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Adam's Rib (1949)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
18 November 1949 (USA)
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Tagline:
It Will Tickle Your Funny Bone ! more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Lawyer
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Prosecutor
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Marriage
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New York City
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Massage
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 1 win
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3 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Screen Legend Katharine Hepburn Dies at 96
(From WENN. 30 June 2003)
Screen Legend Katharine Hepburn Dies at 96
(From IMDb News. 29 June 2003)
(From WENN. 30 June 2003)
Screen Legend Katharine Hepburn Dies at 96
(From IMDb News. 29 June 2003)
User Comments:
Pleasant mid century skirmish in the sexual wars
more (72 total)
Cast
(Complete credited 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Man and Wife (USA) (working title)
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Parents Guide:
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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:
Fun Stuff
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.
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Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: Even though Adam and Amanda are reading about Doris Attinger's arrest in different morning newspapers (he the "New York Globe", she the "New York Chronicle"), the back pages of both papers are identical.
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Quotes:
Amanda Bonner:
Nobody died in the evening paper, isn't that nice?
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Movie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)
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Soundtrack:
Farewell, Amanda
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (72 total)
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Two New York lawyers, husband Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy) and wife Amanda Bonner (Katharine Hepburn), work out the marital tension and fight the sexual wars in the courtroom on opposite sides of a wife (Judy Holliday) shoots cheating husband (Tom Ewell) case. Adam's masculinity is seemingly challenged and his sense of justice offended by his wife's insistence on showing how smart she is while furthering her feminist agenda at the expense of the law. Will their public confrontation destroy their marriage, or will it ultimately make the bond stronger?
This still plays mainly because of the charisma of Hepburn and Tracy and the fine chemistry they create together. The script by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon is shallow and profound by turns, yet ultimately witty and pleasing. Judy Holliday as the lower middle-class Doris Attinger (on her way to her signature role in Born Yesterday (1950)) and David Wayne, as the song-writing neighbor who adores Amanda, shine in supporting roles. George Cukor's direction is clear, crisp and always focused. In the end we can see that Adam can be as feminine as Amanda can be masculine. The bit where Tracy cries real tears to win her back and then tells her, "We all have our tricks" is classic. It's his clever answer to her outrageous courtroom theatrics. Memorable as it illuminates their contrasting personalities is the early scene where the unsophisticated Doris is interviewed by Yale law school grad Amanda.
As a political movie, was Adam's Rib ahead of its time as a vehicle for feminist expression, or was it just another apology for male chauvinism, or was it balanced and fair? I'll give you a hint: the title is ironic. One of the things that made the Tracy/Hepburn romance work so well for so long was the creative balance they maintained in the battle of the sexes. The script by Kanin and Gordon carefully continues that profoundly true equilibrium.