The 20 Best of Spencer Tracy

Tracy and Hepburn ignite their unique chemistry. Tracy was romantic, something he had struggled with previously. This film, as much as any other, helped to make him a super-star.

Tracy won his first Oscar for his portrayal of the loyal priest. This role changed Tracy's career and opened up doors for him.

Tracy is dynamite as the wrongly-accused man. This film, along with "San Francisco", vaulted Tracy to the A-list.

Tracy would win his second Oscar in a row, with his portrayal of a Portuguese fisherman.

Tracy was nominated for his 3rd Oscar in a row and won his 2nd in a row. He play Father Flanagan with warmth and strength.

Tracy was now on a roll. MGM was setting him up with great cast-mates and solid scripts, and Tracy was delivering career-defining performances.

Tracy's uncanny resemblance to Edison, and his ability to bring a realism to even the most idealized characters, made him the perfect man for this film. He is wonderful in it.

Tracy was loaned out to his old home for this adventure film. Tracy takes his mugging, street-smart character to the jungle.

Another Gable and Tracy affair. With a little too much going on, it does not reach the levels of "San Francisco", yet the two stars make a formidable team and carry most of the picture.

This is a great forgotten little gem from Columbia pictures. Spencer Tracy is funny, tough, and charming as the homeless huckster Bill. Tracy works wonderfully with Loretta Young, as their off-screen romance spills over into their performances. This was easily Tracy's best performance up till then, as his Bill is utterly believable, whereas the dialogue in "The Power and the Glory" could, at times, seem forced.

Tracy is quite powerful as Tom Garner, an important railroad man. The story bounces between young and old Tom as he becomes more successful, but less happy. Tracy plays both the simple, gentle young Tom and the bitter, angry old Tom with genuine emotion. Though Sturges script isn't as good as some remember, it is still "Citizen Kane"- light, which is far better than anything else Tracy was being offered at the time.

The stars Louise Rainier and Spencer Tracy were both riding high as recent Oscar winners.

Spencer Tracy deliver in this drama directed by Michael Curtiz. Tracy co-stars with the incomparable Bette Davis in this prison film. He gets to display his volatile acting style and worked wonderfully with the young Davis.

Tracy has great chemistry with Harlow and is, of course, good as a fast talking mugg. This was Tracy's first picture as a contract player at MGM, and he immediately benefits from that studio's sense of artistry. Though the picture was a quickie by MGM's standards, it was still much better than the films that Tracy was working in at Fox, his previous studio.

Finally, Spencer Tracy was able to open up, and deliver a really good performance. Of course, being Fox in the early 30's, the material was second-rate. However, Tracy was able to deliver an electric performance as a cop who makes one terrible mistake.

Tracy plays the leader of men with aplomb.

Spencer Tracy plays the lead in this B-picture from Fox. He is much better here than in his first feature, "Up the River". He again plays a good guy, who slowly loses his morals, and ends up a bad guy. This time, however, he is much more convincing than in "Up the River".

Tracy gets to play opposite Joan Bennett for the second time in his short career, and shines. This was his eighth and final film in 1932, as Tracy worked for both Fox and was loaned out to MGM and producer Howard Hughes.

Tracy and Hepburn's second movie together. Tracy gets to play the more interesting character while Hepburn struggles with a poorly written character.

Probably the only good thing in this well-worn narrative was the performance of Tracy.