By the 30s, Katharine Hepburn was box office poison. Then she made The Philadelphia Story
As a stuck-up socialite tangled in a love triangle, Hepburn delivers one of the most memorable screwball heroines – and we can’t help but love herThese days, Katharine Hepburn is revered as a progressive icon of Hollywood’s golden age, an androgynous (and possibly queer) fashion rebel whose four best actress awards have yet to be topped at the Oscars,But back in 1938, only six years into her illustrious career, she was branded as “box office poison”,She was a star ahead of her time, her domineering screen presence registering as shrill and petulant by the tail end of the 1930s,After the box office disappointments of Bringing up Baby and Holiday – both now canonised romcom classics – she retreated from Hollywood and signed on to a new play penned by her friend Philip Barry: The Philadelphia Story,Like its film adaptation, Barry’s script centres on Tracy Lord, a stuck-up socialite (easily read as a stand-in for Hepburn herself) set to marry a wealthy politician, only for the wedding to be upended by the arrival of two competing romantic prospects: her ex-husband, CK Dexter Haven, and tabloid reporter Mike Connor.
The production was a runaway success on Broadway, and Hepburn soon took the reins of a film version, for which she brought on her trusted collaborator George Cukor (A Star is Born, My Fair Lady and countless more) as director.Her initial choice of co-leads – Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind) and Spencer Tracy (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) were vetoed.But it’s hard to imagine a more dazzling collision of stars than the eventual casting of Cary Grant (Charade) and James Stewart (It’s a Wonderful Life) as Dexter and Mike respectively.Across their four collaborations, which culminated in The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn and Grant would continually redefine one of the finest pairings in romcom history.The former’s strong-willed, fast-talking women bulldozed over lesser leading men, but were perfectly parried by the slinky yet similarly imposing Grant.
As embittered, sniping exes, they effortlessly locate each other’s pressure points – Dexter’s alcoholism, Tracy’s performance of invulnerability – but they share a private camaraderie.It’s James Stewart’s Mike, though, who guides the film’s sweeping romantic moments (and sets the benchmark for drunk acting).The night before the wedding, he shares a poolside flirtation with the bride-to-be that evolves into an exhilarating declaration of love, powered by Stewart’s earnest intensity.“You’re lit from within, Tracy.You’ve got fires banked down in you, hearth fires and holocausts,” he beseeches.
Cukor’s rapturous direction presses into both actors until they’re framed in glazed, moonlit closeups, Hepburn’s eyes and beaded gown twinkling irresistibly,She’s every bit the goddess that he sees,But the film doesn’t allow her to bask in the image for long,The Philadelphia Story’s success hinges on Tracy’s humbling,She lowers herself from her own lofty esteem to eventually find love among other mere mortals, catering to the public’s desire to see Hepburn taken down a peg.
There’s maybe some truth to Kazuo Ishiguro’s dismissal of the film as “a really nasty piece of work”, especially considering how the screwball comedy traditionally revolved around stories of men being cut down to size,I think the screenplay deserves more credit for its intricacies: at each corner of the love triangle is a deeply fallible character who hides behind various defence mechanisms,Tracy’s eventual happiness is entirely her own choice; she only submits to love upon finding the one person who can recognise and accept her faults,In a subgenre defined by its memorable female leads, Tracy Lord offers one of the more nuanced takes on the screwball heroine,She’s a spoilt brat, an arrogant intellectual, an impervious fortress – and under Hepburn’s command, you can’t help but fall in love.
The Philadelphia Story is available to stream on HBO Max in Australia and available to rent in the UK and US,For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list
The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February.The platform, which was created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, provides same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information given by a patient in real time.When the clinic was first launched in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region were about 18 weeks.The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% over the course of the 12-week period due to the use of Flok combined with other initiatives such as community assessment days, according to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust (CCS), which deployed the services in those areas of England
The care sector needs migrant workers. Labour’s visa crackdown is a cynical move | Letter
You are right to highlight, in your editorial, the folly of the government’s decision to make it harder for migrant workers to find work as carers in the UK (The Guardian view on Labour’s visa crackdown in social care: another problem for an overstretched system, 22 July).It’s a cynical political move aimed at spiking Reform UK’s guns on immigration, rather than alleviating pressure on the much-maligned care sector. Migrant workers are indispensable in filling roles that have been undervalued, underpaid and unwanted for too long.With thousands more care professionals needed to look after our ageing population, the government needs a joined-up approach if the crisis-ridden sector is to be transformed.While the government’s fair pay agreement is the first step in turning care around, ministers must think again on their approach to foreign help – and, closer to home, announce the funding to make the fair pay agreement a reality
Green burials – the biodegradable alternative | Letter
For those who find the idea of burning their deceased friend’s body distasteful (‘The delivery man arrived with the ashes in a gift bag’ – why are so many people opting out of traditional funerals?, 23 July), an alternative to direct cremation is a green burial, which costs more but not excessively so. Here, the grave is not permanent, and everything that goes in it has to be biodegradable – this rules out embalming. Coffins must be made of cardboard or untreated wood – woven willow is becoming very popular. No permanent memorial is allowed, but usually a wooden plaque can be added, which will last for several years if oiled. Natural wildflowers can often be planted, but vases cannot be used
NHS nurse’s tribunal over trans doctor’s use of changing room adjourns
The employment tribunal brought by a NHS Fife nurse who objected to sharing a changing room with a transgender woman has adjourned ahead of closing submissions to be heard in September.Sandie Peggie, who has worked as a nurse for more than 30 years, is claiming she was subject to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act when she was expected to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton.The tribunal heard a further two weeks of witness evidence concluding on Tuesday. It is being watched closely for how it may be influenced by April’s landmark judgment by the supreme court, which ruled the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who held gender recognition certificates. The ruling has been publicly welcomed by Peggie and her supporters
Migration fuels second largest population jump in England and Wales for more than 75 years
The population of England and Wales has grown by the second largest annual increase in more than 75 years, largely due to international migration.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the population grew by 700,000 in the year to June 2024, the second largest numerical jump since at least 1949, when comparable data began.The size of the increase is second only to the rise of 821,210 in the preceding 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.The ONS found net international migration – the difference between people moving to the country and leaving – accounted for 690,147 of the estimated population increase of 706,881 people, or 98% of the total.It is estimated 1,142,303 people immigrated to England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024, while 452,156 were likely to have emigrated
Third of UK teenagers who vape will go on to start smoking, research shows
A third of UK teenagers who vape will go on to start smoking tobacco, research shows, meaning they are as likely to smoke as their peers were in the 1970s.A long-term intergenerational study found that the likelihood of starting to smoke among people aged 17 in 2018 was about 1.5% if they did not vape compared with 33% if they did.The findings suggest that e-cigarettes are increasingly acting as a “gateway” to nicotine cigarettes for children, undermining falling rates of teen smoking over the past 50 years.The study looked at teenagers in 2018 as it was the most recent year for which there was available comparable data
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