Cary Grant Retrospective – The Philadelphia Story Review

Hey guys, this is Rob Paulsen and you're listening

to the Geekcast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to episode 224 of the Cinema Geeks. I am one

of your Cinema Geeks optimists, Solo, and joining

me as usual is the Comic Con series. Dan, hello,

how are you doing? I'm doing good. I'm glad we're

doing this show because it was it was little

touch and go there for a moment Our power went

out internet went out like literally like 30

minutes ago. I'm like, oh no, but came back So

but if I cut off in between you'll know why I

don't know. It's not even stormings I don't know

what's going on. That's the crazy part. Yeah

Here here it could always be storming. So it's

like well, you know, you never know but Yeah,

I'm glad you're able to do this one looking forward

to the conversation today. I have no idea what

direction this is going to take. So I'm intrigued

to say the least. We are continuing our talk

through the retrospective that is the Cary Grant

retrospective. We covered four of his films in

the Hitchcock retrospective and decided that

we had not gotten enough Cary Grant. We hadn't

gotten our fill yet of the actor. So we decided

to continue through his filmography. We've already

talked about bringing out Baby and His Girl Friday,

both of which would be probably considered screwball

comedies, whereas Today's topic we're going to

go more into the, I guess, romantic comedy. This

is a fine line, I guess, that distinguishes one

from the other. We can get into that a little

bit probably during the course of our conversation.

But we are talking about 1940s, the Philadelphia

story. Before we get the lowdown on the film

and all of the details, Dan, just remind people

what your background is or what you came to this

film as far as knowledge of the Philadelphia

story. Came with zero knowledge of the Philadelphia

story. I have not seen this before. I didn't

really know much about it It's like one of those

movies I've heard about of course because it's

Oscar nominated has big stars in it But I really

knew nothing about the plot the background where

it comes from so kind of going into this completely

blind Yeah, I had for once I've seen the film

that you haven't so I like that for I'll take

my moment in this It didn't help me at all. But

once upon a time like I said probably in different

episodes my mom and I were I think it was while

I was home from a break at college or maybe right

after college or maybe towards the last couple

years of high school. I don't remember exactly

when, but we were trying to make our way through

some of the AFI top 100 films that I had not

seen. A lot of them she had seen because she

grew up in that time period and things like that.

Well, I guess not in this time period. She was

born a year after this came out, but we were

making our way through a few of these. And this

is one of the ones that I remember watching and

I remembered Having a positive reaction, but

I could have told you nothing about the film

until I rewatched it this last week so it was

probably 20 to 25 years ago when I saw this so

outside of a vague recollection that I liked

the film at that time I couldn't have told you

anything about it nor did I probably even know

really who Cary Grant and all of these people

were back then I mean I probably did but not

to the point that I do now so it's definitely

interesting so Let's let Dan do the dirty work

here and lay down the foundation for the Philadelphia

story and then we'll come back with our reactions

and thoughts. Don't call it a comeback, she was

doing it for years. The Philadelphia Story is

one of those movies that's own history is as

interesting as the movie itself. After being

labeled box office poison, Katharine Hepburn

left Hollywood and headed to Broadway to work

on the production of The Philadelphia Story.

It became a major hit and Howard Hughes bought

the film rights and worked with Hepburn to make

a film of their choosing. They cast who they

felt would be the best chance of success for

the movie. That cast included Cary Grant, Jimmy

Stewart and Ruth Hussie. Those choices proved

to be correct as all but Grant were nominated

for an Oscar, with Jimmy Stewart winning his

one and only Academy Award. The film was also

a box office success, making over three million

dollars, making it one of MGM's biggest films

of 1940. In the film, Tracy Lord is a wealthy

Philadelphia socialite and she's preparing to

marry George Kittredge, a successful but stuffy

businessman. On the eve of her wedding, her charming

ex -husband CK Dexter Haven reappears, determined

to win her back. Dexter arrives with two reporters,

writer Mike Connor and photographer Elizabeth

Ombre, who are covering the glamorous event for

Gossip Magazine. As reporters mingle with Tracy's

eccentric family, Mike is surprised to find himself

drawn to her wit and vulnerability. Meanwhile,

Dexter quietly shows his general love and support,

in contrast to George, who judges Tracy harshly.

