#44 - The Philadelphia Story

I honestly didn't think I would be able to stay awake through this movie when I pressed play. It was almost 2 a.m. and I was fading fast. I had never seen it before, so I thought the black-and-white movie would put me straight to sleep. But once I got through the opening credits, I was mesmerized by 1940's "The Philadelphia Story," one of the first and most lasting romantic comedies.

Set among the upper echelons of Philadelphia society, the movie follows Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) on the eve of her wedding to her second husband, member of the nouvea riche George Kittredge. A complicated plot twist occurs, and her first husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant) ends up joining forces with a newspaper reporter, Macaulay Connor (James Stewart) to infiltrate Tracy's wedding, get the scoop on all the high-society gossip, and write an eviscerating column about the societal princess's wedding day.

What transpires is a story of drunken foibles and a comedy of manners. Tracy, drunk at the rehearsal reception, gets close to the reporter and is spotted by her groom-to-be. It has the perfect rom-com ending you'd expect from a movie nowadays, but with it being produced 70 years ago, it's clear that this movie was a standard-setter that wrote some new rules for how this genre should be done.

The performances are legendary, which is expected of such legendary performers as Grant, Hepburn, and Stewart. Rounding out the principal cast is the character of Liz Imbrie, a photographer played by Ruth Hussey. She is biting and sarcastic, and by far my favorite character.

What seemed like it would be a bore turned out to be one of the more surprising films I've ever seen, and I look forward to revisiting the story of the ne'er-do-well heiress Tracy Lord time and time again.