The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Release date: 1941-01-17
Country: USA
Language: English|French
Director: George Cukor
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Rating: 7.9/10
Length: 1h 52min

Storyline

Philadelphia socialites Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven married impulsively, with their marriage and subsequent divorce being equally passionate. They broke up when Dexter's drinking became excessive, it a mechanism to cope with Tracy's unforgiving manner to the imperfect, imperfections which Dexter admits he readily has. Two years after their break-up, Tracy is about to remarry, the ceremony to take place at the Lord mansion. Tracy's bridegroom is nouveau riche businessman and aspiring politician George Kittredge, who is otherwise a rather ordinary man and who idolizes Tracy. The day before the wedding, three unexpected guests show up at the Lord mansion: Macaulay Connor (Mike to his friends), Elizabeth Imbrie - the two who are friends of Tracy's absent brother, Junius- and Dexter himself. Dexter, an employee of the tabloid Spy magazine, made a deal with its publisher and editor Sidney Kidd to get a story on Tracy's wedding - the wedding of the year - in return for Kidd not ...

Plot Keywords

love triangle, wedding, reporter, socialite, title spoken by character, city name in title, eavesdropping, comedy of manners, pennsylvania, punch, reference to jack the ripper, contemporary setting, orchestral music score, family relationships, male female relationship, infidelity, unfaithfulness, extramarital affair, place name in title, racial slur

Short Review

Miss Hepburn, as a comedienne, is perhaps a greater star than she ever was at any prior cinema period, as a serious actress. This comes near being her champion achievement.