The night before the wedding
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The night before the wedding |
| Original title | The Philadelphia Story |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1940 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | George Cukor |
| script | Donald Ogden Stewart |
| production | Joseph L. Mankiewicz for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| music |
Franz Waxman Harold Arlen |
| camera | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| cut | Frank Sullivan |
| occupation | |
| |
The Night Before the Wedding (Original title: The Philadelphia Story ) is an American comedy film directed by George Cukor from 1940 . It is considered a classic of the screwball comedies and a highlight in Katharine Hepburn's work . The film is based on the Broadway comedy of the same name by Philip Barry , in which Hepburn also played the lead role. The night before the wedding is also the only film in which the two Hollywood legends Cary Grant and James Stewart appear together.
action
Philadelphia's Top Ten Thousand : Rich, aloof Tracy Lord prepares to marry social climber George Kittredge. Tracy's ex-husband Dexter smuggles the two newspaper reporters Mike Connor and Liz Imbrie into their house as supposed friends of Tracy's absent brother so that they can secretly report on the celebration. Dexter was blackmailed into smuggling in Sidney Kidd, the unscrupulous editor-in-chief of the tabloid Spy Magazine - if he doesn't cooperate, he threatens to publish a dirty story about Tracy's father and his relationship with a showgirl . Dexter is also hoping to get revenge on Tracy, who just kicked him out two years ago.
When Mike and Liz arrive at Tracy's house with Dexter the day before the wedding, she instinctively suspects that Dexter's "friends" are really reporters and confronts Dexter, who after a brief argument with the truth comes out and tells her about the blackmail . Remorseful, Tracy gives in and lets them both have their way.
On the evening before the wedding, a big ball is celebrated, Tracy drinks alcohol contrary to her habits and suddenly discovers sympathy for the young reporter Mike Connor, who - just as drunk - reveals to Dexter that he is infatuated with Tracy. Together they devise the plan to boot the newspaper maker Kidd with an article about his machinations, so that he can drop the story about Tracy's father and do without an article about the wedding.
At the lords swimming pool, Mike then confesses his love to Tracy, but as a gentleman refrains from seducing the hopelessly drunk Tracy. When the two are found by George and Dexter the next morning, there is almost a fight between the three rivals, and George accuses his fiancée of having cheated on him.
Immediately before the wedding, Tracy therefore decides not to marry George. When Mike offers to replace himself, Tracy refuses him as well, knowing that Liz is in love with him. So it comes to the (renewed) wedding between Tracy and Dexter, with Mike and Liz as best man.
background
After winning an Oscar in 1933 for Dawn of Fame , Katharine Hepburn was considered a star, but then made a number of commercial failures. After the 1938 comedies Leopard Don't Kiss and The Bride's Sister , which are considered classics today but flopped at the box office at the time, her career was in great danger. Since she was considered a box office poison in Hollywood , she withdrew to Broadway in New York and took on the lead role of Tracy Lord in Philip Barry's play The Philadelphia Story . Barry had written the role of Tracy Lord for Hepburn, for which the well-known high society lady Helen Hope Montgomery Scott (1904-1995) from Philadelphia served as a rough model. The Philadelphia Story opened on Broadway in March 1939 and, thanks to its success, played there for a year. At Hepburn's side on Broadway, Joseph Cotten played as Dexter Haven, Van Heflin as Macaulay Connor and Shirley Booth as Liz Imbrie.
She returned to Hollywood with the idea of a film adaptation of the play. Her lover at the time, the entrepreneur Howard Hughes , bought the film rights for her. Hepburn then made a deal with MGM boss Louis B. Mayer : his studio got the rights to the successful piece for the modest value of 250,000 US dollars, for which she was allowed to personally select the director, screenwriter and cast. As a screenwriter, she brought in Donald Ogden Stewart , a close friend of Philip Barry, the writer of the play. His task was to preserve the integrity of the play while at the same time adapting it to the medium of film. Unnamed in the opening credits, Waldo Salt also co-wrote the script. As a co-star, she chose Cary Grant , with whom she had previously starred in three films ( Sylvia Scarlett , The Bride's Sister , Leopards Don't Kiss ). Hepburn took an interest in James Stewart - who had just had his big break - after seeing his acclaimed portrayal of an idealistic senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). The fact that two male top stars played in the film was also supported by the MGM producers, as they feared that Katharine Hepburn alone would not have had enough pulling power at the box office.
George Cukor was brought in as director , with whom Hepburn made a total of 10 films between 1932 and 1979. Filming took place between July 5 and August 16, 1940 at the MGM studios. The atmosphere during the shooting was cheerful and uncomplicated, and it was finished five days before the scheduled closing time. The budget was $ 914,000. The film premiered in December 1940, but it did not come to most American cinemas until a month later, in January 1941 - the reason was the consideration for the play The Philadelphia Story , which was still touring America and with which one did not want to compete. If it went wrong, many prophesied the end of Hepburn's career, but the film became one of the greatest commercial hits of 1941 and Hepburn was one of the leading actresses in Hollywood for decades.
synchronization
The German synchronous processing was created in 1949 at MPEA synchronous production in Munich.
