The Philadelphia Story; a comedy in three acts

New York: Coward-McCann Inc.. Very Good+. (c.1939). First Edition. Hardcover. (lacking the original dust jacket, but encased in a professionally-made facsimile reproduction of same; see 2nd image posted with this listing) [good sound copy, light wear to extremities, spine slightly turned, age-toning to fore-edge, tiny spot on bottom edge of text block; vintage bookseller's label (Satyr Book Shop, Hollywood) on rear pastedown]. The original comedy from which the delightful 1940 movie of the same name was adapted. It was a Katharine Hepburn "project" all the way: having been named "box office poison" by American theatre owners in early 1938, a verdict seemingly confirmed by the financial failure of both films she appeared in that year, BRINGING UP BABY and HOLIDAY (ironically both considered top-drawer classics today). She then decamped to Broadway to appear in this sparkling comedy, which had been written specifically for her by Philip Barry (who had also written the play "Holiday" that the movie was based on). She was not only its star but also its primary financial backer -- and was already regarding it as a vehicle for her return to the screen -- and when the play was a hit (it opened in March 1939 and ran for a year), she leveraged her star power *and* her control of the rights to engineer her contract with M-G-M for what became her triumphant return to the movie world. The picture, directed by George Cukor (as HOLIDAY had been) was a smash (although weirdly, in retrospect, she was not among the Best Actress nominees for that year's Academy Awards), and Hepburn resumed her Hollywood career at the top of her form -- "poison" no more, and about to be fatefully teamed (in her very next picture, WOMAN OF THE YEAR) with Spencer Tracy. Surprisingly scarce in the first edition. NOTE again that this book bears a FACSIMILE dust jacket, to serve the dual purpose of protecting the book from further wear and enhancing its appearance on the shelf; its presence has not been factored in to our pricing. .