Adam’s Rib (film)

• Release Date: 1949
• Director(s): George Cukor
• Writer(s): Ruth Gordon ; Garson Kanin
• Principal Actors and Roles: Katharine Hepburn (Amanda Bonner); Spencer Tracy (Adam Bonner); Tom Ewell (Warren Attinger); Jean Hagen (Beryl Caighn); Judy Holliday (Doris Attinger); David Wayne (Kip Lurie)

Adam’s Rib was a classic American romantic comedy released in 1949 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The film centers on two married lawyers (played by real-life couple Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) who face each other in court. Ruth Gordon wrote the screenplay with her husband and writing partner, Garson Kanin, who was inspired by the real life story of their friends, William and Dorothy Whitney. The Whitneys were once-married lawyers who, like Adam and Amanda in Adam’s Rib, were on opposite sides in the divorce proceedings of actors Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen. When the trial was over, the Whitneys divorced and married their respective clients.

Gordon and Kanin wrote the screenplay with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in mind to play the lead roles. At the time, Tracy and Hepburn had already starred in five films opposite one another, and after Adam’s Rib would go on to appear in three more. Before landing on the final title, the screenplay had several other names, such as Man and Wife and Love Is Legal, which were both shot down by executives at MGM, who eventually purchased the rights to the screenplay from Gordon and Kanin for $175,000.

Gordon and Hepburn persuaded actress Judy Holliday, who was starring in Gordon’s Broadway play Born Yesterday, to play the role of scorned wife Doris. Holliday had previously not appeared on screen before Adam’s Rib, and she was reluctant to sign on board because her character was referred to as "fatso" in the script, and Holliday was already self-conscious about her weight. Holliday eventually relented when word of a Columbia Pictures film version of Born Yesterday was in the works. Executives at Columbia were not initially interested in casting Holliday in the role, and used Adam’s Rib as an informal screen test to see if she could do the job. Hepburn was encouraging to Holliday throughout filming, and even let Holliday outshine her in scenes in which they appeared together, to convince the executives. Holliday was ultimately cast in Born Yesterday, and won the Academy Award for best actress for her performance.

Plot

Adam’s Rib is set in New York City, where Doris Attinger is tired of her husband’s deceitful ways and decides to follow him one day. Carrying a gun, Doris catches her husband and his mistress and fires the weapon at the couple. Doris’ shots are sloppy and miss, except for one bullet, which hits her husband in the shoulder.

Over breakfast the following morning, Adam and Amanda Bonner, married lawyers, read the about the story in the newspaper and after discussing it, fall on opposite sides of the case. Amanda pities Doris, and believes there is a discrepancy in how society views the adultery of men and women. Adam disagrees with Amanda, believing Doris to be guilty of attempted murder. Later on, when Adam arrives at his job as Assistant District Attorney, he learns he has been assigned to work as prosecutor on the case. When Amanda hears the news, she offers her services to become Doris’ defense lawyer, despite Adam’s protest.

Throughout the film, Adam and Amanda are constantly at odds and soon, the battle in the courtroom moves to their home life. After a day in trial, Adam storms out of the couple’s apartment, feeling that Amanda humiliated him in the courtroom.

Before the jury makes their final verdict, Amanda implores them to judge the case as they would if Doris had been a man. The verdict is announced, revealing that Doris will be acquitted and Amanda has won the case. Adam takes the loss of the case badly, worrying Amanda, who visits the couple’s neighbor, singer Kip Lurie, for comfort and advice. Kip, who has feelings for Amanda, takes advantage of her and makes a move, which Adam witnesses through the window. Adam barges into the apartment with a gun in hand, and when Amanda yells, "You’ve no right to do this! Nobody does!" Adam reveals Amanda’s inconsistency with her line of defense. He puts the gun in his own mouth and Kip and Amanda scream, only to watch as Adam bites off a piece of the gun, which was made of licorice all along.

Later on, Amanda and Adam, who are divorcing, must meet to settle their assets with an accountant. However, when they begin to reminisce, both get emotional and realize that they still love each other, and reconcile. Adam reveals that he has been nominated as the Republican candidate for county court judge, and Amanda jokes that she should run for the Democrats.

Significance

In the screenplay of Adam’s Rib, the character of Kip Lurie writes an original song out of love for Amanda, and sings it to her. Initially, Garson Kanin wrote the song, but it was received poorly. When Kanin challenged Hepburn to find a better song, she called on Cole Porter. Porter agreed, and was instructed to include the name of Hepburn’s character in the song, which originally appeared in the script as "Madelaine." However, Porter refused to write a song with such a name, and suggested the name Amanda, prompting the screenwriters to change the name. Porter revised a song called "So Long, Samoa" that he had written years earlier, and turned it into the song that appears in the film, "Farewell, Amanda." Instead of being paid for his contribution to the film, Porter asked MGM to donate his fee to the Runyon Cancer Fund.

Critics and audiences alike enjoyed Adam’s Rib, and the film earned just under $3 million at the North American box office. Abroad, the film brought in just under $1 million for a total profit of $826,000. Critics praised both Tracy and Hepburn for their performances, and many consider Adam’s Rib the best film of the pair’s collaborations, which also include Woman of the Year (1942) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). The film was so successful, that Spencer and Hepburn made another comedy film, Pat and Mike, with the same director (George Cukor) and the Gordon and Kanin writing team shortly after.

The film’s only award recognition went to Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, who were nominated for the 1950 Academy Award for best screenplay. In 1992, the Library of Congress selected Adam’s Rib for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, distinguishing the film for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1950) Best Screenplay (Original): Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
• Golden Globe (1950) Best Supporting Actress: Judy Holliday

Bibliography

"Adam’s Rib (1949)." Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner Entertainment, 2015. Web. 1 Aug. 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/15824/Adam-s-Rib/notes.html>.

Dirks, Tim. "Adam’s Rib (1949)." AMC Filmsite. American Movie Classics, 2015. Web. 1 Aug. 2015. <http://www.filmsite.org/adam.html>.

Eagan, Daniel. America’s Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry. New York: Continuum International, 2010. Print.

Edwards, Anne. Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman. New York: St. Martin’s, 2000. Print.

Kanin, Garson. Tracy and Hepburn: An Intimate Memoir. New York: Viking, 1971. Print.