[7] Spencer Tracy fronts this lighthearted Vincente Minnelli film about a father experiencing the emotional and financial turmoil of marrying off his only daughter. Elizabeth Taylor plays the daughter and Joan Bennett plays the mother, but this is all Tracy’s show. His droll narration and ‘grin and bear it’ attitude are what give the film its momentum and its low-key comedy. Apart from an effective …
[8] Stanley Kramer (Inherit the Wind, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) directs an impressive roster of talent in this dramatization of four Nazi judges on trial for war crimes in occupied Germany. Spencer Tracy leads the cast as the American judge summoned to preside over the case. While considering passionate arguments from the prosecution (Richard Widmark) and defense (Maximilian Schell), he spends his evenings developing …
[7] Spencer Tracy stars as Major Richard Rogers, leader of an elite force of men who traversed the wilderness and engaged with enemies during the French and Indian War. The film is seen through the eyes of two new recruits, played by Walter Brennan and Robert Young. The first half of the film is a survival story, with the dwindling troops fighting wildlife, treacherous terrain, …
[6] Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons star in this adaptation of an autobiographical stage play by writer/actress Ruth Gordon (Harold & Maude, Rosemary’s Baby). The story centers around teen-aged Gordon’s final year at home with her parents, when she first set her sights on acting while dodging her father’s efforts for her to pursue a more practical line of work. Director George Cukor sticks to …
[6] A reckless west coast flyboy (Clark Gable) is forced to make an emergency landing in Kansas where he meets and falls in love with a farm girl (Myrna Loy). Test Pilot starts out a screwball comedy and disintegrates into a predictable weepy. But despite the tonal shift, this movie features very good performances from its three stars. Gable shows uncharacteristic but welcome vulnerability, while …
[6] Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star in a Frank Capra movie about the political and personal tolls of running for president of the United States. Van Johnson and Margaret Hamilton are fun in supporting roles. Angela Lansbury is nice as the cold, calculating antagonist — her first scene is one of the movie’s best.
[6] Katharine Hepburn plays a journalist who bad-mouths sports in her widely-read column. Spencer Tracy plays a sportswriter who publishes a rebuttal. The two continue sparring publicly until they meet in person… and start to fall in love. Now don’t get me wrong — I love it when Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy spar and make up, but this (their first pairing) is not among …
[9] Of the nine films which paired Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Adam’s Rib is often considered the best. Writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin were friends of the famous couple and wrote the film specifically for them. Kate insisted the film be directed by her favorite screen director, George Cukor, who services the brilliant writing and on-screen chemistry with his trademark elegant staging and …
[8] Spencer Tracy won his second (consecutive) Academy Award for his portrayal of Father Flanagan, a man who firmly believed “there are no bad boys.” In the movie and in real life, Flanagan built an educational refuge for homeless and delinquent boys to prove his theory, and the facility still operates today. Mickey Rooney plays the toughest of Flanagan’s kids, a boy whose defiance and …
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