Ten Reasons To LOVE The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Here are the ten reasons I completely ADORE The Philadelphia Story, one of my favourite films. I did a comparison post about this and High Society the 1956 musical remake starring Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm and Bing *shudder* Crosby which is nowhere near as good - but I didn't think I covered my thoughts rambles on it well enough. So here you go! More rambles than you could ever hope for. By the way, I'm assuming you know the plot but if not then take a look here. {If you still want to read this post, well done.}

Left to right: George Cukor, John Howard, Katharine Hepburn and cary Grant (Photo from Doctor Macro as are many others, thanks Dr. Macro!)

Reason 1.

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn

{Scanned by me}

One of my very favourite on-screen couples. I've actually seen all of their pairings together except the perpetually doomed and apparently awful Sylvia Scarlett (about which Fanny Bryce said to Katharine Hepburn, "What were you thinking when you made that movie?")! They are just too fantastic and put together... AWESOMESAUCE! No, seriously. One of the best pairings, even though they aren't together for the whole film :-)

Reason 2.

"OH C. K. DEXTER HAVEN!!!" OH C. K. DEXTER HAAAVVEEEN!!!!"

Just the name. That is actually the second best thing. It is the most completely stupendous name to ever grace the silver screen. How much cooler can you get? You could just scream it out for ages. Try it. It's soooo fun (no joke). What does the C. K. stand for? We shall never know...

Reason 3.

The Drunk Scene

Where Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart get drunk on champagne together. It's just so funny and then romantic and then quite random... IT'S EVERYTHING!!! GAH! But yes it really is cool. I love the bit where they go swimming and then he carries her back belting out "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and she says to her three suitors (Dexter, George and Mike), "Hello, Dexter. HULLO GEORGE. Hellooo Mike!" Favourite quote from the scene: Tracy Lord, "The Time to make up your mind about people is never."

Reason 4.

{Scanned by me}

Katharine Hepburn

This part was basically written for her by playwright Phillip Barry and she backed the production on broadway and then (after being gifted the film rights by Howard Hughes) made a package deal with MGM stating that they could have the rights as long as she played Tracy. After that it was basically her production. She supervised most things from lighting to costumes and some people credit her as executive producer. But she gave a lot more than just that. This performance is one of my all time favourites and you really feel she was Tracy Lord. She said herself "The role of Tracy Lord fit me like a glove." I love all the delivery and everything. Great performance.

Reason 5.

Virginia Wiedler a.k.a. Dinah Lord

Virginia Wiedler is one of my favourite child actresses and this is my favourite role of hers. Her rendition of "Lydia The Tattooed Lady" is so funny. My mum also told me that this song was also sung by The Muppets! I also really like the bit when she comes down and says she must talk urgently with Uncle Willy about the last night (see The Drunk Scene) and she arrives at his house in a little carriage drawn by a Shetland pony.

Reason 6.

THE DRESS

Oh yes. It deserves the capital letters and the underlining. I love it. It's long and white and silky and sparkly and flowey and awesome. I love the way that the sleeves gather in as well. Hmm... But seriously. I love this dress.

Reason 7.

{Scanned by me, this photo has little to do with anything I've written about, but it's good, so why not? Tracy Lord and George Kittredge roll in the mud :-)}

The Script

Hmm. Maybe this should be a little higher in the list... Oh well. I love the script. Some favourite quotes are:

Tracy Lord: I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy.

Macaulay Connor: Doggone it, C.K. Dexter Haven. Either I'm gonna sock you or you're gonna sock me. 

C. K. Dexter Haven: Shall we toss a coin?

C. K. Dexter Haven: Orange juice, certainly.
Tracy Lord: Don't tell me you've forsaken your beloved whisky and whiskies.
C. K. Dexter Haven: No-no-no-no. I've just changed their colour, that's all. I'm going for the pale pastel shades now. They're more becoming of me. How about you, Mr. Connor? You drink, don't you - alcohol, I mean?
Macaulay Connor: Oh, a little.
C. K. Dexter Haven: [Amused] A little? And you a writer? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know, at one time I think I secretly wanted to be a writer.
[He and Tracy exchange scornful looks] 

Macaulay Connor: [speaking of Tracy, wearing a trilby hat] What are her leading characteristics?
C. K. Dexter Haven: She has a horror of men who wear their hats in the house.
Elizabeth (Liz) Imbrie: Leading characteristics to be filled in later. 

Sidney Kidd: You hate me, I trust, Miss Imbrie. 

Elizabeth (Liz) Imbrie: No, I-I can't afford to hate anybody. I'm only a photographer.

Reason 8.

The "Talking Room" Scene

This is where a drunk James Stewart and Cary Grant discuss their plans for writing an article putting "Spy" magazine editor, Sydney Kidd, to shame. It's so funny. Apparently is was partly improvised and I just adore it. James Stewart and Cary Grant together in one room for a whole 10 minutes alone with a typewriter... WHAT AWESOME MADNESS HAPPENED IN THIS SCENE! Love.

Reason 9.

