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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Katharine Hepburn possessed
two qualities that made her a star: the first was
her unique New England mannerisms that speak of
haughty excellence; the other was guts. After
winning an Oscar for "Morning Glory," Kate the
great was branded box office poison -- a moniker
that destroyed many a starlet's chances from
hitting the big time again. But not Kate.
Undaunted by Hollywood's snub, she commissioned
longtime friend and playwright Philip Barry to pen
the Broadway smash "The Philadelphia Story"
especially for her to star in, and then purchased
the film rights. Hence, when MGM decided that it
wanted to make a film of the play, they had no
choice but to consider Ms. Hepburn's terms first.
These were, in fact, quite simple. Cast Ms.
Hepburn in the lead, as spoiled socialite Tracy
Lord, and give her casting approval. The idea of
relinquishing control to a then has-been actress
must have really burned L.B. Mayer. However, he
must have had nothing but smiles and praise for
Kate when the film version of "The Philadelphia
Story" (1940) became one of MGM's biggest
moneymakers.
The plot concerns Tracy's pending rebound marriage
to George Kittredge (John Howard) a weak man who
cannot hope to match Tracy's fiery temperament.
That's perhaps the reason why Tracy has taken to
him so. You see, Tracy's previous marriage to C.K
Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), a man her equal in
every way, ended badly. He actually knocked her to
the ground with his fist. But times have changed.
Dexter's changed. And he's realized that he's
still carrying a torch for his ex. Fast-forward to
the weekend before the wedding: a family scandal
involving Tracy's estranged father, Seth (John
Halliday), and the wily machinations of her uncle,
Willie (Roland Young) lead to Tracy's acceptance
of a couple of tabloid journalists, Mike Connor
(James Stewart) and Liz Embrie (Ruth Hussey), to
cover her pending nuptials. But the plot is about
to thicken in an unexpected way when Tracy decides
to go after Mike after a drunken binge and a
midnight swim. So how does it all end? Brilliantly
and with much fanfare, pomp and hilarity.
"The Philadelphia Story" was so enormously
successful that MGM decided to make it into a
musical a decade later -- and to exceptionally
good effect -- with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and
Frank Sinatra. As "High Society," it once again
became the biggest and brightest moneymaker of the
year.
Warner's 2-disc special edition of this vintage
comedy is a welcomed treat. The black and white
image has been perfectly mastered from very clean
film elements. Contrast levels are superb. There's
a hint of edge enhancement and some fine detail
shimmering, but nothing that will distract. Fine
details are fully realized throughout and film
grain is kept to a bare minimum.
Aside from the commentary track by Jeannine
Basinger, disc 2 of this DVD contains two feature
length documentaries, one on George Cukor and the
other on Katharine Hepburn. There's also a couple
of vintage short subjects and a gallery of
trailers from other Cukor films and an audio only
radio broadcast. Very nice. "The Philadelphia
Story" is a rare cinematic delight and this new
DVD sparkles as only a few films of this vintage
have. |
