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VIRGINIA WEIDLER CHILD ACTRESS SIGNED PHOTO PHILADEPHIA STORY BABES BROADWAY:
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VIRGINIA WEIDLER CHILD ACTRESS 5 3/4 X 7 INCHSIGNED PHOTO PHILADEPHIA STORY BABES BROADWAY
Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. WikipediaBorn: March 21, 1927, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CADied: July 1, 1968, Los Angeles, CA
Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler (March 21, 1927[1] – July 1, 1968) was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.[2]
Early life and careerWeidler was born on March 21, 1927, in the Eagle Rock, section of Los Angeles, California, the youngest of six children born to German parents, Alfred Weidler, an architect, and Margaret Weidler (born Margarete Therese Louise Radon, 1890–1987), a former opera singer.[3] She was the second Weidler child born in the United States after the family emigrated from Germany in 1923.[4]
She made her first film appearance in 1931. Her first credited role was as Europena in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934), a role she won at age seven after having been seen in the play Autumn Crocus.[5] Virginia made a big impression on audiences as the little girl who would \"hold my breath \'til I am black in the face\" to get her way.[6]
For the next several years, she appeared in many memorable films from George Stevens\'s Laddie (1935) to a pivotal supporting role in Souls at Sea (1938) starring Gary Cooper and George Raft.[7] Despite being under contract to Paramount, just as many of her roles of the period took place while on loan to RKO-Radio Pictures.[citation needed]
When Paramount did not extend her contract, she was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. Her first film for MGM was with their leading male star Mickey Rooney in Love Is a Headache (1938). The film was a success and Weidler was later cast in larger roles. She was one of the all-female cast of the 1939 film The Women, as the daughter of Norma Shearer\'s character.[8]Weidler (far left) with Mary Nash, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story (1940)Her next major success was The Philadelphia Story (1940) in which she played Dinah Lord, the witty younger sister of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Her film career ended with the 1943 film Best Foot Forward.[8]
At her retirement from the screen at age 16, she had appeared in more than 40 films, and had acted with some of the biggest stars of the day, including Clark Gable and Myrna Loy in Too Hot to Handle, Bette Davis in All This and Heaven Too, and Judy Garland in Babes on Broadway.[8]
Family
Brother George William WeidlerIn addition to her parents, Virginia had three brothers and two sisters. Her brothers Warner (born Werner), Walter (born Wolfgang), and George were successful musicians after some child-acting work, eventually owning their own recording studio.[9] George was married to singer-actress Doris Day from 1946–49 (his first marriage, her second). Her sisters, Sylvia (born Waltraud) and Renee (born Verena), also were involved in show business prior to their marriages.[10]
Her father turned his architectural skills into a career building miniature sets for 20th Century Fox.[11]
MarriageOn March 27, 1947, aged 20, Weidler married Lionel Krisel. They had two sons, Ron and Gary.[12]
DeathAfter her retirement, Weidler gave no interviews for the remainder of her life. She was married to Krisel until her death at age 41 at her Los Angeles home on July 1, 1968. She had suffered from a heart ailment for many years and died of a heart attack.[citation needed]
LegacyWhile not the box-office draw of Fox\'s Shirley Temple or Jane Withers, Virginia Weidler still has a loyal following to this day. In 2012, the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society was created to honor her life and career.[13]
In late 2016, the Los Angeles City Council honored Weidler by proclaiming March 21, 2017, which would have been her 90th birthday, as A Celebration of Virginia Weidler.[14]