The legacy also led to later adaptations of High

Society, and it is seen as one of the greatest

romantic comedies of all time. Does that remain

to be true? Considering this is Katherine Hepburn's

movie, where does it fit into the career of Cary

Grant? Back to Kevin and myself to discuss. On

a play so first watch for you dan of the philadelphia

story going in a little bit of a different direction

than the previous two films we talked about with

carry grant all those still comedic what was

your initial reaction of the philadelphia story

after watching it. It's interesting you know

going through these retrospectives the hedgecock

one now this one we've watched a lot of really

good movies and this one how i claim like i said

it's going into it not knowing much about it

and. Honestly like it's one i'm kind of still

struggling with with for a lot of reasons You

know it's a movie certainly that is of its time

And i try and not to like judge a movie by 2025

standards when it was made when it when? because

takes Very little time to realize. Oh, this was

definitely a different time You know you get

you know kind of the domestic abuse joke like

right in the beginning like oh wow This is a

not not holding back and there's a lot of that

stuff that may maybe not hold up the greatest

But I was like not trying to hold that necessarily

against it trying to judge a movie for where

it's at And you know, there's so many great stars

in this as we know, of course care grant James

Stewart the only movie they've ever done together

Catherine Hector Yeah. Uh, but I guess, yeah.

And then Hepburn as well. So you, it's a stacked

cast. Like you can see why it might be game so

well regarded. Um, and as I'm watching it though,

and there's elements about it that I, that I

think are, I love the story behind it. Like there,

how this was kind of a play that Catherine Hepburn

Had she kind of for she was looked at for this

came out as box office poison for a while so

she stepped away from hollywood the display and

this was kind of like her big comeback story

and she let a lot of it even help the kind of

getting the cast together but the movie itself.

Just as I'm going through it like there's there's

good laughs there I don't know if I would qualify

it and I saw people qualify it as a screwball

comedy maybe just because we're coming off of

his girl Friday and Coming off of bringing a

baby. It is so much like more tamed than those.

It's not nearly as fast -paced It's not nearly

as like off the wall It's more true to life compared

to those in a lot of ways, but I don't know.

I I wasn't super invested in dynamic of the storyline

you have this kind of marriage going on and you

have kind of like not even a love triangle it's

like a love like octagon it's all these different

people kind of you know involved and it's a lot

of the care like Catherine Hepburn is fantastic

the performances I think are strong although

I think Cary Grant really doesn't Get much to

do compared to like what we've seen them so far.

He's he's really on the sidelines for so much

but I I struggle too with I will say as I look

at this movie. I'm trying to understand like

what is it? Trying to say like what is the point

here? And I and I don't know what was getting

at like I do wonder if it's a movie that gets

hindered by a lot of the Code at the time like

if yeah during when this was made if you had

a divorce They had to get back together. That

was a rule You know if you have people of high

society they had to look be looked upon in positive

light and you feel that here and it's it's strange

and I guess that's I was I don't know I I struggle

with this in a lot of ways. I don't think it's

necessarily poorly made or or bad I just I didn't

really enjoy it though. I guess is my best way

of putting it So i'm struggling with it on a

rewatch And I don't know if I'm struggling with

it in the exact same ways or. I guess I'm still

trying to come to terms with how I feel about

the film, and one thing that I'm struggling with

for sure is trying to decide if watching this

after watching bringing up baby and his girl

Friday. Does. You my viewing of this film, I

don't know if that makes sense, but like. Obviously,

the other two are way more screwball, like they're

way more crazy, fast pace out of this world and

things of that nature. And this is a different

animal, so to speak. And I don't know how that

worked for me watching them in the order that

we watched them, if that makes sense. I don't

like I'm trying to decide if I if we would have

started with the Philadelphia story, what would

have been what would have been my take. Yeah.

And then we watched those other two later. I'd

like to think that I can separate all of the

films and just watch them for what they are and

just like in a vacuum, so to speak. But I guess

that's it's that's not the word. That's not how

brains work. So it's really hard to like separate

that. And then the other thing granted, like

you said, it seemed like a lot of not only was

there the Hays code that's going on during this

time, but reading up a little bit on this film,

which makes sense. They talk about how there

was like a kind of rush of or rash of these types

of films that are dealing with the topic of divorce

or the topic of temporarily going away from your

significant other or your husband and wife and

then coming back to them, those types of things,

which I hadn't even really thought of. And then

as I'm thinking back, it's like, well, OK, bringing

up baby, he's leaving his fiance and, you know,

having this this this playing that leads to something

else. Got it. His Girl Friday. We have a divorce

that ends up, you know, she's getting remarried

and then, you know, the first husband comes back

into the picture and then we get almost that

exact same plot line here. where she's getting

remarried and he's involved. But then there's

also now a third person involved. So it's like

we're getting all that. And it's. I agree with

what you said. I'm wondering if also part of

it, because we've kind of been focused on Cary

Grant in a way is. Skewed by, like you said,

he's kind of not 100 % relegated to the sideline,

but he's not nearly what he is in the two films

we've just watched like. He is front and center

in those two films. And it's going to be interesting

to kind of go through the rest of this series

to see like what kind of roles he plays in all

the rest of the films, because we didn't necessarily

set out to watch only films that he was like

the lead or star in, although he's Perry Grant.

