“The Philadelphia Story” from 1940 is one of the most well-known movies in which actress Katharine Hepburn starred. The impressive cast includes Cary Grant and James Stewart as her two co-stars, both of whom play love interests. The movie was directed by one of her favorite directors, George Cukor. It was based on the play of the same name by Philip Barry, in which Hepburn starred on Broadway. The film succeeded in winning two Academy Awards, receiving four more Oscar nominations, and ridding Hepburn of her label as “box office poison.”
In 1956, the film was remade as the musical “High Society,” with popular musical director Charles Walters at the helm. While the original featured screwball comedy all-stars of the late 1930s, the remake starred some of the greatest musical talents of the 1950s. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, two of the most popular singers of the 20th century, filled the roles originally played by Grant and Stewart of the two men fighting over the socialite. Grace Kelly took over the part of the aloof socialite, in her final screen appearance before becoming Princess of Monaco. Jazz singer and trumpeter Louis Armstrong provided a musical attraction, as did Cole Porter’s original score.
A Society Story
The basic story and much of the dialogue are the same in these two films. Strong-minded socialite Tracy Samantha Lord is preparing for her second marriage, to stuck up nouveau-riche “man of the people” George Kittredge. Tracy’s little sister keeps reminding the bride about her ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven, of whom the young girl is very fond. Meanwhile, Tracy’s mother is divorcing her father, Seth, because of his philandering, but she is already regretting her decision to follow her daughter’s advice and example of how to maintain her self-respect.
Dexter’s mansion is uncomfortably close to the Lord estate, and he plans to stop the wedding because he still loves Tracy. To further complicate matters, Tracy’s Uncle Willie informs his sister-in-law that a reporter and photographer from Spy Magazine have to cover the wedding to prevent a scandalous story about Seth Lord from being published. The reporter, Mike Connor, a handsome but cynical young man, and the photographer, Liz Imbrie, is a spinsterish but attractive woman who obviously has feelings for Mike. On the eve of Tracy’s wedding party, too much champagne at a wild party and a midnight swim with Mike makes Tracy further question her romantic future.
Most of the plot changes made in the second film were minimal, such as changing the sister’s name from Dinah to Caroline, removing the references to an unseen brother named Junius, and eliminating the fact that Liz is divorced. The setting was changed from Philadelphia to Newport, Rhode Island. To add the musical theme, Dexter of the second film was made a singer and popular songwriter, who is hosting the Newport Jazz Festival at his home.
In the 1940 film, the reason for Tracy and Dexter’s divorce was his heavy drinking, for which the perfectionist Tracy had no tolerance. Their relationship was marked by aggression, whereas the later film presents their marriage in a happier light by showing their blissful honeymoon days in a flashback. In addition, the relationship between Tracy and Mike in “The Philadelphia Story” is deeper because they find a connection early in the film discussing Mike’s book, instead of merely being inflamed with alcohol-fueled passion at the party as they are in “High Society.”
Cracking the Code
It’s impossible to analyze a movie made in the 1930s through the ‘60s without considering its place in the timeline of the Motion Picture Production Code, commonly called the Hays Code. This strong set of guidelines for moral film content was technically the law of the land in Hollywood from 1934 to 1968, but it was only strictly enforced for about half that time. Between 1930 and 1934, known as the Pre-Code Era, the Studio Relations Committee failed to hold filmmakers to the Code. Then, when Joseph I. Breen took over (known as the Breen era), he effectively enforced the Code at the Production Code Administration (PCA) from 1934 through 1954; unfortunately, Geoffrey Shurlock slacked off enforcement between 1955 and 1968 as head of the PCA, until it was replaced by the rating system in 1968.“The Philadelphia Story” and “High Society” have strange roles in this timeline. The 1940 film is a Breen-era film, while the 1956 film is a Shurlock-era movie. However, the remake adheres closer to the Code’s principles than the original, which was much more similar to the daring play. For instance, a lot of suggestive dialogue was removed, toned down, or just delivered more innocently in “High Society,” which is probably why ruthless critic Bosley Crowther said it lacked “the snap and the crackle that its un-musical predecessor had.” Grant’s Dexter makes several references to how “virginal” his ex-wife was, whereas Crosby’s Dexter only makes one comment that she expected him to be “high priest to a virgin goddess.” While the word “virgin” was not expressly forbidden by the Code, its usage in the earlier film is more pointed and suggestive than one usually finds in the Breen Era.
Whether you prefer “The Philadelphia Story” or “High Society” is really a matter of choice, since both are excellent films with different qualities. If you like witty screwball comedies with the 1930s style, you’ll prefer “The Philadelphia Story.” If you prefer sophisticated musicals from the 1950s, you’ll like “High Society.”
