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litlover12) wrote2015-06-27 12:32 am
Master Class: The Drunk Scene from 'The Philadelphia Story'
Try an experiment some time. Bring up the drunk scene from The Philadelphia Story (1940) to a group of classic movie fans (like the folks at #TCMParty on Twitter, for instance) and I can almost guarantee you they'll start trading lines:
"Oh, C. K. Dexter-HAAAVENN!"
And "Champagne is a great leveleleler."
And "C. K. Dexter-Haven, you have unsuspected depth!"
And . . . but I don't want to spoil the whole scene for you. Suffice it to say, this is a well-known, well-loved scene. I would even say it's one of the best comic scenes ever put on film, performed by two great actors at the top of their game and helmed by a director, George Cukor, who excelled at bringing out the best in a cast. And who also, fortunately, encouraged ad libbing.
Interestingly, in various modern video tributes to Jimmy Stewart's career, the scene following this one -- with a drunken Stewart rhapsodizing over an equally drunken Katharine Hepburn ("there's a magnificence in you, Tracy!") -- always seems to be highlighted. But to my mind, that scene can't hold a candle to this one with Stewart and Cary Grant. The two play off each other brilliantly, with Grant as amused straight man to Stewart's antics, and the whole situation is just more fun.
The setup: Tracy Samantha Lord (Hepburn) is marrying a stuffed shirt named George Kittredge. Her ex-husband, Dexter (Grant), isn't too keen on the idea and wouldn't mind sabotaging the proceedings if possible. At the same time, though, he's trying to protect Tracy and her family from blackmail by the weaselly magazine editor Sidney Kidd, who has dirt on Tracy's father. He agrees to help two of Kidd's staffers, reporter Macaulay "Mike" Connor (Stewart) and photographer Liz Imbrie, gain access to the family and do a photo spread on Tracy's wedding, in exchange for Kidd's silence. Mike falls for Tracy, and at her pre-wedding party, they both get sloshed and act a little too friendly with each other. While Kittredge and Tracy are getting into a fight, Mike impulsively gets in a taxi and heads for Dexter's house to have a little talk.
And we're off to the races.
(Sorry I had to link instead of embed. The TCM site is the only place where I could find the scene uncut, and it doesn't lend itself well to embedding.)
The two actors' styles here couldn't be more different: Stewart completely over the top, Grant laid-back and low-key. Look at the leer on Stewart's face -- the guy with the down-home aw-shucks image is not generally known for leering, but when he wants to, he can give you the most buffoonish drunken leer you've ever seen. The fascinating thing, though, is that as wild and abandoned as his performance seems, he's perfectly in control the whole time. Look at all those bits of comic business he throws in, like the part where he finds himself eye to eye with the fox head on the wall -- his comic timing is just beautiful to watch. And look how seamlessly his mood shifts from high to low when the name of Kidd -- his boss and his nemesis -- is brought into the conversation. (And listen to his "Doggone it!" Only James Stewart could play a cynical, hard-bitten, drunk reporter who says things like "doggone it," and get away with it.)
And then there's the hiccup. Stewart said later that he had ad libbed that first hiccup, causing Grant to ad lib "Excuse me" right back at him, and you can see the two men almost crack up. But I like the bit just after that, when you can see Grant watching him with a sort of impressed, "I wonder what this kid's gonna pull next" expression. Grant was the established star in the room, while Stewart, after years of working his way up, had just his first smash hit with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the year before. But you can tell Grant sees and appreciates an equal here. And he was right: Stewart won the Oscar for this performance. It's generally held that it was a sort of apology for his not winning for Mr. Smith, but I disagree. I think this performance, and this scene in particular, fully deserved the award. (Of course I think he should have won for Mr. Smith as well, but that's a rant for another day!)
Though I've lavished all this praise on Stewart's performance, I treasure Grant's as well. It takes talent to be the straight man, and it takes discipline to rein oneself in when one's co-star is shooting off in all directions -- especially when Grant was capable of being just as over-the-top hilarious when he got the opportunity (see The Awful Truth and Arsenic and Old Lace and many others). In fact, the two actors were pulling a kind of "Freaky Friday" here, as Grant had starred in quite a few screwball comedies in the recent past, while Stewart had mostly been in dramas right before this.
Given all this, the way Grant restrains himself and never once tries to match Stewart's mood or energy level shows versatility, intelligence, and a refreshing lack of ego. But he holds his own by using his great gift for the humorous aside -- there has never been an actor, before or since, who was better at keeping up a sort of witty running commentary on the events of a film, which is a fantastic way to get an audience on your side. Though the spotlight is on Stewart, the scene would not be what it is without Grant's steadying, grounded, subtly funny presence. Each is equally committed to the scene in his own way, and they balance each other perfectly and make it truly a scene for the ages.
I regret that the clip above doesn't extend quite as far as Stewart's "DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" which is one of my favorite parts -- but of course, you could always go watch the whole movie. Now that you've seen the best part, you really ought to give the rest a try!
And be sure to read the other entries at the ". . . And Scene!" blogathon. There are lots of great ones!
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Cary Grant AND Jimmy Stewart in the same movie?!
Were two more gorgeous and charming men ever created? I think not!
*faints*
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Personally, I never cared much for the famous scene between Hepburn and Stewart, I think there are many other scenes in the movie that are just better (dialogue and performance).
And the one above definitly is one of them. ^_^ You're so right: James Stewart is wonderful when he plays against type (he did it equally well in a very different role in "Rope") and as marvelous Cary Grant is when he steals the show, he always was a good team-player, I admire that very much. Together, they were magical - I like Katharine Hepburn, but in my opinion, she never had a chance in "The Philadelphia Story", the leading men simply took that movie and ran with it.
Lovely post! ♥