So he's going to be a star probably in most films.

But we were just looking at films that he appeared

in. So it'll be interesting to see if we have

other ones where he's kind of, you know, third

or fourth. I mean, he does get top billing for

this film. But he made that happen. So yeah,

you know, you could say he's third. Well, it's

interesting because he gets top billing. But

in reality, he's probably third on the list as

far as like screen timelines and things like

that. I'm just completely guessing. That's just

I have nothing to back that up. And you have

Jimmy Stewart, who is third on the billing, but

gets the Oscar for the best actor. for this film,

so it's kind of an interesting, not only is there

this like, it's not a triangle, you're right,

but not only for lack of a better term, this

triangle of love story going on in the film,

but then it also seems like there's a triangle

of who gets credit for what as actors in this

film as well, you know what I mean? And I did

not realize, I was... I guess dumb to the fact

that this was Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart's

only role together. I just figured that there

was probably other films that they appeared in.

This is the fourth time that we've seen Cary

Grant and Hepburn together and the second one

we've covered bringing up baby being the other.

He's also on holiday with her and then an earlier

film called Sylvia Scarlett. So they are there

together a number of times. Yeah, I'm really

struggling with like the order that we watched

it and trying to decide if that's influencing

it. I'm also trying to think back 25 years to

why I had a positive reaction the first time.

outside of maybe it was just something that I

hadn't seen before and it didn't necessarily

fit into the, I think sometimes people, especially

younger folks, look at older movies and think

it's gonna be a certain way, whether they think

it's gonna be boring or they think it's gonna

be something they can't relate to or something

like that. And maybe my, maybe I was like 17

or 18, I don't know. Maybe that was refreshing

when I saw this and was like, well, this is actually

like something I can follow and it's... Got some

humorous parts and things of that nature, but

I yeah, do you think it? It's at all weird to

watch this one after those other two that are

way more intense It's very much a different speed

Yeah, it kind of is bringing a baby and his girlfriend

a kind of in the same vein and in style of execution

Helps us both both of those are Howard Hawks

and this is certainly a left gear I think even

without that I think I would still have A lot

of this the similar issues because I was able

to eventually kind of settle in to like what

this was. Okay, this is this is going a different

way definitely more romantic con, you know, kind

of a combination of the romance in comedy and

I again, I think that I struggle just looking

at kind of like Catherine Hepburn's character

and like her Progression and you certainly feel

bad for her in some ways like it feels like especially

at the end It's like this is just like gasoline

101 where she's led to believe like she did something

when she didn't necessarily do it And the people

are just not being like it's it's it's a strange

Feeling but I also feel like in a lot of ways.

She still has that kind of take charge Element

of her character and like I said, I do think

it's interesting that before this she was looked

at she was labeled as box office poison because

of She was an actress that was more You know,

she didn't fit that stereotypical role. She I

guess was seen as more kind of she stood up for

herself a bit more I guess and You see that here

and she's certainly like a broken individual

and this is has a lot of broken people but I

feel like it ends up being Very forgiving of

all their transgressions and a lot of was like

everyone kind of gets out of this unscathed unscathed

Yeah, it's like it wraps it up with a with a

bow at the end. That's that's a little too neat

and pretty yeah, and you know when there's that

now like a bite I think really hurts it because

Again, that's where I'm like, I'm trying to alter

like what is like what is ultimately the point

here? It's almost like the point here is like

the bad guy is the guy that like you had to work

himself You know was started at the bottom worked

himself up. He ends up being the bad guy and

everyone else that kind of like, you know that

was born into their into their situation is seen

as like You know that they're in the right which

is a weird weird thing. Although I guess jimmy

stewart's there is meant to be more of the uh,

you know the everyman, uh, and I guess that's

also what we remember way back when we did vertigo

we mentioned like how the The like the romantic

dynamic dynamic there wasn't didn't work for

us and I got similar feelings here like Jimmy

stewart and catherine heparin like I think catherine

heparin tells a lot more but I never saw either

of them having much chemistry so like there's

that dilemma of like okay like oh who do you

want them to get together like who's who you

know that that's you want that tension there

and i was like i just hope all these people just

leave each other alone i think that's kind of

the best i felt bad for um you know ruth uh yeah

Or the photographer like cuz she's like the only

innocent person she seems like the only likable

person because it's like get away from all these

people But I don't know if that's that's where

I just I struggled with it. So like, okay Well,

it's it's interesting to be in a couple points

that you brought up number one. I is Jimmy Stewart

just a hard person to pull off the romantic angle

in a film or I mean, I haven't seen like all

of his films, but it seems like we've seen that

a couple times where it's like I think it I think

he works and it's a wonderful life. I think I

think it works. Yeah. So that's true. That's

true. I also was not prepared for how young Jimmy

Stewart is in this one. Yes, because we just

came off of, you know, some of his Hitchcock

novels, which are like 15, 20 years later. But

I was like, holy cow, he's young in this film.

