Hepburn’s Comeback: The Philadelphia Story (1940)
“The Philadelphia Story” (1940) marked a turning point in Katharine Hepburn’s film career. Labeled “box office poison” after a string of failed costume dramas at RKO, Hepburn returned home in 1938, seeking to rebuild her life. After a hurricane destroyed her family’s Fenwick home, playwright Philip Barry visited her with a play he had written for her, inspired by a Philadelphia socialite modeled after Hepburn herself. The play ran for an impressive 415 performances.
Hepburn’s boyfriend, Howard Hughes, purchased the film rights for her, allowing her to return to Hollywood on her terms. Rather than going back to RKO, Hepburn signed with MGM studio mogul Louis B. Mayer. “The Philadelphia Story” was the first film where Hepburn had significant control over the casting, choosing George Cukor as the director and securing top billing alongside Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart.
The film follows an aloof American socialite, Tracy Lord, who is about to remarry. Her fiancé, a self-made man, contrasts sharply with her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), who arrives with unsettling news. To appease the editor of Spy magazine, the family must allow a reporter (Jimmy Stewart) and a camerawoman to attend the wedding, or risk a scandalous article about Tracy’s father. The story unfolds over the day and night leading up to the wedding, during which Tracy undergoes significant character growth, exploring her roles as a wife, woman, and human being. The script is witty and sophisticated, with enough philosophical depth to engage the audience.
“The Philadelphia Story” both promotes and contradicts feminist ideals. While some see Tracy’s transformation as a taming, film critics debate this. Although various male characters scold and insult Hepburn’s character, they also love, admire, and respect her. Tracy’s upper-class persona epitomizes Hepburn, contrasting with her alter ego Jo March. Tracy is an intellectual with strong opinions, setting high standards for herself and those around her, unlike the ambitious Jo March.
The film features three main male leads, each with a unique relationship with Tracy. She disdains her father’s infidelity but reconciles with him by the film’s end. Her fiancé worships her but remains constrained by class and gender prejudices. Journalist Macaulay Connor (Jimmy Stewart) falls for Tracy but struggles with his disdain for her lifestyle. Their potential match is thwarted by his snobbishness, not hers, and he is as reformed by the film’s end as she is.
Tracy’s relationship with her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven, is the most complex. He isn’t impressed by her perceived strength and leads the effort to reform her, yet he truly loves her. His argument isn’t that she should be less independent-minded but that she should be more compassionate. He tells her, “You’ll never be a first-class human being or a first-class woman until you have learned to have some regard for human frailty.” His appeal is to her humanity, not an attack on her strength.
The film concludes positively, with Tracy maintaining her dignity. This complexity and resolution make it difficult to see the film as another “Taming of the Shrew.” “The Philadelphia Story” was a significant hit, earning Hepburn an Academy Award nomination and Jimmy Stewart his first Oscar. Hepburn’s career rebounded, allowing her to choose roles that stretched her abilities and leveraged her increasingly feminist persona.
