Woman of the Year (1942)

Rival reporters Sam and Tess fall in love and get married, only to find their relationship strained when Sam comes to resent Tess' hectic lifestyle.

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Ring Lardner Jr. (original screen play), Michael Kanin (original screen play),

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Fay Bainter

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Spencer Tracy	...	Sam Craig
Katharine Hepburn	...	Tess Harding
Fay Bainter	...	Ellen Whitcomb
Reginald Owen	...	Clayton
Minor Watson	...	William J. Harding
William Bendix	...	'Pinkie' Peters
Gladys Blake	...	Flo Peters
Dan Tobin	...	Gerald Howe
Roscoe Karns	...	Phil Whittaker
William Tannen	...	Ellis
Ludwig Stössel	...	Dr. Lubbeck (as Ludwig Stossel)
Sara Haden	...	Matron
Edith Evanson	...	Alma
George Kezas	...	Chris

Storyline

Tess and Sam work on the same newspaper and don't like each other very much. At least the first time, because they eventually fall in love and get married. But, Tess is a very active woman and one of the most famous feminists in the country; she is even elected as "the woman of the year". Being busy all the time, she forgets how to really be a woman and Sam begins to feel negleted.

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Plot Keywords:

love | reporter | newspaper | screwball | stage | 

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Taglines:

The picture of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Russian German Spanish Greek

Release Date:

19 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mujer del año

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on April 19, 1943 with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy reprising their film roles.

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Goofs

In the first scene in the bar, in which all are listening to the NBC Radio program "Information, Please", the dial of the AM radio on the shelf behind the bar changes location between long shots and close-ups. It is correct in close-up, at 660kHz, one of the broadcast frequencies NBC used in New York City in the 1940s, and at 880kHz in long shots, the frequency of the New York City CBS affiliate.

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Quotes

Tess Harding: He-woh, Daddy!

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Connections

Remade as Woman of the Year (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Bridal Chorus (Here Comes the Bride)"
(1850) (uncredited)
from "Lohengrin"
Written by Richard Wagner
Played on an organ at the wedding

User Reviews

Great stuff with mediocre direction...

Woman of the Year (1942)

There are a few George Stevens films that I've connected with (Swing Time, of course, but that's not Stevens that makes it work, and Penny Serenade with Cary Grant, and Giant with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor much later). But most of his films have some awkward or artless feeling to them that put me off, like Shane, a western of some fame that I can't even make it through, and I'll watch almost anything.

And so there is this one, somewhere in the middle. It's oddly called Woman of the Year (for an award she wins that doesn't completely matter to the plot). It stars two of the most lovable and funny people out there, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in their first film. (They made nine together.) Maybe Stevens was too busy making anti-Nazi films to notice that he had some goods here that other directors would die for, but the plot drags, the filming is surprisingly lifeless (even though Stevens started out as a cinematographer). Most of all, the two actors are rarely given room to make their chemistry ignite. And I'm a fan of the two of them, so there was fence to cross on that score.

I know, I know, the movie even won academy awards for the writing. So take this all as just one person's take. And see for yourself. It is in fact well written, and the idea is fresh enough to start. It just should have more velocity than it does.

The plot circles around an unlikely romance (very screwball comedy stuff) that gets consummated (a screwball comedy no-no, until the last scene), and then has some funny but now familiar gags in the home (the kitchen scene in particular). This is actually odd for 1942, when men are mostly likely not competing for kitchen space with their new wives, but are instead going to war. (It's like there's a Depression backdrop here that someone forgot to notice was no longer appropriate. In 1937, moviegoers might dream of having just such a kitchen and such a life, and when things go wrong it's truly funny, but I'm not so sure in 1942.)

Take two very opposite news writers and have them clashing and then falling in love (the woman a worldly political writer who speaks a dozen languages, the man a likable but uncomplicated sports writer). Have their careers get in the way of their love affair. Have a Euro-based intellectual set and the salty stadium and bar crowd mingle (including one of my favorites, William Bendix). You get the idea. If there are not always sparks, there is a little smoke.