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 | New York City | Massage

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Bastin	...	Young District Attorney (uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard	...	Mr. Bonner, Adam's Father (uncredited)
Madge Blake	...	Mrs. Bonner, Adam's Mother (uncredited)
Harris Brown	...	Court Attendant (uncredited)
David Clarke	...	Roy (uncredited)
Harry Cody	...	Criminal Attorney (uncredited)
Dick Cogan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Paul Cramer	...	Stenographer (uncredited)
Bert Davidson	...	Subway guard (uncredited)
Roger Davis	...	Paul Hurlock (uncredited)
Janna DeLoos	...	Mary, Maid (uncredited)
Sidney Dubin	...	Bobby, Amanda's Assistant (uncredited)
Rex Evans	...	Fat Man in Elevator (uncredited)
John Fell	...	Adam's Assistant (uncredited)
Norman Field	...	Courtroom Bailiff (uncredited)
Glen Gallagher	...	Criminal Attorney (uncredited)
Danny Harvey	...	Office Boy (uncredited)
Marvin Kaplan	...	Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Michael Kostrick	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Nancy Laurents	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Gracille LaVinder	...	Police Matron (uncredited)
DeForrest Lawrence	...	Adam's Assistant (uncredited)
Lester Luther	...	Judge Poynter (uncredited)
George Magrill	...	Subway Conductor (uncredited)
Dwight Martin	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Louis Mason	...	Lloyd, Elevator Operator (uncredited)
John Maxwell	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Walter Merrill	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Juror (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Anna Q. Nilsson	...	Mrs. Poynter (uncredited)
James Nolan	...	Dave (uncredited)
Tommy Noonan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gil Patric	...	Criminal Attorney (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Dan Quigg	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Tom Quinn	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Paula Raymond	...	Emerald, Kip's Girlfriend (uncredited)
William Self	...	Benjamin Klausner, Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Taxicab Driver (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Courtroom Extra (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Ray Walker	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood	...	Mrs. Marcasson (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Ruth Gordon		(screenplay) and
Garson Kanin		(screenplay)

Produced by
Lawrence Weingarten	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
George J. Folsey

Film Editing by
George Boemler

Art Direction by
William Ferrari
Cedric Gibbons

Set Decoration by
Edwin B. Willis

Makeup Department
Jack Dawn	....	makeup creator
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styles designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joel Freeman	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Jack Greenwood	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Henry Grace	....	associate set decorator (as Henry W. Grace)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording supervisor
Douglas Shearer	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Walter Plunkett	....	costume designer: Miss Hepburn

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Loew's

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1949) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1950) (France) (theatrical) (16 mm)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1964) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vidéo (2003) (France) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD) (as MGM/UA Home Video)
• Moskwood Media (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)

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:

In the scene in which Amanda is driving Adam to work, he tells her, "Oh, you're giving me the Bryn Mawr accent". Bryn Mawr College was Katharine Hepburn's alma mater, where she claimed to have gained her distinctive voice.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Midway through the trial, Kip uses the Bonner's piano to play an early version of a new song he's writing that is in such rough shape, it doesn't have complete lyrics. Yet shortly afterward - and long before the trial is over - the song has already been recorded, played on the radio and is reportedly a big hit.

Quotes:

Amanda Bonner: And when did you stop loving your wife? Tell the truth.
Warren Francis Attinger: At least
[shrugs]
Warren Francis Attinger: 3 years.
Amanda Bonner: Why? Tell the truth.
Warren Francis Attinger: She started getting too fat.
Amanda Bonner: Did you tell her about that?
Warren Francis Attinger: Yes.
Amanda Bonner: What happened?
Warren Francis Attinger: She got fatter.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "EastEnders: (2004-09-27)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Farewell, Amanda

Cheeky magnetic romp saying far more than was thought back in the day.

Adam's Rib turned out to be a delightfully cheeky romp with a kicker sense of humour, all acted out with ease by Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn. I love how the film veers from the courtroom right into their marital home and becomes not just about a battle of wills, but a battle of the sexes as well, much fun watching this famous couple go at each other, both at work and at home. The film benefits greatly from the appearance of the lovely Judy Holliday in her breakthrough role, and it amused me greatly to see David Wayne playing a shifty character as I remember him fondly from the Twilight Zone episode Escape Clause in 1959.

8/10.