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Movies / On DVD / The Philadelphia Story
The Philadelphia Story

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The Philadelphia Story (1940)

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Reviews Counted:45

Fresh:45

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.5/10

Consensus: Offering a wonderfully witty script, spotless direction from George Cukor, and typically excellent lead performances, The Philadelphia Story is an unqualified classic.

Runtime: 2 hrs 56 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey

Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey, John Howard, Roland Young, John Halliday, Virginia Weidler, Henry Daniell, Lionel Pape, Rex Evans

Director: George Cukor

Director: George Cukor
Screenwriter: Donald Ogden Stewart
Composer: Franz Waxman
Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Story: Philip Barry

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 30, 1997

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Philadelphia Story

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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Hepburn, Grant and Stewart star in one of the best romantic comedies ever made!

comment Comment
12/16/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

No review available.

comment Comment
10/17/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

A seamless comedy about a priggish, upper-crust beauty who finally gets her comeuppance and learns some tolerance.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

A very funny film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/28/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Its witty dialogue, romantic complications, and class-skewering satire are hallmarks of screwball comedy, but… it's a more mature and humanistic social satire, a comedy of manners skewering every kind of snobbery.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
07/18/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

It has been a long time since Hollywood has spent itself so extravagantly, and to such entertaining effect, upon a straight upper-crust fable, an unblushing apologia for plutocracy.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times

Nearly perfect film version of the play.

comment Comment
05/12/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Everyone is at the top of his game in this sparkling satire.

comment Comment
03/01/03
Boo Allen
Boo Allen
Denton Record Chronicle (TX)

Today I don't think anyone really cares about the fact that this was intended to be a cunning class satire with a capital C, but it's got big stars, they say cool things, they look good, it's funny, and the right guy gets the right girl in amusing fashion

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

You could...fill a book with all the magical things that make this witty, swift, and wistful romantic comedy so impossibly good. Hollywood doesn't make romantic comedies like this anymore.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

No review available.

comment Comment
10/13/02
Elias Savada
Elias Savada
Nitrate Online

No review available.

comment Comment
10/11/02
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/02
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

No review available.

comment Comment
10/04/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world!

comment Comment
09/26/02
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
09/04/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Hepburn at her pinnacle; Grant and Stewart at their most charming; witty, warm and wonderful. A timeless work.

comment Comment
08/22/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

A parlor drama with witty, Oscar Wilde-like banter and glib repartee

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
06/27/02
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
All Movie Guide

If ever a production was endowed with an over-abundance of what normally represents the epitome in entertainment it is The Philadelphia Story.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for The Philadelphia Story

June 22, 2007: AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...

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