Partial filmographyYear Film Role Director Notes1931 Surrender Little Girl William K. HowardRobert Lee \"Lefty\" Hough(assistant director) uncredited1933 After Tonight Olga, Carla\'s Niece George Archainbaud uncredited1934 Long Lost Father Girl at Pier Ernest B. Schoedsack uncredited1934 Stamboul Quest Child Herman J. MankiewiczRichard Schayer (uncredited) uncredited1934 Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch Europena Wiggs Norman Taurog 1935 Laddie \'Little Sister\' Stanton George Stevens 1935 The Big Broadcast of 1936 Little Girl in Hospital Norman Taurog 1935 Freckles Laurie Lou Duncan Edward KillyWilliam HamiltonCharles Kerr (assistant) 1935 Peter Ibbetson Mimsey - Mary Age 6 Henry Hathaway 1936 Timothy\'s Quest Samantha Tarbox Charles Barton 1936 Trouble for Two Miss Vandeleur as a Child J. Walter Ruben scenes deleted1936 Girl of the Ozarks Edie Moseley William Shea 1936 The Big Broadcast of 1937 Flower Girl Mitchell Leisen 1937 Maid of Salem Nabby - Their Daughter Frank Lloyd 1937 The Outcasts of Poker Flat \'Luck\' Christy Cabanne 1937 Souls at Sea Tina Henry Hathaway 1938 Love Is a Headache Jake O\'Toole Richard Thorpe 1938 Scandal Street Wilma \'Willie\' Murphy James P. Hogan 1938 Men with Wings Peggy Ranson at Age 8 William A. Wellman 1938 Mother Carey\'s Chickens Lally Joy Popham Rowland V. Lee 1938 Too Hot to Handle Hulda Harding Jack Conway 1938 Out West with the Hardys \'Jake\' Harding George B. Seitz 1939 The Great Man Votes Joan Garson Kanin 1939 The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt Patricia Peter Godfrey 1939 Fixer Dugan Ethel Myrtle \'Terry\' O\'Connell Lew LandersJames Anderson (assistant) 1939 The Rookie Cop Nicey David Howard 1939 Outside These Walls Ellen Sparling Ray McCarey (as Raymond B. McCarey) 1939 The Spellbinder Girl Jack Hively uncredited1939 The Under-Pup Janet Cooper Richard Wallace 1939 The Women Little Mary George Cukor 1939 Bad Little Angel Patricia Victoria \'Patsy\' Sanderson Wilhelm Thiele 1939 Henry Goes Arizona Molly Cullison Edwin L. Marin 1940 Young Tom Edison Tannie Edison Norman Taurog 1940 All This and Heaven Too Louise de Praslin Anatole Litvak 1940 Gold Rush Maisie Jubie Davis Norman Taurog 1940 The Philadelphia Story Dinah Lord George Cukor 1940 Keeping Company Harriet Thomas S. Sylvan Simon 1941 Barnacle Bill Virginia Johansen Richard Thorpe 1941 I\'ll Wait for You Elizabeth \'Lizzie\' Miller Robert B. Sinclair 1941 Babes on Broadway Barbara Jo Vincente Minnelli 1942 Born to Sing Patsy Eastman Edward Ludwig 1942 This Time for Keeps Harriett Bryant Charles Reisner aka Over the Waves1942 The Affairs of Martha Miranda Sommerfield Jules Dassin 1943 The Youngest Profession Joan Lyons Edward Buzzell 1943 Best Foot Forward Helen Schlesinger Edward Buzzell Radio appearancesYear Program Episode/source1939 The Gulf Screen Guild Theater Never In This World with Leslie Howard and Kay Francis, Episode 0121941 The Chase and Sanborn Program with Bergen and McCarthy Guest Star with Abbott and Costello, Ray Noble and his Orchestra [15]1942 The Kraft Music Hall with Bing Crosby Guest Star with Carole Landis [16]1942 Victory Theater The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lt. James Stewart and Ruth Hussey [17]1943 Screen Guild Theater The Youngest Profession with Edward Arnold and Jean Porter [18]1944 Dupont\'s Cavalcade of America Junior Nurse with Jane Darwell [19]1945 Dupont\'s Cavalcade of America Weapon 4-H with Skip Homeier [19]1946 Reader\'s Digest-Radio Edition Do You Remember?[20]
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a \"former child actor\". Closely associated terms include teenage actor or teen actor, an actor who reached popularity as a teenager.
Famous earlier examples include Elizabeth Taylor, who started as a child star in the early 1940s in productions like National Velvet before becoming a popular film star as an adult in movies.
Many child actors find themselves struggling to adapt as they become adults, mainly due to typecasting. Macaulay Culkin and Lindsay Lohan are two particular famous child actors who eventually experienced much difficulty with the fame they acquired at a young age. Some child actors do go on to have successful acting careers as adults; notable actors who first gained fame as children include Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Jodie Foster, Christian Bale, Elijah Wood, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansson. Other child actors have gone on to successful careers in other fields, including director Ron Howard, politicians Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński, and singer Jenny Lewis.
