| The Philadelphia Story | |
|---|---|
 First edition | |
| Written by | Philip Barry |
| Date premiered | March 28, 1939 |
| Place premiered | Shubert Theatre, New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Love, marriage, divorce |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | The suburbs of Philadelphia in the 1930s |
The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.
The character of Tracy Lord was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott, a Philadelphia socialite known for her hijinks, who had married a friend of playwright Philip Barry. [1] Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story specifically for Katharine Hepburn, who ended up not only starring in but also financially backing the play, forgoing a salary in return for a percentage of the play's profits. [2]
Produced by the Theatre Guild, The Philadelphia Story opened on March 28, 1939, at the Shubert Theatre in New York City, and closed on March 30, 1940. [3] The three-act comedy was directed by Robert B. Sinclair, with lighting and scenery by Robert Edmond Jones. [4]
Hoping to create a film vehicle for herself which would erase the label, Hepburn accepted the film rights to the play from Howard Hughes, who had purchased them as a gift for her. She then convinced MGM's Louis B. Mayer to buy them from her for only $250,000 in return for Hepburn having veto over producer, director, screenwriter, and cast. [2] [5] [6]
In 1940 the play was adapted to film, in a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture directed by George Cukor with Hepburn as the star, and starring Cary Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven and James Stewart as Macaulay Connor.
In 1956, it was adapted to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film version, High Society with Grace Kelly in the Tracy Lord role, Bing Crosby as C.K. Dexter Haven and Frank Sinatra as Macaulay Connor.
Radio adaptations of The Philadelphia Story include a half-hour presentation on the Prudential Family Hour of Stars (February 26, 1950), starring Sarah Churchill, Norma Jean Nilsson, Gerald Mohr and Gene Kelly. [7] An hour-long adaptation was broadcast August 17, 1952, on Best Plays, with a cast including Joan Alexander, Betty Furness, Myron McCormick and Vera Allen. [8]
The Philadelphia Story was adapted for the second season of the NBC-TV series, Robert Montgomery Presents . Starring Barbara Bel Geddes (Tracy Lord), Richard Derr (Macauley Connor) and Leslie Nielsen (C. K. Dexter Haven), the one-hour live program aired December 4, 1950. [9]
On December 8, 1954, a live 60-minute adaptation of the play was broadcast on the CBS-TV series, The Best of Broadway . The cast included Mary Astor (Margaret Lord), Dorothy McGuire (Tracy Lord), Charles Winninger (Uncle Willie), Neva Patterson (Liz Imbrie), Richard Carlson (Mike Connor), Dick Foran (George Kittredge), John Payne (C.K. Dexter Haven) and Herbert Marshall (Seth Lord). [10]
A two-hour adaptation aired on NBC-TV on December 7, 1959, directed by Fielder Cook and starring Gig Young (C.K. Dexter Haven), Diana Lynn (Tracy Lord), Christopher Plummer (Mike Connor), Ruth Roman (Liz Imbrie), Mary Astor (Margaret Lord), Don DeFore (George Kittredge), Alan Webb (Seth Lord), and Leon Janney (Sidney Kidd). The instrumental theme for this version, "Tracy's Theme", was released as a single by Robert Mersey under the name "Spencer Ross" and became a Top 20 hit.
Copyright for The Philadelphia Story was registered in 1939 by Barry and his wife, portrait artist Ellen Semple Barry, [11] and was renewed by her in 1967. [12] Her estate retains copyright to the play. [13]
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story (1939) and Sabrina Fair (1953). He then gained worldwide fame for his collaborations with Orson Welles on three films, Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), which Cotten starred in and for which he was also credited with the screenplay.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress whose career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited personality, and outspokenness, cultivating a screen persona that matched this public image, and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. She worked in a varied range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, which earned her various accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer.
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 American romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. Directed by George Cukor, the film is based on the 1939 Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid magazine journalist. The socialite, played by Hepburn in both productions, was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott (1904–1995), a Philadelphia heiress who had married Barry's friend.
High Society is a 1956 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. The film was produced by Sol C. Siegel for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and shot in VistaVision and Technicolor, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter.
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. was an American theatre, radio, and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. Heflin won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Johnny Eager (1942). He also had memorable roles in westerns such as Shane (1953), 3:10 to Yuma (1957), and Gunman's Walk (1958), and as a bomb man in the disaster film Airport (1970), his last screen role.
Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Garson Kanin was an American writer and director of plays and films.
Lux Radio Theatre, sometimes spelled Lux Radio Theater, a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) ; CBS Radio network (1935–54), and NBC Radio (1954–55). Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences. The series became the most popular dramatic anthology series on radio, broadcast for more than 20 years and continued on television as the Lux Video Theatre through most of the 1950s. The primary sponsor of the show was Unilever through its Lux Soap brand.
John Halliday was an American actor of stage and screen, who often played suave aristocrats and foreigners.
Pat and Mike is a 1952 American romantic comedy film starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie was written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, and directed by George Cukor. Cukor directed The Philadelphia Story (1940) with Hepburn, and Cukor, Gordon and Kanin teamed with Hepburn and Tracy again for Adam's Rib (1949). Gordon and Kanin were nominated for the 1952 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for their work on Pat and Mike.
Philip Jerome Quinn Barry was an American dramatist best known for his plays Holiday (1928) and The Philadelphia Story (1939), which were both made into films starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
The comedy of remarriage is a subgenre of American comedy films of the 1930s and 1940s. At the time, the Production Code, also known as the Hays Code, banned any explicit references to or attempts to justify adultery and illicit sex. The comedy of remarriage with the same spouse enabled filmmakers to evade this provision of the Code. The protagonists divorced, flirted, or even had relationships, with strangers without risking the wrath of censorship, and then got back together.
A Delicate Balance is a 1973 American-Canadian-British drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Scofield, Lee Remick, Kate Reid, Joseph Cotten, and Betsy Blair. The screenplay by Edward Albee is based on his 1966 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.
High Society is a musical comedy with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Some updated or new lyrics were provided by Susan Birkenhead. The musical is based on Philip Barry's 1939 stage comedy The Philadelphia Story and the subsequent 1956 musical film adaptation, High Society, which features Porter's songs. The musical includes most of the music featured in the movie, along with several songs selected from other Porter musicals. It premiered on Broadway in 1998 and has since been revived. Another musical adaptation of the story had opened in London in 1987 with a different book by Richard Eyre.
Without Love is a 1945 romantic comedy film directed by Harold S. Bucquet and starring Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Lucille Ball. Based on a 1942 play by Philip Barry, the film's screenplay was written by Donald Ogden Stewart.
Helen Hope Montgomery Scott was a socialite and philanthropist who Vanity Fair labeled "the unofficial queen of Philadelphia's WASP oligarchy." She was the inspiration for Tracy Lord in the Philip Barry's play The Philadelphia Story, which was made into the film of the same name and the musical film High Society.
Lenore Lonergan was an American stage and film actress during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
Douglas Walton was a Canadian-born American actor who worked in American films during the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in 60 films between 1931 and 1950.
The Philadelphia Story is a 1959 American TV adaptation of the play The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry. It was directed by Fielder Cook.
