--- title: "Adam's Rib" year: 1949 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/adams-rib" fi1m_id: "adams-rib" imdb_id: "tt0041090" tmdb_id: 25431 wikidata_id: "Q1059199" fi1m_score: 82 critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-09-25T04:36:43.818452+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T04:36:44.833993+00:00" region: "HU" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Adam's Rib (1949) Directed by George Cukor · 1h 41m · Comedy, Romance ## Identity Adam's Rib - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/adams-rib - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** adams-rib - **IMDb ID:** tt0041090 - **TMDB ID:** 25431 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1059199 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041090/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/25431, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1059199 **Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 74 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* We would invite these married lawyers to dinner, but we would agree the terms in writing first > George Cukor’s marital comedy gives Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn sharp dialogue and a worthy opponent in each other. We recommend the sparring, though its discussion of equality sometimes gives the husband an easier hearing than the wife. ## Synopsis Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy) and Amanda Bonner (Katharine Hepburn) are married lawyers who find themselves on opposing sides. Their professional disagreement brings the question of equality between men and women into their marriage, where knowing each other well makes it harder to keep the contest impersonal. Amanda presses her case while Adam faces an opponent who knows him as a husband as well as a lawyer. Alongside the Bonners are Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) and Warren Attinger (Tom Ewell). The couple have to manage being legal adversaries without letting their working lives consume their marriage. ## Review *Adam’s Rib* is a sharp, affectionate comedy, and we recommend it with one reservation about how fairly it treats its quarrelling spouses. George Cukor gives Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn a disagreement they can enjoy even when their characters cannot. The pleasure is in how thoroughly Adam and Amanda Bonner know one another, and how little that helps either of them concede a point. Being understood by your spouse evidently has its disadvantages. Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon have an effective comic problem: how do two people argue for a living and then stop doing it when they get home? Making the Bonners opposing lawyers gives each grievance a professional vocabulary, so that even affection can sound like preparation for a rebuttal. The dialogue is quick, pointed and confident that we can follow it without an explanation afterwards. Cukor understands that a marriage is funny partly because both people have heard the other person’s favourite reasoning before. Hepburn makes Amanda’s enjoyment of an argument almost as important as the argument itself. There is energy in the way she presses a point, and enough pleasure in her own intelligence to make her formidable company without asking us to find her saintly. We laughed at how much she seems to relish having Tracy to argue with. Her eagerness makes their marital sparring feel like something these people choose, even when they are plainly getting on each other’s nerves. Tracy’s Adam gives that energy useful resistance. His appeal lies in the suggestion that a reasonable man might remain reasonable indefinitely, provided nobody continues to disagree with him. That makes him a good partner for Hepburn, though it can also make Adam’s position seem sounder simply because he occupies it so comfortably. Judy Holliday, as Doris Attinger, supplies another reason to pay attention beyond the central pairing. Her comic presence is strong enough to keep a film so devoted to its married couple from feeling closed to everybody else. George J. Folsey’s cinematography keeps the performances legible without competing with them, which is the right priority for this material. George Boemler’s editing is most effective when it lets us register the effect of a remark as well as the remark itself. The pace stays lively, but the actors still seem to have time to think. Miklós Rózsa’s music provides capable support, without displacing the pleasure of listening to these two people talk. The reservation concerns how readily an argument about women’s equality becomes a question of whether Amanda is being fair to Adam. Kanin and Gordon are alert to the comic possibilities of professional rivalry, but they are less searching about the assumptions that give the husband an advantage. Amanda’s forcefulness can become an irritation to be managed, even when her objections deserve an answer. Cukor’s warmth towards both spouses makes that limitation easy to forgive while we are laughing. It remains a limitation, and the film is sometimes too pleased with a clever reply to ask whether it answers the question. As a marital comedy, though, it understands how much pleasure two clever people can take in challenging each other. Cukor trusts the appeal of a couple who are not especially easy company, and neither lead tries to win us by becoming harmless. At 101 minutes, their quarrel is a comfortable length for an evening. Choose it for the company, and allow yourself to disagree with the lawyers. *Fi1m score 82, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Adam's Rib worth watching?