US 112m Dir: George Cukor Key Cast: Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart
The Philadelphia Story is perhaps the best known of the 'comedy of remarriage' genre that was popular in the 1930s and 40s. At the time depictions of extramarital affairs were blocked by the Production Code so divorce was a necessary plot device.
Here Katherine Hepburn plays Tracy, a socialite three years divorced from husband C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). She is now due to marry the respectable nouveau riche George Kittredge (John Howard). When journalist Macaulay 'Mike' Connor (James Stewart) turns up to cover her wedding, she finds herself drawn to him...
I had mixed feelings about the film. The comedy of remarriage thing feels very dated and at the end of the day it was just another romantic comedy. It's a rom-com though were the final outcome makes no real sense and it's difficult to feel much affection for any of the main characters.
That said, the three leads are fantastic. Cary Grant has a dry wit to him which makes him fun to watch, though knowing his character in real life wouldn't be much fun. James Stewart is fun and energetic and his drunk scene is perhaps the best of the whole film. He even improvises a hiccough and you can see Grant trying not to laugh at this unforeseen addition to the scene.
The big star though is Katherine Hepburn. Incredibly she was seen as 'box office poison' after a series of flops and the studio had to little confidence in selling a film with her as one the main stars that they chose to hire not one but two big Hollywood stars to accompany her. All this seems bizarre when you look at how wonderful she is in this film. She brings Tracy to life, really making her the socialite who doesn't quite function as a loving human properly. She may only have second billing here but she is the one you can't keep your eyes off.
The other thing I liked about the film, and which helped make the performances so good, is the dialogue. I might not have enjoyed the plot that much but the dialogue is so witty and poetic. Every line of speech has a rhythm and it continually does interesting things. One of my favourites was "The prettiest sight in this fine, pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges" which just sounds so great when read allowed. It's both witty and lyrical, something which is seen throughout the whole film.
In summary, I have to describe it as 'not for me' but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the things it does well, not least the brilliant performances from Grant, Stewart and especially Katherine Hepburn.
Comments
Post a Comment