Tag Archives: The Philadelphia Story

10 Films For The Week (9/14/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome To The Dark Side Of Life

Ted K (2021) is a film about Ted Kaczynski, the overeducated loser who moved into a Montana cabin and who sent people bombs because of …. reasons, I guess?  I know that Ted had a big manifesto and that there are people who claim to have found some sort of genius in his ramblings but truth be told, Ted was a second-rate philosopher who has been embraced by third-rate people.  This film features Sharlto Copley at Ted and it takes an honest and unbiased look at him, his beliefs, and his crimes.  If you’re wondering how we got to where we are, this is one of the films to watch.  The film is on Tubi.

River’s Edge (1987) features Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, and Ione Skye as teenagers who learn that one of their friends (Daniel Roebuck) has murdered his girlfriend and who …. do nothing.  Eventually, one of them does go to the police and finds himself being targeted by his former friends.  Meanwhile, Roebuck hides out with a one-legged biker (Dennis Hopper).  This is a disturbing and well-acted true crime film.  We’ve all seen a lot of examples of bystander syndrome over the past few years.  This week, I’ve wondered why so many people, on that North Carolina bus, just walked away after Iryna was stabbed.  This is film examines an early example of that tendency.  It’s on Tubi.

Blue Caprice (2013) was a film made about the DC snipers.  It didn’t really get the attention that it deserved when it was initially released, largely due to the fact that 1) it starred Isaiah Washington and 2) it was such a disturbing movie that I imagine a lot of people had a hard time recommending it.  But if you want to see a film about how a madman can find ways to justify his amoral behavior, this film provides a lot of insight.  It’s on Tubi.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) tells the true story of an infamous social experiment from the early 70s.  It examines just how quickly people will lose themselves in a situation.  While the students playing the prisoners feel as if they are literally fighting for their lives, the students playing the guards enjoy their power trip and never seem to consider that things are going too far.  This film features a great performance from Michael Angarano, as the most enthusiastic of the guards.  It’s on Tubi.

Finally, Christine (2016) tells the story of Christine Chubbuck, the Florida news anchor whose on-air suicide partially inspired the film, Network.  Christine is not a happy film but it does feature a great performance from Rebecca Hall.  It’s on Tubi.

Welcome To The Ligher Side Of The Life

Good news!  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) exists!  This film, one of the funniest ever made and definitely one of my go-to comforts, is currently streaming on Tubi!

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) remains the ultimate teen fantasy.  Actually, it’s also probably the ultimate adult fantasy.  Everyone deserves a day off.  Ferris Bueller skips school and manages to fit a month’s worth of events into just 9 hours.  We should all be so lucky.  I love this film.  Alan Ruck deserved all the Oscars in the world.  The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

Burn After Reading (2008) never seems to get the respect that it deserves.  The Coen Brothers followed up the award-winning No Country For Old Men with an absurdist CIA comedy in which no one learned anything and nothing was accomplished.  It’s hilarious, as both a film and a concept.  John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, J.K. Simmons, David Rasche, and George Clooney are all wonderfully used.  Burn After Reading is currently on Prime.

Odds and Ends

12 Angry Men (1957) is a true rarity, a classic that everyone agrees is a classic.  Not only are all 12 of the angry men perfectly cast (Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marhsall, Robert Webber, and all the rest …. I could go on for paragraphs about how brilliantly cast this film is) but it’s also still a thought-provoking look at the justice system.  Personally, I think the kid was guilty.  And I think that the men all deciding that the woman was too vain to admit that she wore glasses is a perfect example of why women should serve on juries.  Henry Fonda talked them into letting a murderer loose!  It’s still a great film though.  It’s streaming on Tubi.

The Philadelphia Story (1940) features James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn.  It also features a lot of great lines, a lot of funny moments, and — most importantly — Jimmy Stewart singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow!  What more could you ask for?  It’s streaming on Tubi.

Scenes That I Love: Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this date, 118 years ago, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  She would go one to become a cultural icon, a performer who survived being labeled box office to poison to eventually become one of our most acclaimed actresses.  Hepburn was a total of four acting Oscars over the course of her career, a record that has yet to be topped.

Today’s scene that I love comes from 1940’s The Philadelphia Story and it features Katharine Hepburn acting opposite another one of my favorite performers, the great James Stewart.

Scenes I Love: Jimmy Stewart Sings Somewhere Over The Rainbow in The Philadelphia Story

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes from the 1940 film, The Philadelphia Story, and it features my favorite Golden Age actor, James Stewart, carrying Katharine Hepburn and singing a song that might sound a bit familiar to our readers.

