The Philadelphia Story (1940) on Netflix
Tracy Lord, a Philadelphia socialite, is preparing to marry the wealthy George Kittredge. Her ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven turns up with two journalists assigned to cover the wedding.
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- IMDb7.8/1079,307 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
Sidney Kidd, the publisher of Spy, wants his magazine to cover the wedding of Tracy Lord, a Philadelphia socialite engaged to the wealthy George Kittredge. He sends Mike Connor, a reporter, and the photographer Liz Imbrie to the city, and enlists Dexter Haven, Tracy's ex-husband, to get them inside. Dexter, recently returned from South America, has been working for the magazine. He introduces the pair as friends of Tracy's brother Junius, who is a diplomat in Argentina. Tracy sees through the arrangement, but Dexter warns her that Kidd is holding a story suggesting an affair between her father and a dancer. Her parents have lived apart since then, and she resents her father for it. To shield the family's name, she lets the journalists stay and cover the wedding.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Cary Grant agreed to play his part in The Philadelphia Story only if he were afforded top billing and a salary of $137,000, which he donated to the British War Relief Society.
- James Stewart did not expect to win his Best Actor Oscar for The Philadelphia Story and felt it was compensation for his role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the year before; he later provided the statue for display in his father's hardware store in Indiana, Pennsylvania, for many years.
- Katharine Hepburn wanted Clark Gable for Dexter Haven and Spencer Tracy for Mike Connor, but both actors had other commitments.
- Howard Hughes bought the film rights to the play and gave them to Katharine Hepburn, who then sold them to MGM's Louis B. Mayer for $250,000 plus the power of final approval over the film's producer, director, screenwriter and cast.
- MGM's Louis B. Mayer doubted Katharine Hepburn's box-office appeal and took the unusual precaution of hiring two top male stars, Cary Grant and James Stewart, to support her.
- Donald Ogden Stewart wrote the screenplay while listening to a tape recording of a live performance of the play, so he could keep the lines that got the most laughter.
- Katharine Hepburn enjoyed Cary Grant pushing her backward through a doorway so much that she had him do it over and over, and when she threw him out of a house, bag and baggage, he fell and was bruised.
- The socialite Tracy Lord, played by Katharine Hepburn on stage and screen, was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, a Philadelphia heiress who had married playwright Philip Barry's friend.
