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Adam's Rib

  • 19491949
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Adam's Rib (1949)
Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
Play trailer3:06
2 Videos
28 Photos
  • Comedy
  • Romance
Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
21K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • George Cukor
  • Writers
    • Ruth Gordon(screen play)
    • Garson Kanin(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Judy Holliday
Top credits
  • Director
    • George Cukor
  • Writers
    • Ruth Gordon(screen play)
    • Garson Kanin(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Katharine Hepburn
    • Judy Holliday
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 125User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 4 nominations total

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 3:06
    Official Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 3:06
    Trailer

    Photos28

    Jean Hagen in Adam's Rib (1949)
    Tom Ewell, Jean Hagen, Judy Holliday, and Michael Kostrick in Adam's Rib (1949)
    Tom Ewell, Jean Hagen, and Judy Holliday in Adam's Rib (1949)
    722-1039 Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "Adam's Rib" 1949 MGM MPTV
    722-1041 Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "Adam's Rib" 1949 MGM MPTV
    722-1018 Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "Adam's Rib" 1949 MGM
    722-75 Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in "Adam's Rib" 1949 MGM MPTV
    722-1017 Katharine Hepburn and David Wayne in  "Adam's Rib" 1949 MGM MPTV
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Adam's Rib (1949)
    Tom Ewell and Judy Holliday in Adam's Rib (1949)
    Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Adam's Rib (1949)
    Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Bonnie Bannon, Harry Cody, Norman Field, Mickey Golden, Judy Holliday, Kenner G. Kemp, 'Snub' Pollard, Bert Stevens, and Arthur Tovey in Adam's Rib (1949)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Spencer Tracy
    Spencer Tracy
    • Adam Bonneras Adam Bonner
    Katharine Hepburn
    Katharine Hepburn
    • Amanda Bonneras Amanda Bonner
    Judy Holliday
    Judy Holliday
    • Doris Attingeras Doris Attinger
    Tom Ewell
    Tom Ewell
    • Warren Attingeras Warren Attinger
    David Wayne
    David Wayne
    • Kip Lurieas Kip Lurie
    Jean Hagen
    Jean Hagen
    • Beryl Caighnas Beryl Caighn
    Hope Emerson
    Hope Emerson
    • Olympia La Pereas Olympia La Pere
    Eve March
    Eve March
    • Graceas Grace
    Clarence Kolb
    Clarence Kolb
    • Judge Reiseras Judge Reiser
    Emerson Treacy
    Emerson Treacy
    • Jules Frikkeas Jules Frikke
    Polly Moran
    Polly Moran
    • Mrs. McGrathas Mrs. McGrath
    Will Wright
    Will Wright
    • Judge Marcassonas Judge Marcasson
    Elizabeth Flournoy
    • Dr. Margaret Brodeighas Dr. Margaret Brodeigh
    Edward Andrews
    Edward Andrews
    • Kip's neighboras Kip's neighbor
    • (uncredited)
    Bonnie Bannon
    Bonnie Bannon
    • Woman in Courtroomas Woman in Courtroom
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Bastin
    Charles Bastin
    • Young District Attorneyas Young District Attorney
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Baum
    • Commuteras Commuter
    • (uncredited)
    Joseph E. Bernard
    Joseph E. Bernard
    • Mr. Bonner - Adam's Fatheras Mr. Bonner - Adam's Father
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • George Cukor
    • Writers
      • Ruth Gordon(screen play)
      • Garson Kanin(screen play)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Inspired by the real-life story of husband-and-wife lawyers William Dwight Whitney and Dorothy Whitney, who represented Raymond Massey and his ex-wife Adrienne Allen in their divorce. After the Massey divorce was over, the Whitneys divorced each other and married the respective Masseys.
    • Goofs
      When Olympia lifts Adam in court, Kip jumps out of his seat and races forward, laughing. In subsequent shots he is alternately standing/sitting.
    • Quotes

      Kip Lurie: Lawyers should never marry other lawyers. This is called in-breeding; from this comes idiot children and more lawyers.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits are little curtains that go up and down, on a stage in a performance hall.
    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a computer colorized version.
    • Connections
      Edited into Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
    • Soundtracks
      Farewell, Amanda
      (1949)

      Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter

      Played during the opening credits and often in the score

      Sung by David Wayne (uncredited), accompanying himself on the piano

      Reprised by the voice of Frank Sinatra (uncredited) on the radio

      Whistled by Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)

      Sung a cappella by Spencer Tracy (uncredited)

    User reviews125

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    The Best of Hepburn and Tracy
    Of the nine films which paired Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, Adam's Rib is often considered the best. Writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin were friends of the famous couple and wrote the film specifically for them. Kate insisted the film be directed by her favorite screen director, George Cukor, who services the brilliant writing and on-screen chemistry with his trademark elegant staging and unobtrusive style. The result is a comedy that remains the best "battle of the sexes" films ever made.