RegulationIn the United States, the activities of child actors are regulated by the governing labor union, if any, and state laws. Some projects film in distant locations specifically to evade regulations intended to protect the child. Longer work hours or risky stunts prohibited by California, for example, might be permitted to a project filming in British Columbia. US federal law \"specifically exempted minors working in the entertainment business from all provisions of the child labor Laws.\"[citation needed] Any regulation of child actors is governed by disparate state laws.
CaliforniaDue to the large presence of the entertainment industry in Hollywood, the state of California has some of the most explicit laws protecting child actors. Being a minor, a child actor must secure an entertainment work permit before accepting any paid work. Compulsory education laws mandate that the education of the child actor not be disrupted while the child is working, whether the child actor is enrolled in public school, private school or even home school. The child does their schoolwork under the supervision of a studio teacher while on the set.
United KingdomIn the United Kingdom, a child actor is defined as someone under school leaving age.[1] Before a child can work, they require a performance license from their Local Education Authority as well as a licensed chaperone; a parent can only chaperone their own child, and a chaperone\'s duties include acting in loco parentis and record arrival and departure time from the work place, the time a child is working, their breaks and the amount of tutoring.[1][2] A child requires three hours minimum of tutoring daily and a lesson must be a minimum of 30 minutes to count towards the total and with regards to 16 and 17-year-old in further education, considerations are made in regards to their studies.[3]
There are regulations and guidance to safeguard all actors under the age of 18; OFCOM guidance states a child\'s health and safety, well being and welfare is paramount in television production and factors such as their age, maturity and life experiences can affect their performance.[4] OFCOM also advises that broadcasters undertake risk assessments, consider seeking expert advice and follow best practice.[4]
IssuesOwnership of earningsIn the United States before the 1930s, many child actors never got to see the money they earned because they were not in charge of this money. Jackie Coogan earned millions of dollars from working as a child actor only to see most of it squandered by his parents. In 1939, California weighed in on this controversy and enacted the Coogan Bill, which requires a portion of the earnings of a child to be preserved in a special savings account called a blocked trust.[5] A trust that is not actively monitored can also be problematic, however, as in the case of Gary Coleman, who after working from 1974, later sued his adoptive parents and former business advisor for $3.8 million over misappropriation of his trust fund.[6][7]
Competitive pressureSome people[who?] also criticize the parents of child actors for allowing their children to work, believing that more \"normal\" activities should be the staple during the childhood years. Others[who?] observe that competition is present in all areas of a child\'s life—from sports to student newspaper to orchestra and band—and believe that the work ethic instilled or the talent developed accrues to the child\'s benefit.[citation needed]
The child actor may experience unique and negative pressures when working under tight production schedules. Large projects which depend for their success on the ability of the child to deliver an effective performance add to the pressure.[citation needed]
Ethel Merman, who several times worked in long-running stage productions with child actors, disliked what she eventually saw as their over-professionalization—\"acting more like midgets than children\"—and disapproved of parents pushing adulthood on them.[8]
After the childhood success
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Jodie Foster in 1974There are many instances of troubled adult lives due to the stressful environment to which child actors are subjected. It is common to see a child actor grow up in front of the camera, whether in films, TV shows or both. However, it is not uncommon to see child actors continue their careers throughout as actors or in a different professional field.
Jodie Foster started acting at age 3, becoming the quintessential child actor during the 1970\'s with roles in films such as Tom Sawyer (1973), Alice Doesn\'t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), Bugsy Malone (1976), The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), and Freaky Friday (1976). A child prodigy, Foster received her first Academy Award nomination at age 13 and later took a sabbatical from films to attend Yale University. She made a successful transition to adult roles, winning two Academy Awards for Best Actress before the age of 30, and starring in several successful and acclaimed films such as The Accused (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Nell (1994), Maverick (1994), Contact (1997), and The Brave One (2007), thus establishing herself as one of the most accomplished and sought-after actresses of her generation. She has also ventured into directing and her directing credits include films such as Little Man Tate (1991), Money Monster (2016) and television shows such as House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Black Mirror.
