Adam's Rib (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Written by the husband-wife team of Garson Kanin & Ruth Gordon, and directed by the great George Cukor, 'Adam's Rib' is a sophisticated battle of the sexes comedy. Ditzy blonde housewife/mother of 3 kiddies, Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday, in her breakout role), has thoroughly had it with her cheating office worker husband Warren (Tom Ewell), buys herself a small revolver, & trails him on the subway after he leaves work for the day. She follows him right to the apartment of his lover Beryl Caighn's (Jean Hagen) Manhattan apartment & frenetically shoots at him and Beryl; leaving him very wounded.
The next morning in their lovely Connecticut abode, Manhattan Asst. District Attorney Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy) & his defense lawyer wife Amanda (Katharine Hepburn), a happy upper-middle crust couple, read the newspaper story about Doris' shooting spree and ... they have differing views. Adam argues that it's downright criminal what the wife did, while Amanda thinks that if it was reversed and the man got bloody revenge with a gun, ther'd be no criminal charges filed. In other words: a double standard. When Adam is exasperatingly assigned to prosecute the case, Amanda maneuvers a way to represent Amanda pro bono so that she can fight the case as a feminist issue ... much to Adam's chagrin. The fighting that ensues btwn. husband & wife takes place both in & outside the courtroom.
Kip (flamboyant David Wayne), a piano playing friend/neighbor of the Bonners, has a huge crush on Amanda & irritates Adam by openly siding with his wife in the case. Kip also writes a song for her entitled, "Farewell, Amanda" (actually written by the great Cole Porter). You know, I really enjoyed 'Adam's Rib'. I'd heard about it since forever & I'm glad to have finally seen it. Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn have fantastic chemistry {a duh}. They are one of Hollywood's most iconic onscreen couples. They made many movies together. This is one of their most critically-lauded/famous films ... and now I can see why.
Now, I didn't outright love it. Some of the scenes are a bit narratively static. There are long, talky stretches. And the ending, while humorous, kinda came out of nowhere. That said, having seen so many films of the 40s/50s/60s now, I find that they tend to end in very clipped manners, as a sort of unwritten rule -- it seemed to be a stylistic thing of that time period. Moving on. 'Adam's Rib' is just very assuredly executed; great direction, superb writing, lovely cinematography. The film also features the strong debuts of NY-based stage actors Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell, & David Wayne.
And Judy Holliday, who I love, nearly steals the show as emotional, scatterbrained Doris. Not only is she believable in her harried, scared, burst of insanity (with the gun, in the 1st scene), but her dialogue deliveries throughout are timed to comedic perfection. And she brings this quality to her Oscar-winning performance in Born Yesterday one year later. Interestingly enough, I would have given her a Best Supporting Actress win for this performance, rather than her actual award-winning one. One more thing: loved the famous scene where Adam lets his frustrations out on Amanda's derriere during a massage. Haha, that was great.
The next morning in their lovely Connecticut abode, Manhattan Asst. District Attorney Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy) & his defense lawyer wife Amanda (Katharine Hepburn), a happy upper-middle crust couple, read the newspaper story about Doris' shooting spree and ... they have differing views. Adam argues that it's downright criminal what the wife did, while Amanda thinks that if it was reversed and the man got bloody revenge with a gun, ther'd be no criminal charges filed. In other words: a double standard. When Adam is exasperatingly assigned to prosecute the case, Amanda maneuvers a way to represent Amanda pro bono so that she can fight the case as a feminist issue ... much to Adam's chagrin. The fighting that ensues btwn. husband & wife takes place both in & outside the courtroom.
Kip (flamboyant David Wayne), a piano playing friend/neighbor of the Bonners, has a huge crush on Amanda & irritates Adam by openly siding with his wife in the case. Kip also writes a song for her entitled, "Farewell, Amanda" (actually written by the great Cole Porter). You know, I really enjoyed 'Adam's Rib'. I'd heard about it since forever & I'm glad to have finally seen it. Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn have fantastic chemistry {a duh}. They are one of Hollywood's most iconic onscreen couples. They made many movies together. This is one of their most critically-lauded/famous films ... and now I can see why.
Now, I didn't outright love it. Some of the scenes are a bit narratively static. There are long, talky stretches. And the ending, while humorous, kinda came out of nowhere. That said, having seen so many films of the 40s/50s/60s now, I find that they tend to end in very clipped manners, as a sort of unwritten rule -- it seemed to be a stylistic thing of that time period. Moving on. 'Adam's Rib' is just very assuredly executed; great direction, superb writing, lovely cinematography. The film also features the strong debuts of NY-based stage actors Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell, & David Wayne.
And Judy Holliday, who I love, nearly steals the show as emotional, scatterbrained Doris. Not only is she believable in her harried, scared, burst of insanity (with the gun, in the 1st scene), but her dialogue deliveries throughout are timed to comedic perfection. And she brings this quality to her Oscar-winning performance in Born Yesterday one year later. Interestingly enough, I would have given her a Best Supporting Actress win for this performance, rather than her actual award-winning one. One more thing: loved the famous scene where Adam lets his frustrations out on Amanda's derriere during a massage. Haha, that was great.