Screwball romantic comedy stars Cary Grant as “C.K. Dexter Haven,” a debonair boozehound who in the famed first scene, walks out on Katharine Hepburn, playing his wife Tracy Lord Haven. She snaps one of his golf clubs over her knee, and in the first of several bouts of political incorrectness in the film, he grabs her face and pushes her off her feet.

We pick up the lovebirds two years later, the day before Tracy – a Philadelphia socialite with such high standards for herself that she alienates all men – is set to marry a stiff political climber (John Howard). Hoping to cause a bit of mischief, Haven sneaks two tabloid journalists into her family estate for an inside expose on his wife’s wedding, passing them off as friends of the family.

The hacks are played by Jimmy Stewart – a novelist who detests his gig with the society rag – and Ruth Hussey, his girlfriend and a photographer for the tabloid, who sees no art in starving. Tracy’s mother, estranged father, lecherous Uncle Willie (Roland Young), brat kid sister and Stewart’s tasteless editor are also assembled for the ceremony, where too much champagne on the behalf of Hepburn and Stewart the night before leads to some complications.

If this sounds complicated, the movie is actually much more complex, with an over abundance of characters, back stories and subplots rocketing by at 65 miles per hour. Directed by George Cukor and adapted by Donald Ogden Stewart, The Philadelphia Story was based on a Broadway play written specifically for Hepburn by Philip Barry.

The reason to see the film is the star power of Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, sharing the screen with contrasting acting styles and personas ricocheting off each other. Grant is hilarious as a sort of upper society maverick. As a romantic comedy star, Grant doesn’t need to be given a joke, but can get a laugh with just a dark inflection of his voice or tone of irony, as when Grant disparages Stewart’s character with the line “He’s very down to earth.”

Hepburn and Stewart have that terrific, Golden Age of Hollywood chemistry. Her character becomes fascinated with him after reading his book and decides they have a lot in common. Much sexual innuendo and double entendre bounces back and forth after Hepburn and Stewart get drunk and go off for a swim together, potentially ruining the wedding of the year.

Like a lot of plays The Philadelphia Story telegraphs much too much information, as if everyone in the movie theater would be sitting in the cheap seats and needed things stated loud and clear. Hepburn and Grant have extended dialogue where they lay down their feelings for each other ad nausea. Subtlety is not the film’s best feature, but it does have dialogue that can is laugh out loud funny and can cut glass:

Hepburn referring to her marriage to Grant: “I thought it was for life, but the nice judge gave me a full pardon.”

Grant acting surprised in front of Hepburn when Stewart mentions he doesn’t drink: “I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know, at one time I think I seriously wanted to be a writer.”

Ruth Hussey is equally radiant in the picture, playing a painter who gets by shooting photos for the gossip rags, “I’m a photographer,” she says to her editor when asked if she hates him, “I can’t afford to hate anybody.” Her cynical wisecracks hide her unease with Stewart, hoping he figures himself out before falling for Hepburn and dumping her.

Hepburn had been considered box office poison for some time, and had even received bad reviews for her previous Broadway work in The Lake. Then-boyfriend Howard Hughes purchased the film rights to The Philadelphia Story for her, making it impossible for MGM to make the movie without Hepburn reprising her role. Deferring her salary for 45% of the profits, the film was a huge hit at the box office and solidified Hepburn’s standing as one of the biggest stars of the day.

Stewart won an Academy Award for Best Actor here, noting that it was “deferred payment for my work on Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” the year prior. Donald Ogden Stewart also won, for Best Adapted Screenplay, but the film lost Best Picture to Rebecca.