Now adults, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, the three leads of the acclaimed Harry Potter film series (2001–2011), starred in every installment in the series, and have since continued to act in film, television, and theater in their early 30\'s. 2010s, Greyson Chance, is an American singer-songwriter and musician
Dakota Fanning rose to prominence after her breakthrough performance at age 7 in the film I Am Sam (2001). Her performance earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination at age 8 in 2002, making her the youngest nominee in SAG history. She later appeared in major Hollywood productions, in such acclaimed blockbuster films as Man on Fire (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Charlotte\'s Web (2006), Hounddog (2007), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Coraline (2009), The Twilight Saga film series (2009–2012), The Runaways (2010), and The Motel Life (2012). Fanning\'s younger sister, Elle Fanning also rose to prominence as a child actress, having appeared in many films since before she turned 3.
Miranda Cosgrove, known mainly for her role as Megan on the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh as a child, gained more attention for her role as a teenager in the show iCarly. Since the end of the show she has been featured in other roles, including as the voice of Margo in the Despicable Me franchise. Once she was of age, she decided to pursue a college degree in film at the University of Southern California.[9]
Late actress Shirley Temple became a public figure and diplomat, beginning in the 1960\'s. Some of her duties included representing the United Nations, and becoming a U.S. ambassador in countries such as Ghana and Czechoslovakia.[10]
Mary-Kate Olsen, who shared the role of Michelle Tanner with her twin sister Ashley on the ABC sitcom Full House, was treated for an eating disorder, deemed anorexia, but Ashley remained less troubled. In an article with the magazine Marie Claire, Mary-Kate expressed the bittersweet nature of the twins\' childhood. \"I look at old photos of me, and I don\'t feel connected to them at all,\" she said. \"I would never wish my upbringing on anyone... but I wouldn\'t take it back for the world.\" The twins eventually retired from acting to pursue a full-time career in the fashion industry, which, to this day, is continuously successful with an estimated net worth of approximately $100,000,000.Mandy Moore is one of the child stars to have success as an adult with the start of her growing career in 1993.Drew Barrymore, a former child star, started acting at age 3. During her childhood she battled with drugs, but recovered and currently continues to act.
Natalie Portman took a small break in acting to get a bachelor\'s degree in Psychology from Harvard University before continuing her career as an actress.
Rider Strong, known as \"Shawn Hunter\" in Boy Meets World, was educated at Columbia University and now runs a successful blog and has published a graphic novel.[11] Neil Patrick Harris started his career as a child actor in Doogie Howser, M.D. He continues to act in television, films and theater. Harris is now a cult figure icon.
Jonathan Lipnicki, known mostly for the Stuart Little films, now successfully competes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[11] Sara Gilbert is known for her role on Roseanne and later created and served as a co-host for CBS\'s The Talk. Also from Roseanne, Michael Fishman continued to work in film, but behind the scenes and has since been nominated for an Emmy for the work he did in Sports Science. Both Gilbert and Fishman returned for the later series based on Roseanne, The Conners, with Gilbert also serving as an executive producer and guiding the series through its transition after Roseanne Barr was fired after the tenth season of the revived Roseanne.[11] Kirsten Dunst and Lacey Chabert both made the transition from a child actress to an adult actress with a rough patch including depression. After a stay in a rehabilitation center, Dunst was able to recover and continue her career. She proves that the pressures of growing up under the spotlight may not come without repercussions.[12]
Roddy McDowall, who had a long and outstanding career including as the regular star of the Planet of the Apes series; Micky Dolenz, who started his career as a child star in the 1950s, grew up to be a musician of the successful 1960s pop group The Monkees, which had its own successful television show; Ron Howard, who, in addition to being the star of both of the long running The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days television series, became an Academy Award-winning director in adulthood; Elijah Wood, who continued his career successfully into adulthood, starring as Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings film series and starring as Ryan Newman in the television series Wilfred.