It's like he's 30. third year You know did Katherine

Hepburn end up with Jimmy Stewart? I was like

no she didn't oh she ended up with the guy that

she was like Engaged to her whatever. I was like

now. She's like wait. What I was like yeah She

just ends up with Cary Grant. She's like what?

How why I don't understand so it is interesting.

It's like I get that he's like trying to you

know potentially win her back and things of that

nature, but They sure don't spend a whole lot

of time developing it from her angle as far as

why she is willing to go back in that situation.

And then it also makes you question like. It

comes out right out of the gate and she, like

you said, has the domestic abuse where he just

like throws her to the ground and then they decide

to make like some comedy jokes out of it with

like the little sister or don't say socket. Yeah,

yeah. Yeah. And all this other stuff. And it's

like, how was that angle even important? Like,

I feel like you can take that completely out.

You can just have some dialogue that like references

that. They didn't get along similar to like what

we got in his Girl Friday. And it doesn't change

anything like it's so it's like it's a weird

choice to like have him do that, because then

it makes it even more messy. The fact that she

just goes back to him with little to no Like.

Yeah, development of that. So that's kind of

rough, like they spend the time developing her

and Jimmy Stewart. Like that's granted, they're

both drunk off their butts, but like that's where

they spend them. By the way, I think they both

played excellent drugs. Yeah, like I said, I

think all the performances here are really good,

even if like the chemistry wasn't perfect. And

part of that, I think, was purposeful because,

yeah, you don't want them to be together. Jimmy

Stewart's character is a bit lost. He's kind

of not be made it into that mature level yet.

Right. I guess kind of has in some ways, even

though he's kind of a predictive jerk that is

just trying to drive her crazy. But yeah, I feel

like sometimes, though, like when we get those

when we get characters that are, quote unquote,

like drunk or whatever in films that sometimes

it gets like it gets overdone. Like the people

are like going to bananas or it's like they have

trouble pretending to be drunk when they're sober

type deal. And or, you know, obviously we saw

Cary Grant play a drunk role in North by Northwest.

Right. And it's played up a little bit more on

the comedic side, whereas this one is doing it.

Yes, it's funny. And yes, there's a lot of moments

during those scenes that are. Comedic, but I

feel like it's more believable that it's natural.

Not being played for comedy, but it's funny because

of what just naturally what's happening. So I

did appreciate that part of the film Yeah, I

agree. I think that and there are some really

good community bets in it as well. Like there's

the funny joke about like I'm asking for the

typewriter forget the exact line, but there are

some good back and forth moments here and there

Yeah, so I do think there are some strong comedic

bits like you pointed out and I think the cast

does work well together and then they feed off

each other pretty well like the chemical chemistry

is a group is strong and It does feel like a

movie though. That was a play it and it's very

stagnant. Yes, it's not it's not moving very

often it in Kind of like there's no momentum.

That's kind of the thing too. It felt like there

was even the like the wedding I'm like wait there

That kind of just happened. I didn't even know

that they were already like it just kind of comes

out of nowhere and That that was one of the issues

too. It's just like things just kind of happened

because they have to nothing kind of moves from

the moment from one moment to the next all that

organically and That kind of I think that's where

a lot of my disengagement came from too. It's

like you had a It didn't kind of bring you in

it kind of just went from one moment to the next

in a rather like a hazard manner it almost reminds

me of like Something that you would have seen

like a TV. I'm not trying to didn't this may

sound overly harsh But like if you had a romantic

comedy like a sitcom and like this was the this

was the movie That they produced for the like

out of the sitcom because the sitcom was popular

then they're like, oh we need a movie for it

And like they threw some stuff together. I feel

like there needed to be like. Like there was

no momentum like you're saying. Like it didn't.

It just seemed like it was put together to be

put together in a way I don't. There's not. I

mean, granted, there's acts like there's a beginning,

middle and end and all that type of stuff. I'm

not saying that it doesn't have the structure

of a story and stuff like that, but you're right.

There's no, there's not much of a crescendo.

There's not much of a build. It's a little quick

with the switch at the end. and it almost is

anti -climactic where it's just like, oh, I guess

that's what we're doing here and now the movie's

over. So I didn't feel much of a build for anything.

I want to get your take too because I think we

both said that, you know, Cary Grant doesn't

get quite as much as we're used to him getting.

