ADAMS RIB (DVD/1950) DVD

Adam's Rib
Written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam's Rib is a peerless comedy predicated on the double standard. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play Adam and Amanda Bonner, a husband-and-wife attorney team, both drawn to a case of attempted murder. The defendant (Judy Holliday) had tearfully attempted to shoot her husband (Tom Ewell) and his mistress (Jean Hagen). Adam argues that the case is open and shut, but Amanda points out that, if the defendant were a man, he'd be set free on the basis of "the unwritten law." Thus it is that Adam works on behalf of the prosecution, while Amanda defends the accused woman. The trial turns into a media circus, while the Bonners' home life suffers. Adam's Rib represented the film debuts of New York-based actors Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell, and David Wayne (as Hepburn's erstwhile songwriting suitor), and the return to Hollywood of Judy Holliday after her Born Yesterday triumph. One of the best of the Tracy-Hepburn efforts, it inspired a brief 1973 TV series starring Ken Howard and Blythe Danner. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Spencer Tracy as Adam Bonner Katharine Hepburn as Amanda Bonner Judy Holliday as Doris Attinger Tom Ewell as Warren Attinger David Wayne as Kip Lurie Jean Hagen as Beryl Caighn Hope Emerson as Olympia La Pere Eve March as Grace Clarence Kolb as Judge Reiser Emerson Treacy as Jules Fr-ikke Will Wright as Judge Marcasson Elizabeth Flournoy as Dr. Margaret Brodeigh

Crew William Ferrari - Art Director Cedric Gibbons - Art Director Walter Plunkett - Costume Designer George Cukor - Director George Boemler - Editor Miklos Rozsa - Composer (Music Score) Jack Dawn - Makeup George Folsey - Cinematographer Lawrence Weingarten - Producer Henry W. Grace - Set Designer Edwin B. Willis - Set Designer Arnold A. Gillespie - Special Effects Douglas Shearer - Sound/Sound Designer Ruth Gordon - Screenwriter Garson Kanin - Screenwriter

Adam's Rib
Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin's witty and intelligent script (despite many improbabilities, such as the conflict of interest in having a husband and wife contest the same case, and the plausibility-defying circus-like theatrics that Amanda deploys in the courtroom) propels this funny and barbed courtroom comedy. The legal and gender-fueled debates at the center of the film may seem somewhat antiquated today, but the intelligence and wit that inform much of the film's dialogue are still surprisingly fresh. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn share an onscreen ease and familiarity usually reserved for long-married couples. Ironically -- given that the film is about the legal ramifications of a woman's shooting of her philandering husband -- they had become an extramarital item themselves by the time this film was being made. Judy Holliday gives an unexpectedly affecting performance as the woman wronged, while bug-eyed Tom Ewell is solid as her weasel-like philandering husband. However, David Wayne as the lascivious piano composer/neighbor of the feuding legal eagles gives the most impressive supporting performance. His best line? "Lawyers should never marry other lawyers. This is called inbreeding, from which comes idiot children and more lawyers." Technically, the film is very conventional. Outside of the opening sequences, in which George Cukor's camera roams the busy streets of rush hour New York, the film has a stage-like feel, with static shots of the battling spouses dominating the proceedings. Perhaps Cukor didn't want to distract us from the real star of the show, the clever and insightful Kanin/Gordon script. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide
 

Garson Kanin: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Story and Screenplay (nominated) Judy Holliday: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Ruth Gordon: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Story and Screenplay (nominated)

Library of Congress, U.S. National Film Registry (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: 1: PCM mono 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects Additional Features: Theatrical trailer DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 100 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 0. Scene Selection 1. Logos [:22] 2. Main Title [1:05] 3. Doris in Pursuit [2:29] 4. Doris Uses the Gun [1:58] 5. The Bonners Arise [3:27] 6. The Drive to Work [1:17] 7. A Case of the Attingers [6:05] 8. Doris Recounts the Crime [5:04] 9. The Dinner Party [5:43] 10. Bonner Home Movies [3:55] 11. A Bonner Spot [1:18] 12. The Jury Selection [4:37] 13. "Pinky Cranky?" [5:18] 14. Farewell Amanda [4:05] 15. Beryl Caighn Testifies [3:51] 16. Warren Attinger on the Stand [2:57] 17. Doris Attinger on the Stand [4:23] 18. The Massage [1:03] 19. The Slap [3:02] 20. Battle of the Sexes [5:28] 21. "The Law is the Law!" [4:08] 22. "I Like Two Sexes!" [1:17] 23. The Sex Change Summation [3:39] 24. Adam's Closing Argument [3:44] 25. The Verdict [4:21] 26. Kip and Amanda on Marriage [3:42] 27. Adam Points the Gun [4:29] 28. The Accountant's Office [3:51] 29. "Vive La Difference!" [3:39] 30. Cast List [:39]