Tss5078 When I'm in the mood for a classic film, I usually look for something with Spencer Tracy in it. In an era where so many things were over the top and hard to follow, Tracy was a breath of fresh air, so very far ahead of his time. Adam's Rib is one of nine films he made with Katharine Hepburn, and is considered to be the best of the lot, I completely disagree. The film is ahead of it's time in that it's focused on woman's rights and asserts an affirmative defense for a violent crime, but the fact that it was a comedy, making light of a very serious charge, made the film lose credibility, and as a result, the message it was trying to portray does not come across very well at all. Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) has caught her husband cheating and responded by shooting him. It seems an open and shut case for prosecuting attorney, Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy), until his beautiful wife, Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) agrees to defend Mrs. Attinger. Her defense is an affirmative one, claiming that Doris Attinger should be acquitted, because a man arrested under similar circumstance would be. The claim is absolutely ridiculous even for 1949, because if anything, the justice system would have been harder on a man who shot his wife as opposed to her lover. Mrs. Bonner turns the trial into an absolute circus, embarrassing her husband, leading to an internal conflict in their marriage. This should have been where the comedy really came in, these fights between the two should have been hilarious, but they weren't. The couples fights were more serious, intense, and depressing than the trial itself. Everything about this film just seemed to be backwards and ridiculous, in particular Katharine Hepburn, who was so over the top in the courtroom, that it completely nullifies her argument. Here is a woman trying to stand up for woman's rights, by pulling ridiculous stunts and being unprofessional in the courtroom, how is that supposed to show that a woman can be just as good at her job as a man? The bottom line is that this film had a very serious message to spread, but everything was so backwards and misplaced, that it just loses any credibility it had, along with my interest about half way through. If Adam's Rib wasn't about a court case, and I wasn't waiting for the verdict, I probably wouldn't have sat through the whole thing.

Moviegeek-TFB Loving couple Adam (Spence Tracy) and Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) are both lawyers. When a woman (Judy Holiday) is charged for attempting to murder husband (Tom Ewell) who she caught in the arms of another woman (Jean Hagen) Adam gets the case. But as Amanda sees it as an important case for equal rights for women she takes on the job as defender and soon husband and wife face each other in court. But can they keep the battle in court and out of the marriage?The sixth film starring real life couple Tracy (Guess Who's Coming to Diner, 1967) and Hepburn (The African Queen, 1951) Adam's Rib was written specifically as a vehicle for the two and there is no doubt that the two of them seems at ease with each other or that watching the chemistry between them is one of the best things about the movie. That is not so bad when considering how good the movie is! The court room scenes are dramatic and tense and the home front scenes are tender and sweet, giving you the best of two worlds in one movie. But from the party the couple have, where their neighbour Kip stands out from the group like a sore thumb and clearly rubs Adam the wrong way, things slowly start changing for the worse as the fights in court starts sneaking into the house. The movie quickly moves from being a pleasant watch to becoming a tense story as you watch Adam and Amanda struggle to keep their marriage together. Adam is a man with integrity and a healthy opinion of what is right and wrong. Tracy has no trouble giving his character the strength needed just as he excels in showing his softer sides brought forward by his beloved wife. Meanwhile Amanda is his equal in both intelligence and strength, the latter seemingly surprising her husband a bit. Hepburn shifts brilliantly between Amanda's powerful presence in court to the regretful wife realizing her outbursts has created trouble in paradise. As the situation becomes more heated it becomes clear that this is as much about the battle between the sexes as it is about a power couple facing each other professionally and it doesn't help much that Kip keeps buzzing around Amanda like honey to a bee. He is played wonderfully by a game Wayne (How to Marry a Millionaire, 1953) hitting a fine line between annoying and plain out creepy while Holliday (Born Yesterday, 1950) is deliciously dumb as the woman charged with murder. When it comes to movies about couples as well as movies about the battle of sexes, this is about as good as it gets.Moviegeek.eu

Shawn Inlow Adam's Rib 1949 / George Cukor 101 minutes Vault Rating: 8Here's a great little film, perhaps the best of the Spencer Tracy / Katherine Hepburn vehicles of the time that sparkles even today in the first half with brilliant dialogue and clever framing of scenes that make the most of its two stars.If only the film didn't have to go anywhere or prove any point. In its day, the film's message about gender equality must have been quite something, but today it is a little preachy, but still class all the way. This is a film not to be missed.The story finds Adam (Tracy) and A"man"da (Hepburn) as a so-in-love couple of lawyers who wind up on either side of a case where a jilted housewife (Judy Holliday, in the quintessential ditzy blonde role, often copied but never equaled - well except that same year as she won the Oscar for "best actress" for her ditzy blonde in "Born Yesterday.") has finally had enough of her two-timing husband and busts a cap in his ass.Let the court-room hi jinx and pre-1950's battle of the sexes begin! Too bad women today are still battling for equal pay for equal work. Politics aside, this is a charmer with so many facets to recommend it that they're hard to enumerate.To name a few, co-writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin were nominated for the Oscar in 1951 for "best writing, story and screenplay" but somehow lost to the heavyweights behind "Sunset Boulevard." And the film was lovingly and rightly placed on the National Film Registry in 1992. A joyful movie overall, but what really recommends it is the effortless quality of the interplay between Tracy and Hepburn who, frankly, aren't acting. We know in retrospect that the two had a long love affair off screen and it shines through on screen to the utter benefit of the audience.

faterson What a pleasure it is to observe supreme artists doing what they're doing best, when they're in top shape! That's exactly what you get while watching _Adam's Rib_ -- a vehicle written specifically for the talents of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn (gloriously attractive, and showing off her slender waist, at 42 years of age) by their personal friends, no less fabulous screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Add the light touch of master director George Cukor; add four delightfully competent performances by the four secondary cast members Judy Holliday (in her first big film role), Tom Ewell (hilarious and giving you a glimpse of what would come later in _The Seven Year Itch_), Jean Hagen (of _Singin' in the Rain_ fame) and David Wayne -- and what could possibly go wrong? Nothing. The script is extremely sophisticated -- it's truly an accomplishment when an actor can get the audience to laugh by uttering a single meaningful, forceful syllable in between extended periods of silence: "Once!", like Spencer Tracy does during one of his quarrels with Hepburn. Like all great comedies, _Adam's Rib_ is great in that it is not really a pure comedy; when you see Tracy flaring in anger against Hepburn, and vice versa, you can see that the characters' emotions and life convictions, behind the anger, are as real as in any dramatic film. Similarly, Judy Holliday gives a finely tuned performance as the abused wife; she is both funny to look at and pitiable at the same time. And, the final family reunion scene can warm the viewers' hearts like no pure comedy could if its only intention were just to go straight for the laughs. Yes, the battle of sexes may appear dated in 2012 when viewed in its late 1940s variety -- but the battle of sexes is ongoing as we speak, and so the movie still has a lot to say today. Very nice black-and-white cinematography, too, particularly in the New York street scenes; a beautifully captured period piece! _Adam's Rib_ is perhaps not the very pinnacle of artistic achievement, but it's definitely a prime exhibit of the Art of Comedy.