I don't know if we think that he should have

got more or not, but just like that's what his

role was. Two things that I found interesting

on that. Number one, I did read that he was given

the choice of which role he wanted to play. Yeah,

and he won't he went with the abuser so I'm just

And the and though it's it it's interesting that

he didn't go with the Character that gets the

most like pizzazz out of it He did go for the

I guess maybe he wanted to be the character that

gets the girl in the end I don't know but he

had his choice and then there was also an interview

with the director I believe it was and he was

talking about the film and talking about the

cast and you know saying how A lot of people

say that this was a fairly easy film to make

like it only took eight weeks of shooting I guess

there was very few retakes the guy that gets

the Donald Ogden Stewart who gets the Oscar for

screenplay says it was like the Easiest Oscar

one in history because he hardly had to do anything

He just listened to the play and like wrote some

at during the play and he was like that I'm getting

an Oscar for this But the director, I know, made

some type of comment about how, you know, there

was all these awards given out and we had this

like great cast and he's like, Hepburn gets a

nomination, Jimmy Stewart gets a nomination,

Ruth Hussey gets a nomination and he's like,

Cary Grant's the one person out of the group

that doesn't get a nomination and his quote was,

and he's the best of the, he was the best of

the bunch, which I found that was interesting

from coming from the director that he considered

Grant like the best of the bunch, but maybe just

from a... Acting standpoint a talent standpoint

because I don't see where he would have gotten.

He doesn't get enough here. I don't think to

warrant Award nomination, but He may maybe has

like the most command of his role. Yeah most

comfortable because he He he's very natural.

He fits a role pretty well. Like he yes that

conniving We've seen shades of his other Like

I think so yeah, I is I do agree It's not the

most showy performance and I think that kind

of makes sense because I think Jimmy Stewart

as an actor kind of fits that role better because

he He had He can play that every man a bit more

like if you have a character that's supposed

to be your average individual and someone that's

meant to be or like the El the individual of

high society and you have right If you were to

switch them, I think it would have come out a

little strange, right? so I think I think it

was the right choice even if they didn't give

him it didn't give him as much to do but I think

what he does he does well he's just He's the

one that is kind of poking and prodding the one

that is kind of pushing things to happen and

just just watch it and then stepping back and

watching the chaos. So, yeah, he's very much

an observer in this, which is something I think

Cary Grant does really well. Like he when you

see him in scenes like he's really good at reacting.

And I think his reactions go a long way in a

lot of these scenes. He also is very like intent,

like he's very. careful to be. In the moment,

even when he's not in the moment, like he's if

you watch his eyes and his body language. Like

he he's paying attention to what's going on.

You know what I mean? Sometimes you see somebody

when it's not their time to speak or it's not

their time to do stuff. You don't 100 % get like

them selling the fact that they're in that moment,

and I feel like he does a really good job of

like. Being a presence even when he's not speaking.

And paying attention and kind of being a part

of whatever's going on and he's very good at

the little side comments and like the little

like he is almost like better. Being able to

just interject some ad lib lines or some little

one liners here and there that it's kind of fun

like I almost always want a little bit more of

that but you know we have had some films where

he gets a lot of that so like that's good too.

Gary Cooper made a comment to that I thought

was kind of interesting he was quote unquote

upset that they. cast grant in the film that

maybe I don't know if he was genuinely upset

if he was just making kind of a comedic quote

or whatever, but he he said Carrie Grant shouldn't

have got the role. I should have Carrie Grant's

too pretty and nobody would believe that Hepburn

would have thrown him out in the first place.

So it should have been me because I'm ugly enough

where it would have been believable or something

along those lines. So I thought that was kind

of kind of funny as well. Obviously, this wasn't

like you mentioned that, you know, Katherine

Hepburn gets a lot of say in this like part of

her deal with like owning the rights to the Howard

Hughes bought the rights but then gives them

to Katherine Hepburn and she sells them but has

some say in like the director or the writer or

different people and I think she got like some

able to suggest like some of the casting and

things like that and I did read that you know

she wanted Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy to play

these roles first but they were both busy with

other commitments so then I you know, ended up

being Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart after the

fact. I don't know about enough about Clark Gable

and Spencer Tracy to know how that works. Obviously,

Clark Gable would be playing the Cary Grant role

and Spencer Tracy, the Jimmy Stewart role. So

that was kind of interesting as well. And then

I do find Cary Grant just he is a fascinating

person like he's had some interesting things

in like the negotiation of his contracts. And

I don't know if it's him doing it. If it's somebody

I don't know how, you know, their agents, if

they had agents back then, I don't know much

about classic Hollywood. But, you know, we talked

about like in one of the Hitchcock films where

he had it, like wrote in that he gets so much

more money if it was after, you know, the the

time period, which it was like all after. So

he made like a ton of money in this one. He demanded

top billing and one hundred and thirty seven

thousand dollars, which was a lot at that time

period. That's the equivalent of like two point

eight million, I think maybe five years ago.

