1 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Adam's Rib
"It's The Hilarious Answer To Who Wears The Pants!"
1949 1h 41m EN
👍
7.1
SOLID
★7.1TMDB · 348
ComedyRomance
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A woman's attempted murder of her uncaring husband results in everyday quarrels in the lives of Adam and Amanda, a pair of happily married lawyers who end up on opposite sides of the case in court.
“It's The Hilarious Answer To Who Wears The Pants!”
Cast
Spencer Tracy
Adam Bonner
Katharine Hepburn
Amanda Bonner
Judy Holliday
Doris Attinger
Tom Ewell
Warren Attinger
David Wayne
Kip Lurie
Jean Hagen
Beryl Caighn
Hope Emerson
Olympia La Pere
Eve March
Grace
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- George Cukor
- Writers
- Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
77 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by George Cukor, shot by George J. Folsey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor George Boemler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and Judy Holliday carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "It's The Hilarious Answer To Who Wears The Pants!".
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
George Cukor directs. George J. Folsey behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. George Boemler cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 2Made its money back 5.5× over at the box office.
- 377 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 4Directed by George Cukor, shot by George J. Folsey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor George Boemler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and Judy Holliday carry the top of the cast.
- 8Marketing tagline: "It's The Hilarious Answer To Who Wears The Pants!".
- 9IMDB entry: tt0041090 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 10Classified under 9 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "marriage", "lawyer", "singing".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- George J. Folsey
- Original score
- Miklós Rózsa
- Editing
- George Boemler
- Costume design
- Walter Plunkett
- Makeup / hair
- Sydney Guilaroff
- Runtime
- 101 min · 1h 41m
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1,728,000
- Box office
- $9,470,000
- Return
- 548% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- NR
Also by
George Cukor
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- barrymost★ 8/10
Directed by George Cukor, this is said to be one of the better Tracy/Hepburn efforts, and it is pretty funny, at that. Judy Holliday is always a delight, and her performance here as the woman on trial for pulling a gun on her husband and his lover is no exception. Very witty script is written with a good deal of intelligence, and while the laughs aren't constant, they're certainly worth it when they do come.
Production companies
Who made it
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
US
Key crew
- Special EffectsA. Arnold Gillespie
- Art DirectionWilliam Ferrari
- Art DirectionCedric Gibbons
- ProducerLawrence Weingarten
- EditorGeorge Boemler
- Set DecorationEdwin B. Willis
- Assistant Set DecorationHenry Grace
- OrchestratorEugene Zador
- Assistant DirectorJack Greenwood
- Assistant DirectorJoel Freeman
- Costume DesignWalter Plunkett
- PainterFrank Wesselhoff
- Sound RecordistDouglas Shearer
- Recording SupervisionDouglas Shearer
- Additional MusicWilliam Axt
- Hair DesignerSydney Guilaroff
- Unit ManagerCharles Levin
- Additional MusicGeorge Bassman
- Makeup DesignerJack Dawn
- Second Unit DirectorAndrew Marton
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- husband wife relationship
- marriage
- lawyer
- singing
- courtroom
- prosecutor
- subway station
- grapefruit
- afi
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1949-11-17NR
Also known as
International titles
- 아담과 이브KR
- A Costela de AdãoBR
- Madame porte la culotteFR
- A Costela de AdãoPT
