The Philadelphia Story

Is there a more beloved,sacred genre in the annals of Hollywood cinema than the romantic comedy? Maybe sacred isn't the right word, try exploited. Romantic comedies have taken a beating over the years, lacking any sense of real romance or sincerity in favour of stupid humour and sometimes meanness. Romance was once a reason to go to the movies because they always made it better than it was in real life.

There was a time when romantic comedy was done well, its golden age came in the 1930s and early 40s. Usually slapstick was involved, but there was also a sophistication to it, this was mostly due to the clever screenwriters and directors, along with a charismatic cast.

One of the best examples of romantic comedy done absolutely right is "The Philadelphia Story". The film already boasts a trio of the biggest stars there ever was Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart. Although at the time Grant was really the only true bankable star, Stewart's star was rising after his breakthrough hit "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" the year before. Hepburn was dubbed "box office poison", she had done "The Philadelphia Story" on stage in New York and acquired the rights to it in hoping it would revive her career, it did in spades. Hepburn originally lobbied for Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey to be her co-stars, but how could you argue with Grant and Stewart as unworthy substitutes?

The story involves Hepburn's character Tracey Lords, a high class woman about to be married for the second time. Her last marriage was with Grant's character C.K. Dexter Haven, which ended very badly, and rumours of their violent relationship plays throughout the film.

On the eve of Tracey's wedding, Dexter has concocted a plan in which we think is a way to get back at his ex-bride. He hires reporters from a gossip magazine to do a story on her wedding, something Tracey and her family would frown on. These reporters are played by Stewart and Ruth Hussey. Stewart is Mike Connor, who's a real writer and hates working for the seedy magazine and its publisher. Hussy's Liz is a tough talking photographer in the same boat, yet they do the job anyway in order to eat.

It is soon revealed that Dexter's plans for the reporters is truly noble and he in fact still has strong feelings for Tracey, but in order for there to be happiness, both parties need to be taken down a peg.

"The Philadelphia Story" is a film about growing up a bit,and it's also about class systems. Both Tracey and Dexter come from the upper class, yet there is a certain dignity about them, they never pretend to be who they are, yet they later both admit to have made mistakes. Tracey's fiancee George comes from the lower class but worked his way up, but it is revealed he did it all for the wrong reasons. Then there are Mike and Liz who have known nothing but being in the working class, it seems they might be the most honest and decent all together, Mike and Tracey even share a brief romance and it is then we think she has to end up with him. But really in the end, it's really about who Katherine Hepburn will end up with, Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart, and of course any cinephile who has an inkling on who these leading men are will know it can only end one way.

"The Philadelphia Story" is a romantic triangle, yet it's clever enough to see past the cliches, I'm not sure back then there was a cliche, since everything seemed so fresh, it must've been the later generations who used up all the ideas till they became dull and boring. Tracey's fiancee George is shown as a phony right off, everyone seems to know it but Tracey herself, the real triangle is between Dexter and Mike, yet neither of them are competitors at any moment, they even share a delightful scene where Mike comes to Dexter's door drunk, they both fall for the same women, but they always act like adults instead of fools.

I might just love "The Philadelphia Story" because of the stars who are in them, all of which show off just why they became stars. Dexter was just the kind of role for Cary Grant, I'm surprised Hepburn didn't want him for the part right away (The two made three other films prior to this). When Grant plays a role like this, it's hard to imagine anyone else filling those shoes, we sense his cheekiness, but also his bitterness and sorrow, Grant never had to grandstand for attention, the way he carried himself spoke volumes.

For Stewart, he never had another part like this, Stewart became America's everyman, which overshadowed his greatness as an actor. As Mike Connor, he's able to walk away with the film, his scenes where he is drunk are absolutely the funniest scenes in the film, and despite Mike's somewhat misguided direction in love, Stewart is still able to make him likable.

Then there is Hepburn, who tailor-made this film for her comeback, for me this is the Katherine Hepburn performance I think of, when I think of a Katherine Hepburn performance. Tracey like Hepburn is quite the modern woman, you can sense the firey nature in both these woman, you could swear they were the same woman. Hepburn made a habit of not feminizing herself too much, she never played a damsel in distress on purpose. Tracey is a woman who must discover that she does need saving by the right man.

Along with the three actors, the heart of the film comes from the sophisticated screenplay by David Ogden Stewart, it's one of those screenplays that can only exist in Hollywood, where the actors get to say such wonderful, romantic, and witty lines to eachother, that kind of spark is hard to come by these days. The film is quite talky, but when the lines are this good, and are being said by actors who can say them well, who can complain.

The film was also directed by George Cukor, a man known for women's films, he also had a long professional relationship with Hepburn. He made the original film "The Women", and made two great musicals "A Star is Born" with Judy Garland, and "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn. He has a way for sophistication in this film, it never becomes riotous funny, it has a heart, and Cukor knows when to play the humour without it going too far.

"The Philadelphia Story" remains a benchmark in the romantic comedy, it's as well known and loved as "It Happened One Night" or "His Girl Friday" from that same era, it reminds us exactly how well romance could be done in the movies, and how wonderful it could be made if there was great talent behind it.