Tracy and Hepburn at their best as two married lawyers who take opposite sides of a front-page case. District Attorney Tracy heads the prosecution when a pistol-packing blonde goes after her girl-chasing husband and his mistress. But wife Hepburn thinks women should have the right to do exactly what men have done for years–get revenge! So it’s Hepburn for the defense in a trial that proves all’s fair in love, war, and court. An ahead-of-its-time script by Gordon and Kanin, combined with the matchless chemistry between Hepburn and Tracy, make this a sophisticated piece of entertainment. Turned into a television sitcom in the early seventies.
Adam’s Rib featured a star-making performance by Judy Holliday, who up to that point had played only bit parts. This film led to a lead role in Born Yesterday (1950), remade in 1993 with Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.
production details
USA | MGM | 101 minutes | 1949
Director: George Cukor
Producer: Lawrence Weingarten
Cinematography: George J. Folsey
Editor: George Boemler
Music: Miklos Rozsa
Script: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Production Design: Cedric Gibbons
Costume Design: Walter Plunkett
Set Design: Henry Grace, Edwin B. Willis
Art Direction: William Ferrari
cast
Arthur Tovey as Courtroom Spectator
Jean Hagen as Beryl Caighn
Bert Stevens as Courtroom Extra (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan as Court Clerk (uncredited)
Anna Q. Nilsson as Mrs. Poynter (uncredited)
Doris Lloyd as Lady with Attinger Kids in Court
Ray Walker as Photographer (uncredited)
Will Wright as Judge Marcasson
Frank Mills as Juror (uncredited)
David McMahon as Reporter (uncredited)
Katharine Hepburn as Amanda Bonner
Louis Mason as Louie – Elevator Operator (uncredited)
David Wayne as Kip Lurie
John Maxwell as Court Clerk (uncredited)
Will Stanton as Taxicab Driver (uncredited)
Emerson Treacy as Jules Fr-ikke
Tom Ewell as Warren Attinger
Kenner G. Kemp as Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Spencer Tracy as Adam Bonner
Judy Holliday as Doris Attinger
Hope Emerson as Olympia La Pere
Clarence Kolb as Judge Reiser
Polly Moran as Mrs. McGrath
Eve March as Grace
Elizabeth Flournoy as Dr. Margaret Brodeigh
James Nolan as Dave (uncredited)
Paula Raymond as Emerald – Kip’s Girlfriend (uncredited)
Joseph E. Bernard as Mr. Bonner – Adam’s Father (uncredited)
Madge Blake as Mrs. Bonner – Adam’s Mother (uncredited)
‘Snub’ Pollard as Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Marvin Kaplan as Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Tommy Noonan as Reporter (uncredited)
Tom Quinn as Photographer (uncredited)
David Clarke as Roy (uncredited)
Bonnie Bannon as Woman in Courtroom (uncredited)
Harris Brown as Court Attendant (uncredited)
Harry Cody as Criminal Attorney (uncredited)
Gil Patric as Criminal Attorney (uncredited)
Dick Cogan as Reporter (uncredited)
Wilson Wood as Reporter (uncredited)
Bert Davidson as Subway Guard (uncredited)
George Magrill as Subway Conductor (uncredited)
Roger Davis as Paul Hurlock (uncredited)
Rex Evans as Fat Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Mickey Golden as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Glen Walters as Juror (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery as Photographer (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood as Mrs. Marcasson (uncredited)
William Self as Benjamin Klausner – Jury Foreman (uncredited)