Adam's Rib (film, 1949)

It would seem that the simplest case is assigned to the deputy district attorney Adam Bonner - to prosecute Doris Ettinger, who shot her own husband, having forced him with a mistress, but Adam’s wife, Amanda, takes up the case. She seeks to prove the inalienable right of women to shoot unfaithful husbands, which leads to the frenzy of her husband, who believes that it is impossible to shoot people for any reason.

Bonners' strong and friendly marriage begins to burst at the seams, what began as a fun game grows into a battle of the sexes. Adam can’t stand the spouse’s bullying over himself, and even more so over the law. He slams the door, leaves his wife. Meanwhile, the "snake tempter" from a neighboring apartment, the fashionable composer Kip Luri, is approaching Amanda.

• Spencer Tracy - Adam Bonner
• Katherine Hepburn - Amanda Bonner
• Judy Holiday - Doris Attinger
• Tom Ewell - Warren Francis Attinger
• David Wayne - Kip Lurie
• Gene Hagen - Barryl Kane
• Hope Emerson - Olympia La Pere
• Eve March - Grace
• Clarence Kolb - Judge Racer
• Polly Moran - Mrs. McGrath

"Adam's Rib" refers to the genre of " eccentric comedy " ( "screwball comedy" ). At the center of such a comedy is a conflict between a man and a woman, they love each other, but some contradictions are an obstacle. In the 30s of the XX century, the conflict was generated by class differences, the welfare of the heroes, or simply a difference in characters. In the 40s, the main theme was the dilemma facing the heroine when she needs to choose between career and family. In the film "Adam's Rib" the cause of the conflict was the very question of the roles of man and woman in society.

The humor of the picture is based on the constant change of social roles, when a man acts in a female role, and a woman in a male one. Amanda invites a number of women to the court who demonstrate their ability to do men's work. One of them, the circus demonstrating his strength, lifts Adam into the air. This is an idea taken to the extreme, when the viewer sees what the injured husband would look like in a woman's form, and his wife and lover in a man's. To restore the marriage, Adam resorts to female tricks - crying.

In the end, everything ends happily, a happy ending. Amanda wins the court and at the same time preserves the marriage without compromising on principles. Adam, although he is defeated, does not lose face and also, as it were, remains the winner. As in other paintings of this genre, the family idyll is being restored, and the questions that were posed at the beginning still do not find their answer.

The main roles in the film were played by the long-established screen couple Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn , a special touch to their relationship on the screen was given by their love affair, which took place in real life. Another couple worked on the film - screenwriters Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. The combination of star actors, scriptwriters and a director gave the desired effect, bringing good profit in a bad financial year for Hollywood.

The same team reunited in 1952 in the movie " Pat and Mike ", and again they were waiting for success. And the history of the Bonner family continued in the eponymous series in 1972.

• 1951 - Oscar - Ruth Gordon , Garzon Kanin for Best Original Screenplay
• 1951 - Golden Globe - Judy Holiday Best Actress
• 1950 - Writers Guild of America - Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin for Best American Comedy Screenplay
• 1951 - Writers Guild of America - Ruth Gordon, Garzon Kanin for Best American Comedy Screenplay

• Lauren Rabinovitz. Adam's Rib // International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers / under. Ed Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast. - 4th. - USA: St. James Press, 2000. - T. 1. - S. 9-10. - ISBN 1-55862-449-X .

• " Adam's Rib ” on the Internet Movie Database
• Adam's rib on the poster of the Afisha magazine