There is a notable translation error in this translation. When accepting the marriage proposal, Tracy says, "... I'll be so tacky ...", alluding to the boat built by Dexter Haven. “Tacky” means shabby, cheap or tasteless. In the film, however, it is used like a positive term in the sense of easily steerable, fast, etc. In the American version of the scene, the term “tacky” does not appear, it says “yare” instead.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Tracy Lord | Katharine Hepburn | Eva Vaitl |
| CK Dexter Haven | Cary Grant | Curt Ackermann |
| Macauly "Mike" Connor | James Stewart | Hans Nielsen |
| George Kittredge | John Howard | Wolfgang Eichberger |
| Uncle Willie | Roland Young | Anton Reimer |
| Seth Lord | John Halliday | Walter Holten |
| Margaret Lord | Mary Nash | Eva Eras |
| Sidney Kidd | Henry Daniell | Richard Münch |
Reviews
Since its release, The Night Before the Wedding has been unanimously positive. The American review portal Rotten Tomatoes has the rare rating of 100% with an average rating of 8.8 / 10 points, all 57 reviews are positive.
"A brilliant example of the American 'screwball comedy' of the 30s, with subtle humor, social criticism, quick-witted dialogues and a brilliant cast."
“Enjoyable comedy classic by director George Cukor based on the play" The Philadelphia Story "with a star cast. Katharine Hepburn already had a Broadway success with the work written especially for her. James Stewart received the Oscar for his convincing performance as star reporter Connor (...) "
“(...) in addition to the screwball humor,“ The Night Before the Wedding ”also proves unexpected depth. It's also about character weaknesses, relationship problems and coquetry with alcohol abuse. Critical undertones subtly resonate in the script without spoiling the great comedy. To this day, “The Night Before the Wedding” has not lost a bit of its charm, even if the screwball concept has almost disappeared from the film world. Thanks to the consistently outstanding acting and the entertaining story, George Cukor has created a timeless classic that should not be missing in any collection. Because it would still be difficult to escape the captivating presence of the magical Katharine Hepburn. (Rating: five stars) "
"Casual stage play with a prominent cast."
Awards
The film won two Academy Awards : James Stewart was named Best Male Actor, and Don Stewart was named Best Adapted Screenplay. Also nominated were: Katharine Hepburn (best female lead), Ruth Hussey (best female supporting role), George Cukor for best director and producer Joseph Mankiewicz for best film. Stewart's Oscar win for The Night Before the Wedding was often seen as compensation for having lost the previous year for his performance in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . Hepburn was named Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle Award .
In 1995, The Night Before the Wedding was listed as "Historically, Culturally, or Aesthetically Significant" in the National Film Registry . The American Film Institute voted it 51st of the best American films of all time in 1998, and in a new edition of this list in 2007, the film moved up to 44th. The night before the wedding was also voted 15th for best comedies and 44th for best romance films by the American Film Institute.
Remake
In 1956, the original with Grace Kelly , Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the lead roles was remade as a musical under the title The Top Ten Thousand (original title: High Society ) . The plot essentially follows the original and, like the characters, only varies in details.
DVD release
- The night before the wedding. Special edition . (2-DVD set.) Warner Home Video 2005
- The night before the wedding in the series Süddeutsche Zeitung | Cinemathek - 50 Favorite Films of the SZ Cinema Review , No. 30, 2005
literature
- Philip Barry : The Philadelphia Story. A Comedy in Three Acts . S. French, New York and Los Angeles, et al. a. 1942, 141 pp.
- Author collective: The night before the wedding . Film program No. 180.Wiedleroither and W. Rabe, Stuttgart 1988, 12 pp.
Web links
- The night before the wedding at theInternet Movie Database(English)
- The night before the wedding atRotten Tomatoes(English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Mary Anne Melear: The Philadelphia Story (1940) Articles. In: Turner Classic Movies . Accessed May 5, 2019 .
- ↑ cf. Article about Helen Hope Montgomery Scott on Wikipedia
- ^ The Philadelphia Story at the Internet Broadway Database
- ↑ IMDb Business Dates
- ^ A b The Philadelphia Story (1940) Notes. In: Turner Classic Movies . Accessed May 5, 2019 .
- ↑ The Philadelphia Story at Old Hollywood Times, accessed September 1, 2019.
- ↑ The night before the wedding in Arne Kaul's synchronous database; accessed on May 5, 2019.
- ↑ The night before the wedding at Rotten Tomatoes (English), accessed on May 5, 2019.
- ↑ The night before the wedding. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 5, 2019 .
- ↑ The night before the wedding at Prisma
- ↑ The night before the wedding when the movie starts
- ↑ 6000 films. Critical notes from the cinema years 1945 to 1958 . Handbook V of the Catholic film criticism. 3. Edition. Verlag Haus Altenberg, Düsseldorf 1963, p. 317
- ↑ The night before the wedding at Allmovie
- ↑ Mr. Smith goes to Washington at Filmsite.org