This is the performance, by the way, that won Stewart an Oscar.  Stewart himself often said that he felt the Academy rewarded him to make up for not giving him the Oscar for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.  That’s probably true but still, this film features Jimmy Stewart at his most charming.  Teaming Stewart up with not just Katharine Hepburn but also Cary Grant makes The Philadelphia Story one of the best romantic comedies to come out of Hollywood’s pre-war era.

(Before the war, Stewart was Jimmy.  After he served bravely in World War II and returned to America, he was definitely James.)

Scenes That I Love: Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this date, 117 years ago, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut.  She would go one to become a cultural icon, a performer who survived being labeled box office to poison to eventually become one of our most acclaimed actresses.  Hepburn was a total of four acting Oscars over the course of her career, a record that has yet to be topped.

Today’s scene that I love comes from 1940’s The Philadelphia Story and it features Katharine Hepburn acting opposite another one of my favorite performers, the great James Stewart.

4 Shots From 4 Cary Grant Films: The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story, North by Northwest, Charade

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today is the 116th anniversary of one of the greatest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Cary Grant!  And that means that it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Cary Grant Films

The Awful Truth (1937, dir by Leo McCarey)

The Philadelphia Story (1940, dir by George Cukor)

North by Northwest (1959, dir by Alfred Hitchcock)

Charade (1963, dir by Stanley Donen)

Lisa Reviews The Oscar Nominees: The Philadelphia Story (dir by George Cukor)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The-Philadelphia-Story-(1940)

There are a few reasons why The Philadelphia Story was one of those films that I had been meaning to watch for a while.  For one thing, The Philadelphia Story was nominated for best picture of 1940 (it lost to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca) and my ultimate goal is to see and review every single film ever nominated for best picture.  The other reason is that Jimmy Stewart won an Oscar for his performance in The Philadelphia Story and anyone who doesn’t love Jimmy Stewart has obviously never seen Anatomy of a Murder (not to mention It’s a Wonderful Life!).

Well, The Philadelphia Story was on TCM last night and I finally got to see it and what can I say?  I absolutely loved it.  For a 74 year-old, black-and-white comedy, The Philadelphia Story is still a lot of fun.

The Philadelphia Story tells the story of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn), a wealthy socialite who is engaged to marry George Kitteridge (John Howard), a self-described “man of the people,” who is widely respect for both his strong moral character and the fact that — unlike most of Tracy’s friends — he made his fortune as opposed to inheriting it.

It would be tempting to reach into the bag of simplistic blogging clichés and call the Lords a 1940s version of Khardashians but I’m not going to do that because the Lords have a lot more wit and class.  My favorite member of Tracy’s family was Dinah (Virginia Wiedler), her teenage sister who is sarcastic, cheerfully cynical, and has no problem demanding to be the center of attention.  My sister Erin claims that the reason I liked Dinah is because I saw a lot of myself in the character and that’s probably true.  However, I have to say that the great thing about both Tracy and Dinah is that they were both wittier, classier, and better dressers than all of the Khardashians and Jenners combined.

Anyway, the evil editor of Spy Magazine, Sidney Kidd (Henry Daniell), wants to get pictures of Tracy’s very exclusive and very private wedding so he sends two of his reporters in under cover.  Mike Connor (James Stewart) is a frustrated writer who hates having to lower himself to writing for a tabloid.  Photographer Liz (Ruth Hussey) is secretly in love with Mike.  Helping Mike and Liz pass themselves off as friends of the family is Tracy’s ex-husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant).

As quickly becomes obvious, Dexter is still in love with Tracy.  However, Tracy divorced Dexter because Dexter was an irresponsible alcoholic and, even though Dexter has changed his ways and she is still obviously attracted to him, Tracy is now engaged to the morally upright but boring and judgmental George.

However, Tracy is not just torn between George and Dexter.  She is attracted to Mike as well, to the extent that Tracy even takes the trouble to read some of Mike’s short stories.  For only the second time in her life, Tracy gets drunk and goes for a midnight swim with Mike.  This, of course, leads to the best scene in The Philadelphia Story: Jimmy Stewart singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Seriously, the scene made my entire night.

The Philadelphia Story is based on a play and the film itself is rather stagey in that way that films from the 40s often appear to be to modern viewers.  But, once you get used to the fact that the movie was made in 1940 and not 2014, it’s a real delight.  The dialogue is funny and it’s delivered by one of the best casts ever.  Playing a role that was specifically written for her, Katherine Hepburn is brilliant as the strong-willed but unapologetically romantic Tracy and Cary Grant is just as charming as you would expect Cary Grant to be.  Best of all, you’ve got Jimmy Stewart singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow and seriously, how can you not love that?