Faculty Picks
ADAM’S RIB
DIRECTOR: GEORGE CUKOR
US, 1949
FACULTY PRESENTER: AMY O’BRIEN—Nominated for an Oscar for its sparkling screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Cukor’s screwball, battle-of-the-sexes comedy was inspired by a real-world legal case of married lawyers (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) on opposing sides in a court battle to settle whether a wife (Judy Holliday) had the “right” to shoot her philandering husband (Tom Ewell) in order to protect her home from mistress Jean Hagen. “Hepburn frequently chose to play strong, intelligent, often times independent women who perhaps were outside the norm for the time. Both funny and thought-provoking, it reminds me of why I want to make films—to entertain and yet to make people think about the issues I am passionate about.”—AB. (101 mins.)
School of Film faculty member Amy O’Brien will introduce the film.