A comedy classic is next up

The 1940s produced some of the all-time great motion pictures; dramas, mysteries, westerns, the early films noirs and comedies. The first of the comedies, in 1940, is also one of the greatest of any year, “ The Philadelphia Story,” which can be seen at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16 as part of the now dubbed M@L series.


Katherine Hepburn leads an all-star cast in a vehicle she brought to the New York stage. She bought the rights for the property, which she sold to MGM on condition that she reprise her stage role as well as choose the director and cast. Hepburn had made some very successful films prior to that and was a highly respected actress. This displayed her shrewdness in the business of film, unrivalled for many, many years.


Hollywood’s George Cukor directed Broadway’s Philip Barry’s theatrical farce about Tracey Lord (Hepburn), a spoiled rich girl recently divorced from C. K. Dexter Haven, played by Cary Grant. To prove she is really lovable, she impetuously becomes engaged, planning an elaborate wedding. Haven shows up at the ceremony with two reporters (James Stewart and Ruth Hussey), whom he has enlisted to ruin the occasion. One of the most famous scenes in the film finds a very drunk Hepburn cavorting with an equally inebriated Stewart at the family mansion’s pool the night before the wedding. That scene and the entire film demands impeccable comic timing from all the actors. Stewart won a Best Actor Academy Award and there were nominations for Hepburn, Hussey and Cukor.


“The Philadelphia Story” is considered one of the best of the slapstick comedies but like truly great comedy, this one has a heart at its center. While laughing there is hope for love to find its way. So join us for love and laughter, popcorn and more on Tuesday evening, Shelter Island Library lower level.