Adam’s Rib (1949) - film review

District Attorney Adam Bonner is far from pleased when he is called upon to prosecute Doris Attinger, a young woman who shot and wounded her husband when she found him in the arms of his mistress.  The reason Adam is not pleased is because his wife, Amanda, who is also a lawyer, is convinced that Doris is the victim in the affair.  Amanda, a staunch supporter of women’s rights, argues that were Doris to be a man the case would never have been brought to trial.  Imagine then how overjoyed Adam is when he learns that his wife has decided to defend Doris in her impending trial.  The battle lines are drawn, and neither side is prepared to back down.  With an arsenal packed with feminine guile, Amanda stands a good chance of winning the case, but will she lose her husband along the way?

With its superlative, very witty screenplay and George Cukor’s light-handed but effective direction, Adam’s Rib is one of the most enjoyable of the Hollywood comedies featuring the legendary double act of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.  What could have been a run-of-the-mill battle of the sexes comedy is lifted to the status of a cinema classic by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin’s sparkling dialogue and the extraordinary on-screen rapport of the two lead actors. 

Both Tracy and Hepburn excel in this film, each showing perfect comic timing and a natural flair for combining slick comedy with a truthful performance.  Once again, Hepburn plays the staunch advocate of female rights, brandishing the shield of feminism for all it is worth, yet still managing to appear vulnerable and irresistibly feminine.  She is well matched by Tracy who is perfectly cast as the ordinary man trying (and failing) to accustom himself to the phenomenon of the modern woman, with hilarious results. 

The film also features another notable acting talent, Judy Holliday.  This was effectively her audition piece for the lead role in Born Yesterday (1950), the next film that Cukor directed for Columbia Pictures, and the part that earned the actress her Oscar.

© James Travers 2009

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