Introduced by George Feltenstein, Warner Bros. Discovery Library Historian, via Zoom

MGM stalwart Charles Walter turns into a sumptuous widescreen Technicolor musical Philip Barry’s hit play The Philadelphia Story, also the source material for George Cukor’s celebrated screwball comedy of 1940 starring Kathryn Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart. From “The City of Brotherly Love”, the story is transported amid Newport’s seaside elite  — a backdrop rendered even more fabulous by Cedric Gibbons’ magnificent sets. Cole Porter was hired to compose an original score, and Louis Armstrong narrates in song, surrounded by his orchestra. The filming also incorporated the Newport Jazz Festival, which had been established only two years prior to production. In her final screen role before marrying the Prince of Monaco, Grace Kelly stars as Tracy Samantha Lord, an aloof yet alluring socialite caught between her stolid fiancé (John Lund), a charming jazz artist (and ex-husband) C.K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby), and a sharp-tongued reporter (Frank Sinatra, in the role that earned James Stewart an Oscar) who falls for the beautiful bride-to-be.

High Society has been meticulously restored and newly remastered from its original VistaVision camera negative. The audio for the film is now presented with a new Dolby Atmos audio mix, derived from archival magnetic multi-channel source masters. This extensive restoration process took place earlier this year at Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging and Warner Bros. Archival Mastering (for audio). The restoration was undertaken with the promotional support of The Film Foundation.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Screens with:

When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (Fleischer Studios Cartoons, 1932, 9 mins)