Rent Adam's Rib (1949)

3.8 of 5 from 120 ratings
1h 38min
Rent Adam's Rib Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
Assistant District Attorney, Adam Bonner loves his wife Amanda, but doesn't care much for his opposing counsel in a sensational attempted-murder trial - an opponent who happens to be Amanda. Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn were never more evenly matched than when they brought their sharpened wits and prickly affection to this George Cukor-directed comedy written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. Judy Holliday co-stars as the woman whose shooting of her philandering spouse becomes a feminist cause for Amanda. Hepburn generously saw Holliday's' work as a screen test for casting the film of Holliday's stage vehicle Born Yesterday. Hepburn's ploy worked. So does this fine, funny movie.
Actors:
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Directors:
Writers:
Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Studio:
Warner
Genres:
Classics, Romance
Collections:
inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, Romantic Film Pairings for Valentine's Day, Top 10 Films Turned Into TV Series, Top 100 AFI Laughs
BBFC:
Release Date:
28/04/2003
Run Time:
98 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Italian Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
Arabic, Dutch, English, English Hard of Hearing, French, Italian, Italian Hard of Hearing, Romanian
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W
Bonus:
  • Trailer
  • Interactive menus
  • Scene selection
BBFC:
Release Date:
Unknown
Run Time:
100 minutes

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Reviews (2) of Adam's Rib

An unbelievably modern, perfect comedy of manners - Adam's Rib review by BS

Spoiler Alert
08/10/2014

Miles and miles ahead of it's time. The tightest, sharpest script. Fantastic performances all round. An unbelievably modern take on female equality that makes a lot of new films look oafish. Outstanding.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Classic postwar comedy drama. - Adam's Rib review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
31/01/2021

 I don't see Tracy or Hepburn as among the best comedy actors, though they did have a run of hits together in the forties and fifties. Hepburn is a little strident, and Tracy a touch menacing for lighter roles, though in this comedy-drama both those traits actually help their characterisations.

 Adam's Rib isn't the funniest comedy of the period, and much of the humour is at the expense of its lower class support roles from the point of view of the Manhattan elite. But it is an interesting contemporary battle-of-the-sexes film about women's rights which mostly still stands up well today.

 Mother of three Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) has shot and injured her husband who has having a sexual relationship with another woman. Adam Bonner (Tracy) is the public prosecutor in charge of the case, but his lawyer-wife Amanda defends Attinger, enraged by the hypocrisy of how differently adultery is regarded depending on which gender is doing it. And she won't back down, no matter how furious Adam gets.

 The film has an enjoyable mileau of the forties-fifties upper class Manhattan cocktail and dinner party set. They even have a foppish neighbour who keeps dropping round to play their piano and sing a Cole Porter number. But, Cukor lacks the Lubitsch touch, and most of the comedy fails to get off the page. Still, the film works as an entertaining sitcom centred around sexual politics.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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