Katharine Hepburn, Ruth Hussey, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart.

The Philadelphia Story stars Hepburn as Tracy, ha ha, get it, Tracy, a famous member of a rich Philadelphia clan. Two years earlier she’d called off a big, upper crust marriage to fellow rich family man, C.K Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), in a fashion that was somewhat scandalous. Now, Tracy is set to marry again, this time to a self-made man named George Kitteridge (John Howard) who isn’t all that exciting or glamorous but is stable and well-heeled.

Spy Magazine

Naturally, the marriage of a member of the Philadelphia elite, with a controversial past, is a big deal and it has the attention of Spy Magazine. The editor of Spy wants inside that wedding and is willing to use any means to get it. With that, he assigns a reporter named Macauley Connor (Jimmy Stewart) and a photographer named Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) to infiltrate the wedding and dig up some scandal while getting some good pictures of the wedding.

Their way in will be Tracy’s ex, C.K Dexter Haven. Why C.K is helping Spy Magazine get into Tracy's wedding is something that he holds close to his chest but you can assume blackmail is involved in some way. Connor and Imbrie will pose as friends of Tracy’s brother, a world traveler who is not expected back in time for the wedding and should give them the cover they need, with C.K’s help, to get close to Tracy and their story.

The Wit and Style of The Philadelphia Story

The wit and style of The Philadelphia Story is legendary, the film was the comic standard-bearer of the romantic comedy genre for decades after its 1940 release. Movie after movie attempted to capture the patter and energy of Cukor’s characters and the understated genius of his sets which were authentically upper-crust but understated enough that the budget isn’t blown up while trying to create them.

Compared to the opulence on display in similar modern class conscious romances like Crazy Rich Asians, The Philadelphia Story seems rather quaint, but the same sense of upper-crust crustiness, runs through both films. Propriety and decency, the avoidance of scandal and the importance of appearance are common themes to both films. Crazy Rich Asians may have a bigger budget and cast but it, like just about every romantic comedy of the past 70 plus years, takes it’s plot cues from George Cukor and The Philadelphia Story.

Trigger Warning

Now, I must broach a subject that some will not be comfortable with but it bears mention. The opening scene of The Philadelphia Story is incredibly jarring and viewers who’ve never seen it before may quite reasonably find it off-putting. The first scene of The Philadelphia Story shows Cary Grant pie-facing Katherine Hepburn, violently pushing her to the ground before angrily storming off. It’s a scene that in 1940 may have appeared comical and indeed is played as such by Hepburn and filmed comically by director Cukor.

That was a very different time. Today, this type of violence towards women is fully unacceptable. I’m not trying to retroactively condemn The Philadelphia Story, I truly love the film. I think it is important however, to recognize modern sensitivities. People aren’t wrong to be offended by this scene or to have it cause them to not want to see The Philadelphia Story. I am mentioning it as a way of paving the way for people to know that this scene is there and recognize that it was part of this movie but not what the movie was about in full.

It’s wrong for a man to strike a woman as Cary Grant does here but such a mistake doesn’t define this movie. Context and time matter, just know the scene is there, be prepared for it and then please keep watching so you can see how incredible the rest of this movie truly is. From Jimmy Stewart’s brilliant comic timing, to Cary Grant’s unending charm, Ruth Hussey’s wit and Katherine Hepburn’s radiance, The Philadelphia Story is a classic film that deserves to remain in canon as one of the best and most influential of its genre.

This review of The Philadelphia is part of a series I am doing of Classic Movie Reviews. Please do also read and share my reviews of Jaws, Harold and Maude, and the classic Documentary, The Wobblies.