    When Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) discovers her husband in the arms of another woman, she opens fire and is charged with attempted murder. Enter Adam and Amanda Bonner (Tracy and Hepburn), married lawyers whose lives are turned upside down when Adam is assigned to the prosecution. An ardent proponent of women's rights, Amanda decides to represent Doris, claiming that if the sex of the parties on trial were switched, the jury would feel differently. This conflict of interests creates friction in the courtroom as well as the Bonners' home.

    Spencer Tracy, with his confident and relaxed screen presence, paints Adam as a man quite comfortable with his wife's force and ambition. But Adam grows upset with Amanda as the media spotlight finds the case and magnifies it into a cause for women's rights. He accuses Amanda with disregard for the law, reminding her that no one, man or woman, has the right to take the law into their own hands, and that Amanda is using the case for her own selfish purposes. The script is careful not to polarize Adam's interests. He reveres the law and has no special affection for Doris' husband. In opposing him, Katherine Hepburn manages to retain her signature strength while also portraying Amanda as a loving wife who fears the damage her marriage may sustain because of the case and its publicity. Amanda alleges that Doris is doomed to an unfair trial because the general public irrationally feels male infidelity is much more permissible than female infidelity.

    The courtroom becomes a spectacle when Amanda puts a circus strong-woman on the stand and asks her to lift Adam. Tracy rises to the occasion, with an angry outburst that is empowered by his otherwise calm and restrained performance. Despite their marital bliss before the case, Adam admits that he likes "two sexes" and doesn't care for having a wife who is a "new woman" and a "competitor". This rare outpouring causes Amanda to realize just how personally Adam is taking the trial, and that it could result in their divorce.

    Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin deserve special recognition for creating a balanced on-screen battle in what has always been a controversial debate - gender equality. Amanda's plight is shaded by her experiences as a woman, and Adam is presented as a man who admits to always trying to hear her side of the story. That their marriage was a happy one before the trial is an indication of the equality they had achieved together. Amanda is, in fact, equal to Adam in both the career and financial worlds. To create a sparring partner for Amanda, Gordon and Kanin could easily have presented a misogynist, or even a lovable but cantankerous traditionalist. They were wiser to portray Adam as a man who simply refused to see the case as one for gender equality, but for vigilantism.

    As directed by George Cukor, Adam's Rib features a great many long takes that play uninterrupted. Even during moments of action, like the scene in which both Bonners are getting dressed for dinner, Cukor utilizes minimal staging and camera movement. The camera points directly across the Bonners' bedroom, with her dressing room off frame left and his off frame right. They shout at each other, poking their heads into the frame, occasionally walking through the frame and back again. And later, when Adam discovers Kip and Amanda together, the ensuing fight is framed similarly, with the camera looking down the apartment hallway, characters popping into frame from the left or right and back again. This isn't to say Cukor doesn't move his camera much. There are several decisive camera movements, but Cukor's sparing use of them, and his tendency to rely more on well-composed master angles gives the film an elegant, traditional Hollywood style. The film also benefits from a lively score by Mikos Rozsa and a catchy Cole Porter tune, "Farewell Amanda". Jean Hagen, unforgettable for her comic turn in Singin' in the Rain, again demonstrates her talent for comedy as the "other woman".

    Cukor must have realized that with Tracy and Hepburn on screen, all the camera really had to do was follow them, frame them, and let the sparks fly.

    The screenplay and the actors' off-screen romance are gifts to the film. We feel for both of them, and believe in what both are trying to achieve. It is rare that a film about difference and equality plays so fairly to all parties involved, and also rare that such a sensitive subject can retain its comic appeal. But for all the film says about equality, Adam's Rib ultimately serves to remind us that when it comes to Hepburn and Tracy, there is no equal. - Scott Schirmer
    helpful•64
    7
    • swayland7
    • Oct 8, 2004

    FAQ1

    • If Kip is gay, why is he always chasing after Amanda ? Adam and Amanda insinuate that Kip "doesn't have far to go" to be a woman, but there he is, funneling champagne down Amanda's throat !

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 17, 1949 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Man and Wife
    • Filming locations
      • Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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