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.

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.

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.

DVD Features:

Region 1
2 - Disc Keep Case

Disc 1: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
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

Distributor Notes: Sophisticated romantic comedy achieved its pinnacle in this timeless classic voted one of the Top 100 American Films of all time by the American Film Institute. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Best Actor Academy Award winner James Stewart star in the masterful comedy (directed by George Cukor) about a faultfinding, bride-to-be socialite who gets her comeuppance. (Writer Donald Ogden Stewart won the film's second Oscar for adapting Philip Barry's play.)

Source: Warner Home Video

Cary Grant: American actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Katharine Hepburn: Oscar-winning American actress, ON GOLDEN POND, THE PHILADEL
James Stewart: Oscar-winning actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, VERTIGO, HARVEY
Ruth Hussey: American actress, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
John Howard: American actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Roland Young: British character actor, TOPPER, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
John Halliday: American actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Virginia Weidler: American child actress, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Henry Daniell: British actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Lionel Pape: British actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
Rex Evans: British actor, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

George Cukor: Oscar-winning American director, MY FAIR LADY

Joseph L. Mankiewicz: American director

Donald Ogden Stewart: American Screenwriter, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)

Franz Waxman: Film composer

Frank Sullivan: Film editor not actor.

"Stewart won an Oscar, as did the screenplay, which crackles."
"Stewart won his first Oscar as idealistic hack Macaulay Connor."
"[A] near-perfect 1940 adaptation of Philip Barry's stage hit, which revved up Hepburn's career."
Ranked #12 in Uncut's Best DVDs Of 2005 -- "Katharine Hepburn's baby. The play was written for her, and she picked the director, George Cukor, and her co-star..."