ADAM’S RIB

Candid review for a story funny, shady and yet awe-inspiring!!!

"Adam's Rib" is a comedy which stars Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Other key personae include Judy Holiday, Tom Ewell and David Wayne. My persona of choice is Katharine Hepburn. This essay is about her and how her acting style helps to make this movie more exciting. However, the best way to view or analyze Hepburn in this film will be to see her in her role as Tracy’s wife, her romance with Tom and her life as an attorney.

The story presents Tracy and Hepburn as a married couple. Both are top-notch lawyers. Tracy is a Prosecutor, Hepburn an attorney. They end up on opposite sides of an attempted murder trial with Judy Holliday as defendant. Judy shot her negligent husband Tom Ewell on catching him with another woman, Jean Hagen. The role of Hepburn as a tough and brilliant lawyer is used to her favor and defense. Hepburn picks on the sensitive issue of sex discrimination which in her own words she calls: “Instinctive masculine brutality” She makes a clever claim that a husband would be found innocent of such a shooting, and thus convicting Holliday would be a sexist double standard by the jury.

The film opens with Doris Attinger (Holliday) attempting to murder her husband Warren (Ewell) and his mistress (Hagen). She fires and misses them both, but slightly hurting Ewell. She winds up in jail for attempted murder. Katharine Hepburn is her attorney. Hepburn voices out her protest against double standards in the society. She points out the prejudice people have against the woman folk and stresses that the man would have been innocent if he was the one that committed the offence.

Hepburn is both sympathetic and a great fighter for the cause of the woman folk. As far as she is concerned, Holliday was not going to receive justice being a woman. So, she decides to defend her and fight for her rights, and the rights of other women. She puts up a case that the woman was only fighting for her honor and her home. Adam (Tracy) agrees with Amanda. Society is most likely to blame for Mrs. Attinger's current situation, but the law is the law and he's going to make sure that people who break it are going to pay. He is, however, unhappy to be given this particular case, as he doesn't want to face off against his wife in court. They don't have much choice since Amanda is adamant about her new cause and Adam, as the district attorney, can't be reassigned.

It appears that Katharine Hepburn’s real-life story and character are also acted out in this movie in some ways. According to John Belton, in the late 1930s, top stars like Katharine Hepburn and Fred Astaire were denounced by exhibitors as ‘box-office poison’ because fans found them to be too sophisticated, high-brow and elitist (J. Belton, chpt. 5. pg 101, par. 1, line 4). She really exhibited the sophistication of a high-brow lawyer and an affluent Hollywood superstar. Her marriage with Tracy suffers because of her radical defense of Miss Holliday and also by Tracy’s suspicions that she (Hepburn) and David Wayne are having an affair. She is clearly seen in a love tangle with Tracy and Wayne. She cleverly encourages Wayne's advances. Spencer shows so much restraint but finally confronts Wayne. No jury would convict him of assault. The whole message of the movie is that there is little or no difference between the sexes. And this fact is fully displayed by the character and style of Katharine Hepburn.

Hepburn puts three women on the witness stand. They have no relevance to the case, except that they have all succeeded in what she called ‘masculine’ fields. Hepburn turns the courtroom into a circus to her own advantage. Tracy could not hide his anger at this. Both Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn exhibit unique talents and style. But Hepburn’s tough and controversial nature makes her more outstanding in the film. She as Adam's Rib is seen to be extremely militant, clever, controversial and funny. She is tough, egocentric, and bossy. At the same time she cleverly acts sweet, emotional and romantic. She is charming and intelligent, a product of ‘Yale University’. Her toughness and egocentric nature often make you wonder if she and Tracy will actually maintain a happy marriage. Tracy always tries to be the man. Both are often seen engaged in hot arguments.

It all begins in a lighthearted atmosphere with the two innocently assuming that everything will be OK, but it soon escalates into a full scale legal war. Amanda doesn't think that Adam understands her convictions and Adam believes with good reason, that Amanda is twisting the law to suit her own purposes. He feels that apart from that, Amanda has turned the courtroom into a circus with her wits and antics, belittling not only him, but the entire court system. Hepburn’s display at the court shocked and annoyed Tracy. He cannot believe he married someone with such an utter disregard for the law. Amanda tries to get him to see her point of view, but it's no use. Her winning the case makes the matter worse. Husband and wife eventually reconcile, but only after a wild evening where Adam (Tracy) proves to Amanda (Hepburn) that she was completely wrong, that no matter what the problems are with society, the law applies to everyone, fairly or unfairly. They end their fighting in bed just like every other happily married couple.

The battle of wits between Hepburn and Tracy provide us a greater insight into her acting style and character. It exposed their opposite points of view regarding the roles of men and women in society. The outcome of the trial exposed Tracy’s and Hepburn’s passion for each other and their causes. It presents the opportunity for some wonderfully heated and interesting moments. Hepburn displays her best when she is all fired up. According to John Belton, Every star houses different personalities…… (J. Belton Chpt.5, pg 87, par. 3 line 1). Katharine Hepburn is a good example. The best test of her acting style and character is seen in her intelligence, her wit and vulnerability. These three qualities make her outstanding in this movie and thus inform my choice of her as my special persona. Her charisma actually makes Tracy appear sexy. He has the more unlikable role, as the put-upon husband who loves his career-minded wife, but would rather she behave more like a woman than a lawyer. His views about men and women may be old-fashioned, but there's some veracity to his claims. It's his honest desire to win his wife back that gives the film heart and soul.

A candid review by Steve C. Ibeawuchi, Jacksonville FL.