The Philadelphia Story: George Cukor had in his hands all the elements for crafting a comedy of this stature: a simple (but far from shallow) story, with a great ensemble of characters (there’s not one speaking roles that is uninteresting), superb fast-paced dialogue (thanks to Donald Ogden Stewart and Philip Barry) read by a great, ship-shape cast. Of course, he then executed it flawlessly and elegantly, creating a major classic. Joseph Ruttenberg’s camerawork is simple, efficient; he captures the locations perfectly, and Katharine Hepburn’s face, very alluringly. She has never looked better, and she balances the many facets of her character perfectly; James Stewart is charming; Cary Grant plays this sort of role to a perfection; the rest of the cast is equally good.