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Adam's Rib (1949 film)
Directed By:
George Cukor
Produced By:
Lawrence Weingarten
Written By/Screenplay:
Ruth Gordon Garson Kanin
Starring:
Spencer Tracy Katharine Hepburn Judy Holliday Tom Ewell David Wayne Jean Hagen
Photography:
Black and white
Distributed By:
MGM
Release Date:
1949
Runtime:
100 minutes
Adam's Rib is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars as the third lead in her second credited movie role. Also featured are Tom Ewell, David Wayne, and Jean Hagen. The music was composed by Miklós Rózsa, and song "Farewell, Amanda" was written by Cole Porter.
Why It Rocks
The film pokes fun at the double standard between the sexes. The screenplay for the MGM classic (screwball) comedy of the post-war years was extremely ahead of its time. The simple plot-line about a happily-married, middle-aged husband and wife, whose marriage was strained while serving as trial attorneys on opposite sides of the same headline-making, attempted murder, marital case (he as the prosecutor, she as the defender), served as the backdrop for the daring exposition of feminist principles, a display of archetypal male vs. female issues, and an examination of sex-role stereotyping.*
The film's title itself serves as clever symbolism to this aspect as the bible has Adam - as in "first-man-created-by-God" Adam-- get his rib taken out which would then form Eve -- the first woman in existence.*
Cukor's primary concern with less with technical matters and more with acting, with ranged in experience on this film from veteran to novice. Incredible acting from nearly the whole cast; especially Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn who co-star once again in what may be their most memorable team-up yet, as they play husband and wife attorneys, each drawn to the same case of attempted murder.
With her scene-stealing performance as a bimbo, the film boosted Judy Holliday into stardom.
Tom Ewell, Jean Hagen, and David Wayne, other character stars, launched their careers with this film.
Despite the duo's opposing views, Adam and Amanda Bonner still manage to remain relatable and lovable co-leads. since both of them provide valid reasons for their different opinions.
During a prosecution trial, Amanda decides to represent a woman who nearly murdered her husband, claiming that if the sex of the parties on trial were switched, the jury would feel differently. Adam's painted as a man quite comfortable with his wife's force and ambition, but he 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 film makes sure 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.
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. The fact that their marriage was happy and healthy 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, Adam could have easily been a misogynist, or even a lovable but cantankerous traditionalist, but instead, Adam's a man who simply refused to see the case as one for gender equality, but for vigilantism.
The film contains an Oscar-nominated memorable, humorously satirical, and unforgettable script that really helps to make the film humorous and timeless.
Even though the film may sometimes feel stagy - with long, uninterrupted scenes, an immobile camera, and absurd and improbable situations, the aforementioned witty dialogue exchanges and skillful acting, is enough to pull you away from those feelings.
Although this film is the sixth out of nine Tracy/Hepburn pairings on screen, the film most accurately captures how moviegoers believed the central duo behaved in real life. Screenwriters Kanin and Gordon used their insiders knowledge of the lives of the stars to ground their stories with the sort of personal details that gave them the ring of truth.
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