IMDb > Adam's Rib (1949)
Adam's Rib
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Adam's Rib (1949) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   7,343 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 92% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
George Cukor
Writers:
Ruth Gordon (screenplay) and
Garson Kanin (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Adam's Rib on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 November 1949 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Romance more
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
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Screen Legend Katharine Hepburn Dies at 96
 (From WENN. 30 June 2003)

User Comments:
"I Love Licorice" more (71 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
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Man and Wife (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
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
Company:
Loew's more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Film debut of Madge Blake. more
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. more
Quotes:
Adam Bonner: What do you want around here anyway?
Kip Lurie: As if you didn't already know.
[looks at Amanda]
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Farewell, Amanda more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
"I Love Licorice", 6 November 2005
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

Feminist attorney Katharine Hepburn has a new cause. She freely admits to doing a bit of ambulance chasing to get the case of Judy Holliday who shot her husband Tom Ewell after catching him in a love nest with floozy Jean Hagen.

Problem is that of all the cases that he could have been assigned, Spencer Tracy, Hepburn's husband and assistant District Attorney, he got assigned to prosecute Holiday. I guess Spence felt a little of what Bogey felt when Ingrid Bergman came back into his life in Casablanca.

Men down through the ages have certainly had the right to shoot the lovers of their wives when caught, why not women argues Hepburn. The case gets quite a bit of notoriety and of course it puts a strain on the marriage.

But the plot is sure the right vehicle for a lot of great lines and situations. This is Spence and Kate at their very best. Of the comedies they did, this is my favorite, just like State of the Union is my favorite among the more serious films.

Probably Adam's Rib's best known scene is when defense witness Hope Emerson picks up Spencer Tracy in a visual attempt to show feminine prowess and power. Even after seeing it several times you still will laugh yourself silly.

For Adam's Rib, George Cukor denuded Broadway of stars to play in support of Tracy and Hepburn. Making film debuts were David Wayne, Tom Ewell, Judy Holliday, and Jean Hagen.

Wayne is particularly funny and if Adam's Rib was made today, he'd certainly be more explicitly gay. He's the next door neighbor of Spence and Kate and some of the cracks Tracy aims in his direction would be considered downright homophobic. But let's face it, Wayne is an obnoxious scamp and that bit of vengeance that Tracy wreaks upon him and Hepburn in the climax involving licorice is a great cinematic moment.

Adam's Rib is Tracy and Hepburn at the very top of their game and I think folks who are not necessarily fans of their's would be amused.

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