Other careers
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)Many actors and child actors careers are often quite short. Many actors, out of personal choice, that start their careers as child actors decide not to pursue the same careers as adults. Shirley Temple, for example became a public figure and diplomat. Peter Ostrum, appearing in his only role, the lead character of Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory became a large-scale veterinarian surgeon. While Jenny Lewis, formerly of film Troop Beverly Hills in 1989, is a well-known singer-songwriter indie rock musician. Renee Olstead became a Jazz musician.
In Poland, former child actors and identical twin brothers Lech and Jarosław Kaczyński became successful politicians, at one time Lech being president and Jarosław the prime minister.
The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 American romantic comedy film[2][3] directed by George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey. Based on the 1939 Broadway play of the same name by Philip Barry,[4] the film is about a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid magazine journalist. The socialite character of the play—performed by Hepburn in the film—was inspired by Helen Hope Montgomery Scott (1904–1995), a Philadelphia socialite known for her hijinks, who married a friend of playwright Barry.[5]
Written for the screen by Donald Ogden Stewart and an uncredited Waldo Salt, it is considered one of the best examples of a comedy of remarriage, a genre popular in the 1930s and 1940s in which a couple divorce, flirt with outsiders, and then remarry—a useful story-telling device at a time when divorce was scandalous and the depiction of extramarital affairs was blocked by the Production Code.[6][7]
The film was Hepburn\'s first big hit following several flops, which had placed her on a 1938 list of actors considered to be \"box office poison\" compiled by Manhattan movie theater owner Harry Brandt.[8] Hepburn acquired the film rights to the play, which she had also starred in, with the help of Howard Hughes[9] in order to control it as a vehicle for her screen comeback.[10] According to a Turner Broadcasting documentary MGM: When the Lion Roars, after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the film rights, they were skeptical about Hepburn\'s box office appeal, so MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer took an unusual precaution by engaging two A-list male stars (Grant and Stewart) to support Hepburn.
Nominated for six Academy Awards, the film won two: James Stewart for Best Actor, and Donald Ogden Stewart for Best Adapted Screenplay. MGM remade the film in 1956 as a musical, retitled High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra.[11]
The Philadelphia Story was produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1995.[12]
Plot
Mike carries Tracy into the house from a midnight dip.Tracy Lord is the elder daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia Main Line socialite family. She was married to C.K. Dexter Haven, a yacht designer and member of her social set, but divorced him two years prior, because, according to her father, he does not measure up to the standards she sets for all her friends and family: He drank too much for her taste, and, according to him, as she became critical of him, he drank more. Their only interaction while married, the film\'s opening scene, is her breaking his golf clubs and him pushing her to the ground. Now, she is about to marry nouveau riche \"man of the people\" George Kittredge.Tracy is short a groom, with a roomful of wedding guests waiting.In New York, Spy magazine publisher Sidney Kidd is eager to cover the wedding, and assigns reporter Macaulay \"Mike\" Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie. Kidd intends to use the assistance of Dexter, who has been working for Spy in South America. Dexter tells Kidd that he will introduce them as friends of Tracy\'s brother Junius (a U.S. diplomat in Argentina). Tracy is not fooled, but Dexter tells her that Kidd has threatened the reputation of her family with an innuendo-laden article about her father\'s affair with a dancer. Tracy deeply resents her father\'s infidelity, which has prompted her parents to live separately. Nonetheless, to protect her family\'s reputation, she agrees to let Mike and Liz stay and cover her wedding.
Dexter is welcomed back with open arms by Tracy\'s mother Margaret and teenage sister Dinah, much to Tracy\'s frustration. She soon discovers that Mike has admirable qualities, and even seeks out his book of short stories in the public library. As the wedding nears, she finds herself torn between her fiancé George, Dexter, and Mike.
The night before the wedding, Tracy gets drunk for only the second time in her life, kisses Mike, and ultimately takes an innocent midnight swim with him. When George observes Mike carrying an intoxicated Tracy into the house afterward, he assumes the worst. The next day, he tells her that he was shocked and feels entitled to an explanation before going ahead with the wedding. Yet, she admits she really has none, and realizes that he does not really know her at all. He has loved her as a perfect, ideal angel, an embodiment of goodness—a virginal statue—and not as a person, so she breaks off the engagement. By now she better understands her own imperfections and her criticism of others. Tracy realizes that all the guests have arrived and are waiting for the ceremony to begin. Mike quickly volunteers to marry her, but she graciously declines because she perceives that Liz is in love with him. Then, Dexter, who clearly planned to win her back all along, offers to remarry her, and she gladly accepts.
CastJames Stewart as Macaulay \"Mike\" ConnorCary Grant as C.K. Dexter HavenKatharine Hepburn as Tracy Samantha LordRuth Hussey as Elizabeth \"Liz\" ImbrieJohn Howard as George KittredgeRoland Young as William Q. Tracy (Uncle Willie)John Halliday as Seth LordMary Nash as Margaret LordVirginia Weidler as Dinah LordHenry Daniell as Sidney KiddLionel Pape as Edward, a footmanRex Evans as Thomas, the butlerDavid Clyde as Mac, the night watchman (uncredited)Hilda Plowright as the Librarian (uncredited)Production\"Everyone had enormous fun on the movie. The days and nights were sweltering that summer of 1940, but nobody cared. Cary got along very well with Kate Hepburn. She enjoyed him pushing her through a doorway in one scene (so she fell over backward) so much that she had him do it to her over and over again. There was a scene in which she had to throw Cary out the door of a house, 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, Cary, for trying to be your own stuntman.\"
—Cameraman Joseph Ruttenberg, recalling The Philadelphia Story (1940).[13]Broadway playwright Barry[14] wrote the play specifically for Hepburn, who ended up backing the play, and forgoing a salary in return for a percentage of its profits.[15] Her co-stars were Joseph Cotten as Dexter Haven, Van Heflin as Mike Connor, and Shirley Booth as Liz Imbrie.[4]
The original play, starring Hepburn, ran for 417 performances.[4] It made over $1 million in box office sales and later went on to tour, performing another 250 times and making over $750,000 in sales.[citation needed] The play also originally featured another character named Sandy. However that role was eliminated for the movie to make more room for the character development of Mike.[citation needed]
At this time, Hepburn hoped to create a film vehicle for herself which would erase the label of \"box office poison\" that she had acquired after a number of commercial failures (including the classic Bringing Up Baby). So, she happily accepted the film rights to the play from Howard Hughes, who had bought them for her. She then convinced MGM\'s Mayer to buy them from her for only $250,000, in return for Hepburn having veto over producer, director, screenwriter, and cast.[10][15]Hepburn as Tracy Lord and Stewart as Mike ConnorHepburn selected director George Cukor, in whose films A Bill of Divorcement (1932) and Little Women (1933) she had acted, and Donald Ogden Stewart, a friend of Barry\'s and a specialist at adapting plays to the big screen, as writer.[15]
Hepburn wanted Clark Gable to play Dexter Haven and Spencer Tracy to play Mike Connor, but both had other commitments.[11] 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.[16] The pairing of Cukor and 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, who was a friend of Gable\'s.[17]
The film was in production from July 5 to August 14, 1940[18] at MGM\'s studios in Culver City.[19] It was shot in six weeks and came in five days under schedule.[10] At one point, Stewart slipped in his hiccupping during the drunk scene. Grant turned to him, surprised, and said, \"Excuse me\", then appears to have stifled a laugh. The scene was kept, and was not reshot.[20]
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.[citation needed]
Hepburn performed the dive into the swimming pool by herself, without the help of doubles.[citation needed]
The film premiered in New York City on December 26, 1940, and it was shown in select theaters in December, but MGM had agreed to hold its general release until January 1941 in order to not compete with the stage play,[10] which was no longer playing on Broadway, but was touring the country.[4] It went into general American release on January 17, 1941.[21] It broke a box office record at Radio City Music Hall by taking in $600,000 in just six weeks.[citation needed]
The model sailboat that Grant gives Hepburn is based on an actual boat, the True Love (originally the Venona II, based on the Malabar design by John Alden built for racing), which, as of 2021, sails on Seneca Lake out of Watkins Glen, New York, as an excursion boat for Schooner Excursions, Inc.[22]
ReceptionBox officeDuration: 3 minutes and 34 seconds.3:34Trailer (public domain)According to MGM records, the film earned $2,374,000 in the US and Canada, and $885,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $1,272,000.[1]
