GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #194 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View The Philadelphia Story film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Heiress Tracy Lord's wedding is disrupted by her former husband and two magazine reporters sent to cover the private ceremony.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

On the eve of Philadelphia heiress Tracy Lord's second marriage, former husband C. K. Dexter Haven arrives alongside reporter Macaulay Connor and photographer Liz Imbrie. Their presence turns the family wedding into a contest of judgment, performance, and unresolved affection.

Why it belongs

George Cukor lets Hepburn, Grant, and Stewart frame class judgment and romantic history as champagne-light verbal and physical comedy.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Katharine Hepburn's shifting poise, Cary Grant's restraint, and James Stewart's looseness keep every alliance in motion. Elegant rooms, doors, pools, overlapping entrances, and precisely paced dialogue give the adapted stage comedy cinematic flow.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards2 wins1941 · official ceremony record ↗
Actor1941 · James Stewartofficial ceremony record ↗Writing (Screenplay)1941 · Donald Ogden Stewartofficial ceremony record ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 10044
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.1
Engagement9.0
Ease8.7

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Funny & Lively