The Philadelphia Story (film) - Production

Production

Broadway playwright Philip Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story specifically for Katharine Hepburn, who ended up backing the play, and foregoing a salary in return for a percentage of the play's profits. Co-starring with Hepburn on Broadway were Joseph Cotten as "C.K. Dexter Haven", Van Heflin as "Macauley Connor", with Shirley Booth as "Liz Imbrie".

Hoping to create a film vehicle for herself which would erase the label of "box office poison" that the Independent Theatre Owners of America had put on her after a number of commercial failures (including the classic Bringing Up Baby), Hepburn happily accepted the film rights to the play from Howard Hughes who had bought them for her. She then convinced MGM's Louis B. Mayer to buy them from her for only $250,000 in return for Hepburn having veto over producer, director, screenwriter and cast.

Hepburn selected director George Cukor, whose A Bill of Divorcement (1932) and Little Women (1933) she had acted in, and Donald Ogden Stewart, a friend of Barry's and a specialist at adapting plays to the big screen, as writer.

Hepburn wanted Clark Gable for the Dexter Haven role and Spencer Tracy as Macauley Connor, but both had other commitments. Grant agreed to play the part on condition that he be given top billing and that his salary would be $137,000, which he donated to the British War Relief Society. The pairing of Cukor and Clark Gable would have been problematic in any case, as they had not gotten along on the recent Gone with the Wind, and Cukor had been replaced with Victor Fleming.

The Philadelphia Story was in production from 5 July to 14 August 1940 at MGM's studios in Culver City. The film was shot in eight weeks and came in five days under schedule. At one point, James Stewart slipped in his hiccuping during the drunk scene. Grant turned to him, surprised, and said "Excuse me," then appears to stifle a laugh. The scene was kept and was not reshot.

Stewart had been extremely nervous about the scene in which Connor recites poetry to Tracy and believed that he would perform badly. Noël Coward was visiting the set that day and was asked by Cukor to say something to encourage him. Stewart was also quite uncomfortable with some of the dialogue, especially in the swimming pool scene.

Hepburn performed the dive into the swimming pool entirely by herself without the help from doubles. Forty years later, during the filming of On Golden Pond, Jane Fonda was frightened to do her own dive, to which the annoyed Hepburn responded, "I did my own dive in The Philadelphia Story."

The Philadelphia Story premiered in New York City in the week of 27 December 1940 and it was shown in other selected theatres in December, but MGM had agreed to hold the film's general release until January 1941 in order not to compete with the stage play, which was no longer playing on Broadway, but was touring the country. The film went into general American release on 17 January 1941. The film broke a box office record at Radio City Music Hall by taking in $600,000 in just six weeks.