Philadelphia Story

DVD Features:

Disc 1: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

Aspect Ratio: Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

• Dolby Digital Mono 1.0 - English
• Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Releaes Material:

• Audio Commentary - Jeanine Basinger - Film Historian
• Trailer - Movie Trailer Gallery

Disc 2: Special Features:

• Audio-Only Bonus: 2 Radio Adaptions Featuring The Movie's 3 Stars
• Bonus Short - 1. Robert Benchley Short: THAT INFERIOR FEELING
                      2. Cartoon: THE HOMELESS FLEA
• Documentary - 1. KATHARINE HEPBURN: ALL ABOUT ME - A SELF PORTRAIT
                       2. THE MAN WHO MADE THE MOVIES: GEORGE CUKOR

Major Awards:

Academy Awards - Best Actor (1940)

Academy Awards - Best Adapted Screenplay (1940)

Description by OLDIES.com:

Here comes the bride! And the ex-husband. And a gossip-rag columnist on assignment. Here come Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart in a peerless comedy romance (directed by George Cukor) about a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her comeuppance and an unexpected Mr. Right.

After being labeled "box-office poison," Hepburn rekindled her stardom with a beguiling reprise of her 1939 Broadway role. Top-billed Grant demanded and got a then-colossal $137,000 salary - donating it to British War Relief. And Stewart won his only Best Actor Academy Award as the wisecracking scribe. (Writer Donald Ogden Stewart won the film's second Oscar for adapting Philip Barry's play). In 1998, Story's success story continued when it made the American Film Institute's 100 Best American Films list. This 2-Disc Special Edition includes many extras not found on the original DVD release.

Product Description:

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY boasts an incredible cast, but it's Katharine Hepburn's picture in more ways than one. Tracy Lord (Hepburn), a Philadelphia heiress, is about to marry coal-company executive George Kittridge (John Howard). The wedding, promising to be the season's premier event, attracts the attention of magazine publisher Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), who sees it as an opportunity to break a story. Spy magazine's Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), Lord's ex-husband, is enlisted to "gain access" to the party, along with top scandal writer Macauley Connor (James Stewart, in an Oscar-winning role). However, the reporter is quickly smitten by the bride's charms--and he's not the only one. The film, based on the play by Phillip Barry, was first a Broadway sensation starring Hepburn, who acquired the screen rights, claimed the starring role, and chose the director, screenwriter, and lead cast. In addition to fine work by Grant and Stewart, notable supporting performances are delivered by Ruth Hussey and Virginia Weidler. One of nine films Hepburn made with director George Cukor, it remains one of the classics of their collaboration and of American cinema.

Plot Synopsis:

An outstanding and much-loved version of Philip Barry's smart play in which a wealthy society girl is torn between her millionaire husband-to-be, her dashing ex, and a self-conscious reporter. Stars Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart give fabulous performances in this classic film.

Plot Keywords:

Classic | Comedy | Essential Cinema | Love Triangle | Recommended | Reporters | Romance | Stage Play

Production Notes:

• Theatrical release: December 1, 1940.
• THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is number 51 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Greatest Movies.
• THE PHILADELPHIA STORY was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1995.
• Academy Award-winner (Best Actor) Stewart said he voted for Henry Fonda's performance in OF MICE AND MEN that year.
• The film was nominated for six Oscars; besides Stewart's award, it won for Best Screenplay. Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress.
• Katharine Hepburn put up 25% of the original play's production budget and took no salary, but reaped a hefty 45% of profits on the Broadway hit.
• The film was remade in 1956 as the musical HIGH SOCIETY.

Cast and Crew: