Adam's Rib (1949)

. . . when her gun went off through Johnny's lover's door, in MGM's paean to Responsible Gun Ownership, ADAM'S RIB. Lesson One: Don't be a dumb cluck like Doris here, leaving your three kids home alone to go gunning for Daddy WITHOUT EVER HAVING FIRED A TARGET PRACTICE SHOT! Katherine Hepburn plays the NRA's poster girl in ADAM'S RIB, urging American wives to come to their marriage beds not only armed to the teeth, but as proficient Annie Oakley Sure Shots, too. That way when a husband such as ADAM'S RIB'S "Warren Attinger" busts wife's Doris' molar, she can simply shoot off his acorns and avoid Planned Parenthood altogether. Spencer Tracy, on the other hand, plays title character Adam, a typical Republican Bleeding Heart Liberal, aiming to keep America's Great Equalizers out of the hands of the "Little Ladies." Tracy does not wish to risk losing a future U.S. Commander-in-Chief just because the dude gets drunk one night and rapes one of his aging baby-mom spouses, as documented in Official Court Papers for American President #45. However, IF MGM had done a better job of promoting ADAM'S RIB to America's Womenfolk, Putin's Puppet would not be around to Lord it over us in the White House right now! Therefore, after watching ADAM'S RIB, why not send some dough to your local chapter of BANGS (Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps!)?

Loving couple Adam (Spence Tracy) and Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) are both lawyers. When a woman (Judy Holiday) is charged for attempting to murder husband (Tom Ewell) who she caught in the arms of another woman (Jean Hagen) Adam gets the case. But as Amanda sees it as an important case for equal rights for women she takes on the job as defender and soon husband and wife face each other in court. But can they keep the battle in court and out of the marriage?The sixth film starring real life couple Tracy (Guess Who's Coming to Diner, 1967) and Hepburn (The African Queen, 1951) Adam's Rib was written specifically as a vehicle for the two and there is no doubt that the two of them seems at ease with each other or that watching the chemistry between them is one of the best things about the movie. That is not so bad when considering how good the movie is! The court room scenes are dramatic and tense and the home front scenes are tender and sweet, giving you the best of two worlds in one movie. But from the party the couple have, where their neighbour Kip stands out from the group like a sore thumb and clearly rubs Adam the wrong way, things slowly start changing for the worse as the fights in court starts sneaking into the house. The movie quickly moves from being a pleasant watch to becoming a tense story as you watch Adam and Amanda struggle to keep their marriage together. Adam is a man with integrity and a healthy opinion of what is right and wrong. Tracy has no trouble giving his character the strength needed just as he excels in showing his softer sides brought forward by his beloved wife. Meanwhile Amanda is his equal in both intelligence and strength, the latter seemingly surprising her husband a bit. Hepburn shifts brilliantly between Amanda's powerful presence in court to the regretful wife realizing her outbursts has created trouble in paradise. As the situation becomes more heated it becomes clear that this is as much about the battle between the sexes as it is about a power couple facing each other professionally and it doesn't help much that Kip keeps buzzing around Amanda like honey to a bee. He is played wonderfully by a game Wayne (How to Marry a Millionaire, 1953) hitting a fine line between annoying and plain out creepy while Holliday (Born Yesterday, 1950) is deliciously dumb as the woman charged with murder. When it comes to movies about couples as well as movies about the battle of sexes, this is about as good as it gets.Moviegeek.eu

often billed as a funny battle of the sexes, it really isn't; it's no contest; tracy comes off as asoft-spoken guy who treats his wife pretty well; hepburn on the other hand is frequently strident and rude; he seems devoted to her while she constantly flirts with the neighbor; he treats her respectfully, she revels in humiliating him at home and at work in court; sure, some of the disconnected skits are funny, mainly helped by judy holiday, not hepburn; and his moment of ethical and legal revenge is instantly dismissed by her; overall needed more give and take like other tracy-hepburn movies, and less of the relentless, one-sided pounding where tracy in the end has to pull a girlish trick to win back the woman who treats him as an incompetent fool

feminism, great performance, humor. and large parts of delight. a revolutionary film, subtle, nice who becomes splendid show in its target - world. the plot is only root for the fascinating duel between Hepburn and Spencer. the agenda of equal rights - almost pretext for a movie who desire amusing and introduce few useful questions.the axis - an unique couple who creates not only convincing characters but use , with admirable precision, the opportunities of script.an inspired spice remains the performance of David Wayne who explores each nuance of ambiguity of his role. a smart film. that is the best verdict after each new discover of this not exactly classic but surely wonderful film.