Wittiest three-way ever: Kate, Cary, and Jimmy in The Philadelphia Story, one of four old Hepburn titles being screened over two weeks to honor the centennial of her birth. George Cukor’s 1940 adaptation of the Broadway smash—written specifically for Kate, and based on her patrician public image—overflows with zingers. “I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives,” the bored, rich Grant tells outsider novelist Stewart. “You know one time I secretly wanted to be a writer.” Less well known is the 1946 companion noir, Vincente Minnelli’s Undercurrent, in which a cast-against-type plebeian Hepburn suspects her secret-psycho husband (Robert Taylor) wants to kill her. And, in another bit of offbeat casting, Robert Mitchum plays the gallant who comes to her rescue. (Next week: Adam’s Rib and Summertime.) 6:30 p.m. (Philadelphia Story) and 8:45 p.m. (Undercurrent)

Fri., Nov. 23, 2007