** *Adam's Rib* is worth watching for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn’s affectionate marital sparring and pointed dialogue; we score it 82 out of 100. We recommend it to anyone who enjoys clever people arguing, though its treatment of equality sometimes gives the husband an easier hearing than the wife. **How long is Adam's Rib, and what is it rated?** *Adam's Rib* runs 1h 41m. It is a comedy and romance film. **Where can I watch Adam's Rib in Hungary?** *Adam's Rib* is not on any streaming or rental service in Hungary at the moment. It is available in 25 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Adam's Rib compare to His Girl Friday?** *Adam's Rib* is the warmer marital comedy, while [*His Girl Friday*](https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday) offers sharper, noisier romantic sparring in a newspaper workplace. Both make professional arguments part of a couple’s attraction, but we favour *Adam's Rib* for an affectionate evening with two stubborn lawyers. Choose *His Girl Friday* for greater comic precision, provided its constant clamour appeals. **What should I watch after Adam's Rib?** After *Adam's Rib*, try [*His Girl Friday*](https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday) (1940, Fi1m 90): Another working couple whose professional arguments make separation a difficult business. Then [*The Awful Truth*](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth) (1937, Fi1m 89): A separating couple keep finding fresh reasons to interfere in each other’s lives; and [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): Marriage and the law meet again, with far less room for laughter. ### Reviews we read (4) - **Empire**, Ian Nathan (85/100, inferred): Nathan calls the film a minor classic and a high point of Cukor’s battle-of-the-sexes comedies. He praises Hepburn’s sharp, energetic performance and the script’s biting dialogue. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/adam-rib-review/) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (75/100, inferred): The review calls the film a bright comedy success, praising its succession of sophisticated laughs. It particularly singles out the saucy marital interplay between Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. [Read](https://variety.com/1949/film/people-news/adam-s-rib-1200416713/) - **Time Out**, TM (70/100, inferred): The review describes the film as delightful. It singles out the battle-of-the-sexes premise, with Hepburn and Tracy as opposing lawyer spouses. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/adams-rib) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The available page does not expose the critic’s assessment. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the accessible text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1949/12/26/archives/adams-rib-tight-little-island-amazing-mr-beecham-among-movie.html) ## Details - **Director:** George Cukor - **Director:** George Cukor - **Screenplay:** Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin - **Cinematography:** George J. Folsey - **Editor:** George Boemler - **Music:** Miklós Rózsa - **Costume design:** Walter Plunkett - **Producer:** Lawrence Weingarten - **Cast:** Spencer Tracy as Adam Bonner; Katharine Hepburn as Amanda Bonner; Judy Holliday as Doris Attinger; Tom Ewell as Warren Attinger; David Wayne as Kip Lurie; Jean Hagen as Beryl Caighn; Hope Emerson as Olympia La Pere; Eve March as Grace - **Runtime:** 1h 41m - **First release (the US):** 17 November 1949 - **Genres:** Comedy, Romance - **Budget:** $2 million - **Box office:** $9 million ## Where to watch in Hungary Not streaming, renting or buying in Hungary at the last check. Also available in: AU, BE, BG, CA, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1951: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated) - Golden Globes 1950: Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (nominated) ## If you liked this - *His Girl Friday* (1940), Fi1m 90: Another working couple whose professional arguments make separation a difficult business. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday.md) - *The Awful Truth* (1937), Fi1m 89: A separating couple keep finding fresh reasons to interfere in each other’s lives. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-awful-truth.md) - *Divorce Italian Style* (1961): A much nastier comedy about marriage, male entitlement and the law. - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Marriage and the law meet again, with far less room for laughter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: Family affection survives professional pride and some spectacularly unwelcome interference. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/adams-rib