starring Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy
directed by George Stevens
114 minutes
Tess Harding (Katherine Hepburn) and Sam Craig (Spencer Tracy) are two columnists who work for the same newspaper in New York but cover very different subjects. She speaks several languages and covers world news. He is a sports reporter. He approaches her after she suggests, in one of her columns, that baseball should not be played while the war (World War II) rages on.
Sam takes Tess to a baseball game and a relationship starts to develop between them. He quickly discovers that she is not about to drop everything for him but that doesn't dissuade him. She remains interested in him but he is frustrated with her approach.
Sam proposes marriage. Tess accepts. They run off to South Carolina where they get married right away. Her parents, who have been divorced for quite some time, are there for the event.
Sam moves in with Tess but things don't really change between them. He eventually gets frustrated with her ways and leaves. It isn't until she sees her parents decide to get married again that she reconsiders and decides to try becoming the sort of wife that Sam wants.
Thoughts
I love the humor in this movie. There are lots of little moments that made me laugh. I'm especially happy that I didn't watch the trailer before seeing this movie. It spoils one of the funniest scenes. I love some of the looks that different characters give one another.
Both Hepburn and Tracy are great in this movie but I think Hepburn's role gave her more room to maneuver. Tracy didn't seem like he changed all that much from beginning to end. Hepburn seems to be constantly on the move.
I don't love this movie but I found it to be very captivating. I didn't want to stop watching. I didn't know how it was going to end but I wasn't too surprised by how it ended.
Notes
This movie was nominated for two Academy Awards. Katherine Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role but did not win. The award that year (1943) went to Greer Garson for playing Mrs. Miniver in the film of the same name. I have not seen any of the other performances including the one that won. The movie was also nominated for Best Writing for an Original Screenplay. It did win that award.
This is the first of nine movies that Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy starred in together. I think that the only other one I may have seen is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), the ninth and final film that they starred in together.
There are a few extras on the DVD set I borrowed from the library. The second disc has two documentaries on it. I have yet to watch those and will write about them in separate posts. The first disc includes
Marilyn Ann Moss on George Stevens
14 minutes
Marilyn Ann Moss wrote a biography of George Stevens. She talk about Stevens work, including where and how Woman of the Year figures into his career.
Claudia Roth Pierpoint on Katherine Hepburn
20 minutes
Claudia Roth Pierpoint talks about Katherine Hepburn's entire career with a spotlight on the making of Woman of the Year.
Both extras are quite good and worth a watch.
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