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Either way, The Philadelphia Story made it to the big screen with a dream team

in front of and behind the camera. Besides Hepburn, the film featured the talents of Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, and director George Cukor (about a year after his uncredited work on Gone with the Wind ), with whom Hepburn had worked before. The result is as sparkling, bubbly, effervescent, lively, vivacious (please wait, checking Microsoft Word's Thesaurus), and dazzling as its reputation (thanks, Microsoft Word's Thesaurus). All kidding aside, it's a terrific movie. While, for my money, it doesn't have the hilariously snarky dialogue of some of the other screwball comedies of the era, Philadelphia Story is still frothily written and filled with great performances and a brave plot that never rests.

Two years after her nasty breakup with rakish CK Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), arrogant heiress Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) is ready to marry again. This time, she's traded in CK (who pushed her down violently in the movie's opening scene) for self-made millionaire and professional stuffed shirt George Kittredge (John Howard). This high society marriage is perfect fodder for tabloid scandal sheet Spy Magazine and becomes the unwanted next assignment for frustrated short story writer Macauley Connor (Jimmy Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Ruth Hussey). Infiltrating the wedding won't be easy, but Spy publisher Sidney Kidd has an ace-in-the-hole: CK Dexter Haven. Unbeknownst to Macauley and Liz, CK has agreed to help Spy crash the nuptials in exchange for not publishing a scandalous story about Tracy's father. So, much to her horror, Tracy now must contend with the reappearance of her ex-husband, and Macauley and Liz, who are being passed off as friends of Tracy's overseas brother. But Tracy is not so dumb and soon the layers of lies peel away leaving only a woman whose impossibly high standards apply to everyone but herself.

The Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant troika is all aces. Grant with his sarcasm, Stewart with his everyman earnestness, and Hepburn with her upper crust strength (which gives way to sadness) perform well together and alone. Stewart especially is hilarious in the scene at CK's house, drunk and unable to shake the hiccups. I never considered Hepburn much of a looker, but her slim waist, broad shoulders, and angular face made me rethink my position. She's beautiful. And she's vulnerable. A screwball comedy that has room for a surprisingly bitter pill for its main character to swallow shows the ultimate message Hepburn was trying to convey to her audience in an attempt to revive her career. Message or no, The Philadelphia Story is a smart and snappy movie that was voted one of AFI's Top 100 Films of All Time.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film is presented in full screen. It looks very good for its time, not so good for any other time. The overall picture shows nice sharpness and a confident grayscale. Body outlines and the edges of faces show too much break up (either that, or Mr. Scott is beaming them up to the Enterprise). Black levels were better than I expected: dark and saturated, with good contrast and shadow detail. There is grain and print damage. Admittedly, the damage doesn't manifest itself as big, black splotches or ugly splices. It's more like guitar strings and scratches. But there's a lot. That being said, the picture does hold up very well. It's a sharp and pleasant transfer that belies its 65 years!

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The mono soundtrack features some thin dialogue, but it's always understandable. The musical score holds up very well, while the effects (footsteps, slamming doors, etc.) sounded fine. There is audible hiss in very quiet scenes. The dynamic range is quite limited, but what's presented gets the job done.

Also included are English Closed Captions, and English, Spanish, and French subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Warner really did it up right with the supplements. Not only is there an audio commentary, but there's a second disc containing extras worth watching even if the movie wasn't attached.

Disc One contains an audio commentary by film historian Jeannine Basinger. She's pretty scholarly and sounds as if she's reading off notes, but what she's got to say is always interesting. She digs into the film's stageplay origins and discusses the major casting decisions. In the absence of Stewart, Grant, Hepburn, and Cukor, this is as good as it gets.

Two major documentaries make the DVD worth purchasing. Katharine Hepburn: All About Me - A Self Portrait is a great 1992, Turner Network created documentary hosted by the lady herself. Granted, she doesn't have the best voice (distinctive in movies, bad for voice-overs), but having her tell her own tale is unique and gives the piece a personal feel. All About Me is filled with great photos and old videos, including those of her doctor father and suffragist mother. Hepburn had five siblings, but her older brother Tom hanged himself under mysterious circumstances in 1921. The great love of Hepburn's life was actor Spencer Tracy. They met on the film Woman of the Year , the film she did after The Philadelphia Story. Although he was married (and as a strict Catholic, couldn't divorce) they still carried on a love affair for almost thirty years. All these stories and more are recounted in the documentary, which is fun and informative. The video is full screen and above average. The audio is on par with other cable documentaries. Sometimes you spend your whole life watching your favorite celebrities on screen, not knowing they've had a very interesting and fulfilling personal life as well.

The other big doc is not as good as All About Me , but is still quite watchable. The 54-minute The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor, has lots of great movie clips that hide the fact we don't learn as much about Cukor here as we did about Hepburn in All About Me . Narrated by director Sydney Pollack and written by film critic Richard Schickel, we learn how Cukor became known as a woman's director (eight of his leading ladies were Oscar nominated). The range and quality of his films is only appreciated when thrown at you in condensed form: Dinner at Eight, Gaslight, Gone with the Wind, Adam's Rib, A Star in Born, My Fair Lady , and many others. Although not a prime example of the form, The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor is a good introduction to the great director.

For reasons I can't quite figure out, the disc contains two vintage Shorts . That Inferior Feeling is a nine- minute comedic look at human degradation. Only when you realize it features humorist Robert Benchley do the words “comedic look at human degradation” make sense. The other is a 1940 Technicolor cartoon called The Homeless Flea , about a flea trying to set up shop on a dog.

Trailer fans will love the George Cukor Trailer Gallery . Warner has generously thrown in the coming attractions to Dinner at Eight, Little Women, Gaslight, Adam's Rib, The Women, Pat and Mike, A Star Is Born, Le Girls, My Fair Lady , and The Philadelphia Story. Not all of these trailers look good, but none of them look bad.

Finally, we've got two vintage radio adaptations of the movie. The first is a one- hour radio version that originally aired in July of 1942 and features Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant reprising their roles. The program is hosted by the one and only Cecil B. DeMille. It's a unique way to re- experience The Philadelphia Story , especially when you consider that movies and radio were the dominant media of the time. The audio quality is below average; although the dialogue is understandable, there is a lot of hiss. The second radio show is yet another audio-only version of the movie. Performed in 1947, it once again features Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant. It only runs about thirty minutes and it differs from the movie, understandably condensing and eliminating material.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts