The Philadelphia Story
A glamorous Philadelphia heiress sets out to secure her dream wedding, only to have her ex‑husband and a relentless tabloid reporter crash the celebration, forcing her to confront the truth about love and herself.
“Broadway's howling year-run comedy hit of the snooty society beauty who slipped and fell - IN LOVE!”
Synopsis
As a wealthy woman prepares to remarry, her ex-husband and a tabloid journalist arrive, prompting her to uncover the truth about herself.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 61+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Frank SullivanShot by Joseph RuttenbergScored by Franz WaxmanSound by Tom Gunn
Box Office
1940 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.6× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$3.3M
Re-release box office
- 2018665 theaters
- $664K($874K today)
Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation
Also known as
- Die Nacht vor der Hochzeitde
- Indiscrétionsfr
- (French, Alternative Title)Indiscrétions
- Scandalo a Filadelfiait
- (Flemish)Onbescheidenheden
Release dates around the world1 country · showhide
- United StatesDec 5, 1940
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Cast & Crew
61 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Cary Grant
as C.K. Dexter Haven
Katharine Hepburn
as Tracy Lord
James Stewart
as Macaulay Connor
James Stewart Nm0000071
as Macaulay Connor
Ruth Hussey
as Elizabeth Imbrie
John Howard
as George Kittredge
Roland Young
as Uncle Willie
John Halliday
as Seth Lord
Mary Nash
as Margaret Lord
Virginia Weidler
as Dinah Lord
Henry Daniell
as Sidney Kidd
Lionel Pape
as Edward
Supporting cast
27Rex Evans
as Thomas
King Baggot
as Wedding Guest
Hillary Brooke
as Main Line Society Woman
Veda Buckland
as Elsie
Lita Chevret
as Manicurist
Russ Clark
as John
Sally Cleaves
as Party Guest
David Clyde
as Mac
Oliver Cross
as Wedding Guest
Robert De Bruce
as Dr. Parsons
Dorothy Fay
as Main Line Society Woman
Dick Gordon
as Wedding Guest
Sam Harris
as Party Guest
Claude King
as Uncle Willie's Butler
Eric Mayne
as Wedding Guest
Florine Mckinney
as Main Line Society Woman
Frank Mclure
as Wedding Guest
Lee Phelps
as Bartender
Hilda Plowright
as Librarian
Paul Power
as Wedding Guest
Helene Reynolds
as Main Line Society Woman
Mildred Shay
as Main Line Society Woman
Belle Stoddard
as Party Guest
Joseph Sweeney
as Butler
Ellinor Vanderveer
as Party Guest
Helene Whitney
as Main Line Society Woman
Florence Wix
as Party Guest
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
19Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Edward Woehler
assistant director (uncredited)
Wade B Rubottom
associate art director
Philip Barry
based on the play by
Joseph Ruttenberg
Cinematographer, director of photography
Franz Waxman
Composer
Eugene Joseff
costume jeweller (uncredited)
Frank Sullivan
Editor
Adrian
gowns
Clarence J Falk
greens supervisor (uncredited)
Sydney Guilaroff
hair stylist
Jack Dawn
makeup artist (uncredited)
Parents Guide
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