So he demands like all this money for it and

then he just donates it all. He they said he

at least everything I read he donates the entire

salary to like the British War Relief Fund. So

like he made this big stink that he needed to

be top billing to get all this money just so

he could donate it all, which is like, I don't

know. I just find him a fascinating human being.

So, yeah, another thing I wanted to get your

take. I know I have a feeling obviously based

on what we've talked about, how you're going

to feel. But this film, I believe, like you talked

about, probably has 100 percent, you know, Rotten

Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes named this the best

romantic comedy of all time and AFI on one of

their list of top 100s when they were doing the

genres had this number five on the all -time

romantic comedy list Do you feel that those are

rankings too high for what you? Observed and

watched with the Philadelphia story. Oh I certainly

want to put them like if I'm ranking romantic

comedies on that list I think you know the movies

we've done already. I mean we Say I would rank

bringing up baby and his girl Friday a lot higher

than either of it then then this But again, I

don't know in the sense of like this is certainly

more on the romance side So if you're looking

for more of the romantic angle like this spends

more time there, but personally for me, it's

I I couldn't Do you know would you I don't have

that admiration yeah, no, I get that Do you have

any guesses as to what AFIs number one romantic

comedy was on that? Top ten. It happened one

night. It happened one night was number three.

OK, got another guess. That was good. You got

like a you got one of something that was in the

top three, just like that. Well, it's like it's

the you know, it beats Harrison Cain. What like

give me a hint of decade or the number one film

is from 1931. You want. Starring Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie Chaplin. Yeah, city lights. Yep. City

lights is number one. The second film is from

1977. Any hall is any hall and then we have it

happen one night. I'll give you number four is

Roman Holiday from 1953 with Audrey Hepburn.

Then number five is the Philadelphia story. There's

two films on this list, one from 1989 and one

from 1993. Oh, actually one from 1987. Any guesses

on those three? Harry met Sally. Yep. That is

number six Pretty woman. Nope. I have 1987 starring

Share Oh Moonlighting is that what it's not moving?

Yeah, and then number 10 on the list is from

1993 93 that's not one pretty woman, right? I

try to know Holds That's not he got me. What

is that other one? Is it Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan?

Oh, I don't remember them. I can't think of that.

I can only think of he got mail, but that's not

the one before that. You have the right to people

and that's the same type of thing that I would

be thinking through. It's Sleepless in Seattle.

See, of course. Yeah, which I've never seen.

So there you go. Okay. And then the only other

two on the top 10 would have been Harold and

Maude from 1971. And interesting. Number seven

is also a George Cukor film who's the director

of the Philadelphia story. He also directed Adam's

rib, which also has Katherine Hepburn and this

time Spencer Tracy. So I haven't seen that one.

That one's from 1949. So those were the AFI's

top 10 romantic comedies of all time that was

done, I believe back in 2000, maybe. Is when

they did all those? We did it. Yeah, like 100

and then they redid it again. They did one and

then they did it again. I think it was the wrong

time. Yeah. OK, so interesting how everybody

thinks about. I guess it depends on if you're

going to put more of an emphasis on the romantic

part or the comedy part or like how you balance

those two things out. I definitely would not

probably put. Philadelphia story like you said

higher than some of the other ones that we have

talked about but Other thoughts that you had

about the Philadelphia story other things that

worked or didn't work for you that you haven't

got a chance to mention yet I didn't want to

reiterate that just how good Katherine Hepburn

in this is in this because I think like the best

part of it is her character because there are

so many there are many layers her character there's

she's got a lot she has to do she's pretty much

in every scene and She has to kind of ride this

line of like Being likable being you know, but

also kind of broken and having like, you know

you see and when she has to be more dramatic

even if the script is a bit maybe quick and it's

pacing like she sells it like it feels like she

has to go through so many different emotions

in a very short period of time and It really

remarkable you see why she was the star she was

and you know, of course, you know she worked

on that she wasn't she was she did the Broadway

play and You know, it was a role, you know made

for her and it it's really strong and so I I

did want to mention just how strong she is. I

know this is a Cary Grant retrospective, but

gotta give her flowers as well. So I thought

this wanted to end. We didn't talk about her,

but I did think one of the funniest parts of

the movie was Virginia Wielder as her younger

sister. She certainly was that comic relief.

You talked about... Kind of a sitcom feel or

character did kind of feel like, you know, maybe

that was kind of a. Inspired a lot of sitcoms

to kind of take a character like that, because

you feel like you always get that spunky. Little

kid that is wise above their years and you see

that in so much and I don't know if this was

the first person movie to do it or what have

you but I thought she was at least good and It

gave a lot of really some of the best moments

of the movie so almost reminded me a little bit

of the sister in the Hitchcock film that we watched

with Goodness gracious the one that was like

the picture of not suburbia, but like of the

opposite of suburbia the rural town setting where

the two Charlies. Suspicion? No, shadow of a

doubt. The little girl in that family. Almost.