CriticalWriting for The New York Times in 1940, Bosley Crowther wrote that the film \"has just about everything that a blue-chip comedy should have—a witty, romantic script derived by Donald Ogden Stewart out of Philip Barry\'s successful play; the flavor of high-society elegance, in which the patrons invariably luxuriate; and a splendid cast of performers headed by Hepburn, Stewart, and Grant. If it doesn\'t play out this year and well along into next, they should turn the Music Hall into a shooting gallery ... Metro and Director George Cukor have graciously made it apparent, in the words of a character, that one of \'the prettiest sights in this pretty world is the privileged classes enjoying their privileges\'. And so, in this instance, will you, too.\"[23] Seventy-five years later, Peter Bradshaw wrote \"However stagily preposterous, George Cukor\'s 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story, now rereleased, is also utterly beguiling, funny and romantic. ... The fun and wit rise like champagne bubbles, but there is a deceptive strength in the writing and performances.\" Bradshaw also notes that the film is the \"most famous example of the intriguing and now defunct prewar genre of \'comedy of remarriage\'\".[7] Life Magazine deemed it their film of the week in January, 1941, describing it as \"among the best funny pictures\" of the year.[24]
The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 101 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The consensus reads: \"Offering a wonderfully witty script, spotless direction from George Cukor, and typically excellent lead performances, The Philadelphia Story is an unqualified classic.\"[25] The site also ranked it as the Best Romantic Comedy of all time.[26]
The film was the last of four starring Grant and Hepburn, following Sylvia Scarlett (1935), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and Holiday (1938).
Awards and honors
Hussey as Liz Imbrie
Grant as C.K. Dexter Haven, and John Howard as George KittredgeThe film was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two (Best Actor and Best Screenplay). At the 1940 ceremony, James Stewart did not expect to win and was not planning to attend the ceremony, but he was called and \"advised\" to show up in a dinner jacket. He said he had voted for Henry Fonda for his performance in The Grapes of Wrath, and always felt the award had been given to him as compensation for not winning for his portrayal of Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the previous year. Donald Ogden Stewart, on the other hand, declared upon winning his Oscar: \"I have no one to thank but myself!\"[15]
Award Category Nominee(s) ResultAcademy Awards[27] Best Picture Joseph L. Mankiewicz (for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) NominatedBest Director George Cukor NominatedBest Actor James Stewart WonBest Actress Katharine Hepburn NominatedBest Supporting Actress Ruth Hussey NominatedBest Screenplay Donald Ogden Stewart WonNational Film Preservation Board National Film Registry InductedNew York Film Critics Circle Awards[28] Best Film NominatedBest Actress Katharine Hepburn WonOnline Film & Television Association Awards[29] Hall of Fame – Motion Picture WonThe film was named the third best of the year by Film Daily.[30]
In 1995, the film was deemed \"culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant\" by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.[12]
The film was included in various American Film Institute lists:
1998: AFI\'s 100 Years...100 Movies – #51[31]2000: AFI\'s 100 Years...100 Laughs – #15[32]2002: AFI\'s 100 Years...100 Passions – #44[33]2007: AFI\'s 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #44[34]2008: AFI\'s 10 Top 10 – #5 Romantic Comedy Film[35]Adaptations
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart perform \"The Philadelphia Story\" for the Victory Theater radio program in 1942The stars of the film appeared in a one-hour radio adaptation on the premiere episode of the War Office\'s special Victory Theater summer series,[36][37][38] airing July 20, 1942.[39] This episode was specially produced by Lux Radio Theatre volunteer personnel as their donation to the Victory Theater series, and it aired under government, not Lux, sponsorship. Lux Radio Theatre produced a second adaptation for its own use on June 14, 1943, with Robert Taylor, Loretta Young, and Robert Young.[10][40] The film was also adapted for two half-hour episodes of The Screen Guild Theater, first with Greer Garson, Henry Fonda, and Fred MacMurray (April 5, 1942),[41] then with Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart reprising their film roles (March 17, 1947).[42]
The film was adapted in 1956 as the MGM musical High Society, starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, and Louis Armstrong, directed by Charles Walters.[11]
See alsoList of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
Babes on Broadway is a 1941 American musical film starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and directed by Busby Berkeley, with Vincente Minnelli directing Garland\'s big solo numbers.[3] The film, which features Fay Bainter and Virginia Weidler, was the third in the \"Backyard Musical\" series about kids who put on their own show, following Babes in Arms (1939) and Strike Up the Band (1940). Songs in the film include \"Babes on Broadway\" by Burton Lane (music) and E.Y. \"Yip\" Harburg (lyrics), and \"How About You?\" by Lane with lyrics by Ralph Freed, the brother of producer Arthur Freed. The movie ends with a minstrel show performed by the main cast in blackface.