{Scanned by me}

The Wedding

The wedding scene is beyond all imagination of fantasticness. It starts being amazing as soon as *SPOILER* Dexter proposes by telling Tracy to say it while she is talking to the wedding guests and it just gets better and better. Ending with a great shot of the Tracy, Dexter, Liz, Mike and the vicar completely shocked!

Reason 10.

The Whole Cast

They all mesh so well together as a team and a cast. I love all their scenes as a group and in pairs or other  combos. One of the best casts.

Hope you liked the post!

~Bette

The Philadelphia Story VS High Society

Hmmm, she's dead. Shame.

"All this time, we could've been friends!" 

In the surprise ending to Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) realizes that all the time she was tormenting her sister, it was for the wrong reason, and they could've been friends.

I finished watching Whatever happened To Baby Jane? last night and found myself watching it gripped with morbid fascination! I also realized about halfway through that I was rooting for Baby Jane (Bette Davis) to kill Blanche Hudson (Joan Crawford) rather that wanting her to escape! I loved how Bette sung "I've Written A Letter To Daddy".

"I've written a letter to Daddy. His address is heaven above!"

I admire the fact that if there was a note she couldn't hit, she just shrieked and hoped for the best.

"You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good . . . Joan Crawford is dead. Good!"~ Bette Davis

The DVD came with the documentary All About Bette which me and my Mum watched this morning which was really good, and hosted by Jodie Foster. But today I'm going to compare The Philadelphia Story and High Society, both based of the same play, the latter was made 16 years later.

High Society

Cast:

• Bing Crosby as C.K. Dexter-Haven
• Grace Kelly as Tracy Samantha Lord
• Frank Sinatra as Mike Connor
• Celeste Holm as Liz Imbrie

Plot:
The epitome of the rich society girl, Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly) has been divorced to the successful jazz musician Dexter Haven (the seedy Bing Crosby) for a few years. She is about to re-marry when Dexter arrives with his jazz gang and tries to win her back. Meanwhile the gossipy magazine "Spy" has planted a reporter (Frank Sinatra) and photographer (Celeste Holm, grrrrrr) to cover Tracy's wedding. The family has agreed to this so that the magazine will not publish a distasteful article about Tracy's estranged father and a chorus girl. She ends up falling for not only the reporter, but Dexter too.

Well... did you evah?

Review:
The highlights of the film are the fact that the leader of Bing's band is Louis Armstrong, and the fantastic music that was written by Cole Porter. Grace Kelly gives a surprisingly unemotional performance. It may be unknown to you that I can't stand Bing Crosby. Well I can't. He is seedy and dodgy, and completely unbelievable as Dexter. Plus, he looks old enough to be Grace's father. But despite all of that negativity, this film did get me to sleep on insomniac nights until I was 9.


Now for the good bit.


the Philadelphia Story

Cast:

• Cary Grant as C. K. Dexter Haven
• Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord
• James Stewart as Macaulay Connor
• Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth Imbrie

Plot:

The rich and intelligent (note the change in description) socialite, Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) is about to marry the also rich George Kipperidge. But when her ex-husband, Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) turns up with a reporter (James Stewart *swoon*) and a photographer (Ruth Hussey, whoever she may be). She decides to go on with the marriage even though the presence of her ex-husband distracts her. After a bit too much champagne at a party the night before her wedding, she has a brief romance (lasting only about 2 hours) with the reporter. The next day, her fiancée sends her a not saying that her behaviour was unacceptable for a wife-to-be and that he would like to call it a day. As it has been obvious from the beginning that she would get back together with Dexter (who wouldn't want to go back with Cary Grant? But then again, who would want to leave Jimmy Stewart?) and they marry.

The Review:
I loved this film for all of its rich and emotional thought, and I think that Katharine Hepburn's portrayal was very sweet and understanding. The direction from George Cukor is great. Did you know that Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins were both in his repertory company before they all shot to stardom? James Stewart looks about 12 in it! The performances generally work extremely well, and I am always finding it hard to work out whether I want her to go with James Stewart or Cary Grant!


THE LOWDOWN!!!!!

Preferred Film:
The Philadelphia Story definitely because I prefer the story without constant sing-song, and the direction is better in this.


Preferred Portrayals:
Tracy Lord: Katharine Hepburn
Dexter Haven: Cary Grant by miles
Elizabeth Imbrie (photographer): Celest Holm (as much as it pains me to say it) tied with Ruth Hussey
Macaulay Connor (reporter): Jimmy Stewart. Please don't feel rejected Fankie, it was a pretty close call.


Musical/Non-Musical?
Non-musical.

Which do you prefer?

~Bette
P.S. I found a gorgeous little vintagey 40sish shop in town today, and fell in love with a blue and cream stripy nipped-in-at-the-waist dress which was, as my mum stated about several items in the shop "sooooooo Bette Davis!", a pair of brown jodhpury trousers like the ones she wears in The Great Lie, and a little purse that looked like an old envelope. There are no pictures of these because, being typical me, I forgot the name of the shop. Watch this space!

P.P.S. Today is the 60th anniversary of All About Eve (my favourite film evah) being released.

“Bill’s thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years ago, he’ll look it twenty years from now. I hate men.”

—	Margo Channing (All About Eve)