Adam's Rib (1949)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ruth Gordon (screenplay) and
Garson Kanin (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 November 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

It Will Tickle Your Funny Bone !

Plot:

Domestic and professional tensions mount when a husband and wife work as opposing lawyers in a case involving a woman who shot her husband.

Plot Keywords:

Lawyer | Prosecutor | Marriage | Elevator | Domestic Violence

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Adam Bonner
Katharine Hepburn	...	Amanda Bonner
Judy Holliday	...	Doris Attinger
Tom Ewell	...	Warren Attinger
David Wayne	...	Kip Lurie
Jean Hagen	...	Beryl Caighn
Hope Emerson	...	Olympia La Pere
Eve March	...	Grace
Clarence Kolb	...	Judge Reiser
Emerson Treacy	...	Jules Frikke
Polly Moran	...	Mrs. McGrath
Will Wright	...	Judge Marcasson
Elizabeth Flournoy	...	Dr. Margaret Brodeigh

Also Known As:

Man and Wife (USA) (working title)
A Costela de Adão (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Ehekrieg (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
La Costilla de Adán (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Ádám bordája (Hungary) [hu]
Aatamin kylkiluu (Finland) [fi]
Adam kai Eva (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
Adams revben (Sweden) [sv]
Adams ribben (Denmark) [da]
Ap' to plevro tou Adam (Greece) [el]
La costola di Adamo (Italy) [it]
Madame porte la culotte (France) [fr]
Zebro Adama (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Approved (certificate #14029) | UK:U | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Bayard Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

When Tom Ewell is walking to his girlfriend's apartment at the beginning of the film, he is whistling "You Are My Lucky Star". This song is also featured in Singin' in the Rain (1952) which stars the same actress who plays Tom Ewell's girlfriend, Jean Hagen.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the trial, when Adam Bonner is talking to the jury, he makes a few slips of the tongue. You can see Amanda's hand jump to cover her mouth to keep from laughing in several shots, while in other shots her hand is on the table in front of her.

Quotes:

Amanda Bonner: [addressing the court] For years, women have been ridiculed, pampered, chucked under the chin. I ask you, on behalf of us all, be fair to the fair sex.
Adam Bonner: We'll be here a year.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Farewell, Amanda

Clever, humane comedy

For a while it seems that "Adam's Rib" will be hard to take. More precisely: Katharine Hepburn's Amanda is hard to take. Her feminism - when put to the test - amounts to little more than anthem singing; and however sympathetic her client may be, we can see at once that the case for the defence is almost entirely frivolous. Yet George Cukor is standing in the gallery, apparently cheering her on. It's infuriating. It's like watching an Edwardian comedy about suffragettes.

Well, no. The film is a good deal smarter than we had given it credit for being ... oh, very well, smarter than *I* had given it credit for being. Gordon, Kanin and Cukor understand our infuriation; the supposedly shrill dispute in the first half is merely a starting point. Maybe audiences these days AREN'T too sophisticated for this kind of film. Maybe we're too stupid. (Oh, very well, maybe I'M too stupid.) -In any event, this is really a story about Adam and Amanda. Their story becomes deeper as the trial becomes shallower.

Even while it's infuriating us (our infuriation will be used to good effect later, of course) "Adam's Rib" is never less than pleasant to watch. One reason is that Hepburn and Tracy are just so brilliant. The script serves them both well: neither player is denied good lines, and any impression that Hepburn is meant to be just some hothead, or that Tracy is meant to be just some schmuck, is transitory. This is a wonderful script! My only previous exposure to Hepburn and Tracy had been in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", where their partnership was the only thing holding the film together; I wasn't at all prepared for the sheer energy they generate when they set to work on stronger material. Moreover they seem perfectly natural as a married couple.

The music is good, too. There's a catchy original song (not a gratuitous addition ... although it wouldn't matter if it was) by Cole Porter; the rest of the score was written by Miklós Rózsa, in one of his rare lighter moments.