The Philadelphia Story Review
Playwright Philip_Barry reportedly based the central character of The Philadelphia Story on Katharine_Hepburn's brittle public persona, so it should be little surprise that she plays the part so well. The film is a quick-witted translation of the play, essentially a parlor drama with witty, Oscar_Wilde-like banter and glib repartee from nearly every actor. There are moments of rare beauty in the dialogue, even if director George_Cukor rarely uses them to give the film more visual flair or energy. The story both spoofs and plays sly homage to Clifford_Odets' earnest socialist dramas, in which kind-hearted socialites learn to love and admire the working poor -- except that, in The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn turns her back on the working-class hero and returns to her own kind, the aristocratic, debonair, completely irresistible Cary_Grant (who does a wonderful job of being...Cary_Grant). The aristocrats are well-skewered by the delightful screenplay, and James_Stewart is excellent as the cynical but smitten reporter, in a performance that won him his only Academy Award. Donald_Ogden_Stewart's faithful adaptation of the Barry play was also recognized by the Academy. High_Society, the 1956 musical version of this story, was moderately successful, but not in the same classic league. Dan Jardine, Rovi
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