Yeah, yeah. That type of vibe. Yeah, definitely.

Also, Hepburn does her, I guess her own quote

unquote stunts in this film. When she jumps in

the pool, that's actually her and all of that.

So she wasn't afraid to do that. Interesting

hadn't read this beforehand. So I'm kind of just

reading this as we're going through. And it's

just an odd take, but this is from one of the

cameramen from the film. And his quote is, everyone

had enormous fun on the movie. The days and nights

were sweltering that summer of 1940, but nobody

cared. Carrie got along very well with Kate Hepburn.

She enjoyed him pushing her through a doorway

in one scene. So she fell over backwards so much

that she had him do it to her over and over again.

And I'm like this just shows you the difference

and I guess there was a scene in which she had

to throw Carrie out of the door of a house with

bag and baggage and she did it so vigorously

he fell over and was bruised as he stood up looking

rueful Kate said that'll serve you right for

trying to be your own stuntman. So apparently

they got along well and they didn't give to two

thoughts about the domestic abuse at the beginning

of the film. Yeah, different times. So that's

kind of crazy. But yeah, you can say that a lot

because you have drunk driving. You have like,

you know, open, you know, do you have a plot

that hinges upon a rich bureaucrat and not. but

not that he's cheating on his wife like that's

that's that's the story rooting for it's like

it is a definitely a different time so there's

no Philadelphia and this whatsoever not one shot

of liberty liberty bell on what um only the opening

the opening uh the text in the opening right

isn't that from where they do the declaration

of independence yes yes sure that's true that's

it that's it yeah i guess this is based on like

an actual like socialite splash like person that

was like the Catherine, I know it's written for

Catherine Hepburn, but they had like an actual

person in mind that they were doing the writing

and whatnot. And I think they said something

about the fact that they were going to try to

film it at their estate or their mansion or something

like that. But they didn't end up doing that

either. So but that was kind of an interesting

little note, too. There's obviously a lot of

trivia on a film that has been around since 1940

and has definitely been. reviewed in lots of

different ways over the generations. Mostly positive,

but I can kind of see some of it. But like you

said, I think my takeaway at the end, as I kind

of struggle to decide how this fits into the

other films that we've watched of Cary Grant's

is kind of what you said, like what's the point

ultimately? And where is the build, the momentum,

the... You know crescendo and some of that stuff

that you kind of hope for in a romantic movie

comedy like especially even when we're thinking

about some of those ones that we listed off I

think of like when Harry met Sally or any romantic

comedy that we've seen like some of them are

like a dime a dozen or whatever, but There seems

to be more of an arc in those and to me that

was what the main thing that was missing here

was if she's gonna end up with Cary Grant I need

more of an arc between those two characters and

a more of a rationale for how they end up together.

I feel like Without that. It seems like we're.

Just along for a weird ride that doesn't necessarily

like it's it. It reminds you of like a story

that somebody would tell you about an experience

they had, and I don't think I would. I would

hear that story and say like, hey, this would

make a great movie. Because because it's like

missing the bang like it's missing the the gusto.

But what are your final thoughts on it? Yeah,

I think it even like. She's always she has a

lot of decisions to make in this and like even

when she decides to break things off with her

fiance like that that moment just was I mean

a bit too clean and almost like it felt like

there needed to be a bit more there and like

I said, I think that's the biggest issue is that

I think these are characters that in a lot of

ways do some really like awful things and And

are so especially even like Jimmy Stewart's character

who's supposed to be the everyman like the way

like he's kind of like so dismissive of With

house his character and and but like there's

and there's no resolution there and I get maybe

that's kind of the point it's not as trying to

show that life isn't that clean but then at the

end of the movie a kind of Kind of reverts against

that and everything kind of comes together far

too quickly So I do think there was power I don't

know how much this is in line with the play and

I wonder if the play was able to maybe Give us

a bit more But I don't know like it and like

I said, like you mentioned maybe it's just be

coming off of the other films It's changing direction

as quickly as possible. But like I said, I do

think ultimately like I I walked away with even

trying to you know not allow you know the process

of time to make me like overly judge it but even

without that I just I was just disappointed and

just ultimately did not really enjoy this so

I also find it I also find it weird like it's

like the director wanted to do a swerve at the

end but I don't feel like you can do swerves

when it comes to relationships like You have

to build it to a point where it's believable.

You can't just throw a curveball at the end and

be like, oh, you thought he was going to be with

that guy, but she's with this guy. And that doesn't

work when it takes time for us to believe in

the relationship. I don't know. That's ultimately

what leaves me wondering. Because it sets it

all up that she's not getting married to her

fiance because of Jimmy Stewart. That's how they

set that up. Whether it's just Jimmy Stewart

is the window to her to let her know that she's

not really into that guy. I guess you can go

that route. But like I said, I feel like it just

is too quick and too clean at the end for me.