Plot
This article needs a plot summary. Please add one in your own words. (November 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)CastMickey Rooney as Tommy WilliamsJudy Garland as Penny MorrisFay Bainter as Miss \"Jonesy\" JonesVirginia Weidler as Barbara Josephine \"Jo\" ConwayRay McDonald as Ray LambertRichard Quine as Morton \"Hammy\" HammondDonald Meek as Mr. StoneAlexander Woollcott as himselfLuis Alberni as NickJames Gleason as Thornton ReedEmma Dunn as Mrs. WilliamsFrederick Burton as Mr. MorrisCliff Clark as Inspector MoriarityWilliam Post Jr. as AnnouncerDonna Reed as Jonesy\'s Secretary (uncredited)Will Lee as ShortyMargaret O\'Brien as Maxine, a little girl at an audition (uncredited)ProductionBabes on Broadway was the third film in the \"Backyard Musical\" series, which included Babes in Arms (1939), Strike Up the Band (1940) and Girl Crazy (1943).
The film was stalled in the middle of production when Garland secretly flew to Las Vegas to wed her first husband David Rose. She was 19 years old.
Musical numbers\"Babes on Broadway\" (Main Title) (MGM Studio Chorus)\"Anything Can Happen in New York\" (Mickey Rooney, Ray McDonald, and Richard Quine)\"How About You?\" (Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney)\"Hoe Down\" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Six Hits and a Miss, The Five Musical Maids, and MGM Studio Chorus)\"Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!\" (Judy Garland, St. Luke\'s Episcopal Church Choristers, and MGM Studio Chorus)Ghost Theater Sequence:\"Cyrano de Bergerac\" (Mickey Rooney as Richard Mansfield)\"Mary\'s a Grand Old Name\" (Judy Garland as Fay Templeton)\"She\'s Ma Daisy\" (Mickey Rooney as Harry Lauder)\"I\'ve Got Rings On My Fingers\" (Judy Garland as Blanche Ring)\"La Marseillaise\" (Judy Garland as Sarah Bernhardt)\"The Yankee Doodle Boy\" (Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland)\"Bombshell from Brazil\" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Richard Quine, Ray McDonald, Virginia Weidler, Anne Rooney, Robert Bradford, and MGM Studio Chorus)\"Mama Yo Quiero\" (Mickey Rooney)Minstrel Show Sequence:\"Blackout Over Broadway\" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Ray McDonald, Virginia Weidler, Richard Quine, Anne Rooney and MGM Studio Chorus)\"By the Light of the Silvery Moon\" (Ray McDonald)\"Franklin D. Roosevelt Jones\" (Judy Garland and MGM Studio Chorus)\"Old Folks at Home\" (Eddie Peabody on banjo, dubbing for Mickey Rooney)\"Alabamy Bound\" (Eddie Peabody on banjo, dubbing for Mickey Rooney)\"Waiting for the Robert E. Lee\" (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Virginia Weidler, Anne Rooney, Richard Quine, and MGM Studio Chorus)\"Babes on Broadway\" (Finale) (Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald, Richard Quine, and MGM Studio Chorus)Box officeAccording to MGM records, the film earned $2,363,000 in the US and Canada and $1,496,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $1,720,000.[2][4]
Home mediaBabes on Broadway was released on DVD for the first time as part of a 5-disc DVD set The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection on September 25, 2007. The set contains Babes on Broadway, Babes in Arms, Girl Crazy, and Strike Up the Band, as well as a fifth disc containing bonus features on Rooney and Garland.[5]