Tracy Samantha Lord

There are many things I found interesting after listening to The Philadelphia Story’s audio commentary. One of them though is the development of the character of Tracy Lord. Katharine Hepburn personifies her so well, and it’s no wonder as she was written for her. But the what stands out more is the evolution of the romantic comedy heroine up to this point.

Tracy was modeled after Hepburn, with Philip Barry following her around and capturing her mannerisms, her way of talking, even her seemingly arrogance and transferring all that into paper. Barry was able to play up Hepburn’s strengths and downplay her weaknesses so that she came across as likable, but more importantly human.

One of the things about Tracy that everyone alludes to is her aloofness, her air of superiority; she’s even referred to as a goddess. Apparently, these were all things that Hepburn gave off, and in fact, any society girl might give off to the public. While in the average screwball comedy you might see Carole Lombard parodying this kind of girl as a Park Avenue brat, Barry in change has written Tracy as a girl who tries to live in modern times but she’s very much confused and still in need of growth.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this film is that the heroine spends little time with her hero. Most of the time Tracy spends it with Mike, who knows Tracy shouldn't marry George and tries to convince her otherwise. It takes a moment of indiscretion with Mike for Tracy to realize she is as flawed as everyone she faults. Whereas in the screwball comedy the heroine would never realize her flaws as such but instead use them to ensnare the hero throughout the film, Tracy weeps at this realization of herself as a flawed creature, and subsconsciously realizes she's still in love with Dexter.

And yet, for such a modern girl Tracy thinks herself to be, Dexter proposes in the end, she promises "to be yar," alluding herself to his boat, the True Love. It doesn't much matter because you want them to be together in the end when it's clear Tracy and Mike won't work out, but forasmuch as Tracy has feminist tendencies, they all get thrown off to the side in the end with that kind of statement. At the same time though, Tracy is more approachable, likable, but most of all relatable in the end. She's just like us!

Jeanette Basinger referred to The Philadelphia Story as a transition film, and Tracy Lord is very much a transitional heroine as well. She still has that biting tongue and shares such fun banter with Dexter, very much of a screwball comedy. But in this film it seems that romantic comedy evolves to another level, and in order to remain relevant, exciting, and new, the romantic comedy heroine must as well.