And then, like you said, there's a lot of. Ultimately.

Bad decisions that don't have consequences. Yeah,

for the most part, which. Like even like Cary

Grant, like his. He everything he does is basically

like a lie and. kind of just does gaslighting

and kind of manipulates everyone and at the end

it's like, oh, I never have saw a reason why

them getting together at the end is a positive

for either of them. This feels like the next

day it's gonna be a replay of where the movie

began, so. Yeah, absolutely. I would be interested

because I heard like there was an interview with

like Julia Roberts. There's a lot of people who

love this movie, which is fine Yeah, he says

that it should never be remade because it's perfect.

But I don't know like I could see Like I said,

I think there are the bones of something really

interesting here and maybe without the the Oversay

of the you know the code that you can maybe get

around some of those issues So I don't know would

you be open for them to kind of take this and

remake it I know they they obviously did the

in a way musical the musical way back after this

and stuff, right? Yeah, like we talked about

you take all the domestic abuse out we don't

need that You make it some other reason why they're

not together and then you do something there

has to be something between when they're having

their drunk sequence and she's realizing maybe

that she's not meant for the other guy. There

has to be a whole nother act then to me that

like makes her go from Jimmy Stewart to Cary

Grant or there has to be something like so. I

mean, I think there's the bones there for for

possibly something. And obviously, you know,

you can throw different types of comedy in there

to make it work. It's just I don't know. Like

I said, it's hard coming off of such fast paced

comedy to also have this like as a slower. this

is burn comedy type thing but I have learned

one thing as we've covered Cary Grant is that

it seems like he and maybe this works because

the characters in these movies do the same thing

but as an audience he's done, we've seen him

play some roles that aren't like the greatest

human beings in the world yet it's really hard

not to like him he really is Yeah, he's really

like smooth and he's really likable as a as a

performer. And so even when he's playing these,

like we talked about with suspicion, like he's

playing, he's lying the entire film. Like there's

nothing good about him for most of that film.

And it's like, hey, I still I still going to

give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he

can turn this around. It's like, well, Perry

Grant has that going for him, I guess. And we'll

have to see if that continues in our next film

when we talk about 1941's Penny Serenade, which

unlike this film, he was Actually nominated for

an Academy Award for that one. So like we do

every time let's give them a brief glimpse of

what to expect Dan What is your history or knowledge

of the 1941 film Penny Serenade? I Like this.

I honestly know even less about penny serenade

than I do the Philadelphia story. I've never

watched it I don't know if I heard much about

it before we started doing this retrospective.

So I'm looking forward to it because I know Literally

nothing. I don't even know if it's a comedy or

if it's more, you know where falls into that

line I'm assuming it's a little bit of both because

that's what Cary Grant would did did back in

the day But yeah, I'm looking forward to it because

I'm wondering like what about that role Gave

him the Oscar and right is it so is he doing

something extra special to deserve it? Or is

it more of those like bright place right time?

So here's to see it's directed by George Stevens

starring Cary Grant and Irene done who we've

heard that name a couple different times as we

were talking about some of the Hitchcock stuff

and it's listed as a melodrama Dan so we'll have

to see how that plays out but it's also got Cary

Grant making a very much of a kind of funny look

on the poster so it's hard to see him not adding

some type of comedy in here so like you I know

nothing about Penny Serenade other than the picture

of the poster that I'm looking at and a couple

names that are attached to it. So I'm definitely

interested to see what his Academy Award role

looks like compared to the other, what now seven

films that we've seen him in. So that'll be very

interesting as we make our way through this.

So Dan, how are ways that people can reach out

to you if they have any questions or comments

about your take on the Philadelphia story? So

if you love it and you hate me now, you can reach

me at comic con tears on all the social media

platforms Also, I guess I should throw out our

letterbox because I never talked about that but

I'm on I'm at the only social media site that

I'm not Comic con tears its letterbox for a movie

revolt so we can find me there, too All right.

Yeah, you can check my letterbox out as well.

Just search out Kevin 1981, I think is my screen

name or Kevin Thompson, either one. The other

thing I forgot to throw out of the introduction

is I'm going through a weird phase of movie watching.

So we're watching all these Hitchcock and Cary

Grant films and different things like that. And

I decided to pair that up with going through

all six Final Destination films. So it's really

weird out of me going from one to the other and

back and forth. I will say that much so. That's

an interesting journey for sure. You can also

reach out to me at the social medias at Optimus

Solo. You can search out the show name Cinema

Geekcast or the network, the Geekcast Radio Network.

So that does it for this episode. Tune in next

time for another chance to listen to more of

the Cinema Geeks.