The Philadelphia Story

The Philadelphia Story (in Argentina, Wrong sinner; in Spain, Philadelphia Stories) is a film based on the play of the same title written by Philip Barry (1896 - 1949) and published in 1939. It is part of the AFI's 10 Top 10 in the category "Romantic Comedy".

Plot and interpreters

This story revolves around a socialite lady about to get married for the second time. It presents an analysis of the conventions and hypocrisy of the American bourgeois class in the 40s, peppered with all kinds of entanglements and humorous situations between the three main characters.

The action of Philadelphia Stories takes place in a stately mansion in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), in 1939, for 24 hours. It tells the story of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn), daughter of a wealthy family, well known in the city, divorced from C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant). She is wild-tempered, bossy, vain and capricious. Two years after the divorce, she is about to remarry George Kittredge (John Howard), a dark, boring and mediocre man. To immortalize the celebration, a couple of journalists, Macauley Connor (James Stewart) and Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey), are invited by C.K. Dexter Haven to long-awaited event.

Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey in a picture of the film's claim.

The story begins with a flashback scene - shot under the canons of silent movies and now part of movie history - that explains the heated ending of Tracy's first marriage, which breaks Dexter's golf club and this irritated, he pushes her, making her fall to the ground. This scene makes clear the lines on which the film is based: Tracy's unruly and stubborn character and Dexter's desire for revenge.

Dexter, in cahoots with a tabloid gossip magazine -Spy-, perpetrates a setup that allows access to the Lords' house, the day before the wedding, of a journalist, Macauley & #34;Mike" Connor (James Stewart), and a photojournalist, Elizabeth "Liz" Imbrie (Ruth Hussey).

Tracy will find herself faced with an unexpected situation, in which she believes she has to choose between a boyfriend she is not in love with, a beloved admirer, and an ex-husband who irritates her with his way of being. But in reality, the problem Tracy faces is something else: the alternative of growing up, acquiring tolerance and understanding, containing her outbursts of anger and becoming a human being -as she says at the end-, or staying the same. The process of reflection and decision is complex due to the lack of time, the prejudices and the war of the sexes that she maintains with various men. The plot and subplot - the father's scandalous affair with a young girl and the threat of her publication - are conducted by the director with finesse, grace and wit.

Magnificent script that constitutes the highlight of the film along with the performances and perfect direction of the actors by George Cukor, to whom the genius of the team allowed him to shoot the film in eight weeks without the need to repeat takes. The plot and subplot are perfectly drawn. The dialogues are polyphonic, lightning fast and brilliant, ironic and full of sophistication, thanks to the extraordinary work of J. L Mankiewicz. With excellent music, photography that stands out for its magnificent drawing and handling of black and white - chiaroscuro, dark backgrounds, intense blacks/whites, brightness, etc. -, and a direction that imposes elegance, subtlety and a fine sense of time. humor - I speak of smiles -.

Featuring three of its Oscar-nominated actors (Ruth Hussey, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart, who won it), with Cary Grant and a whole gallery of well-known supporting actors, this comedy is considered a movie classic.

The finale, and as a sophisticated romantic comedy, ends with Tracy willing to change and where the story puts each of the characters in their place.

Cast

• Katharine Hepburn - Tracy Samantha Lord
• Cary Grant - C.K. Dexter Haven
• James Stewart - Macaulay "Mike" Connor
• Ruth Hussey - Elizabeth "Liz" Imbrie
• John Howard - George Kittredge
• Roland Young - Uncle Willie
• John Halliday - Seth Lord
• Mary Nash - Margaret Lord
• Virginia Weidler - Dinah Lord
• Henry Daniell - Sidney Kidd

Awards

For the 13th Academy Awards, The Philadelphia Story was nominated for six awards, winning two.

Katharine Hepburn won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.