The Hepburn and Tracy Collection celebrates a golden Hollywood partnership

WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942)

Without Woman of the Year, the iconic duo of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn may never have been formed. George Stevens’ screwball comedy is centred around the classic ‘opposites attract’ premise. Tess (Hepburn) and Sam (Tracy) work for the same newspaper and slowly fall in love despite being polar opposites in temperament, class, experience, and education.

While the film is an interesting take on gender roles in 40s America, its message has aged poorly. Sam is by far the more likeable and noble character out of the two, to the extent that Tess feels cold-hearted and opportunistic. She is well educated and speaks several languages, yet mysteriously is unable to make a simple breakfast. Here, the film suggests that an independent woman must have at least one area of her life in which she fails miserably, needing a man to come to her rescue. However, thanks to Hepburn’s talent and charisma, Tess remains a full-bodied character, even if her journey is problematic by modern standards.

Despite its problems, Woman of the Year is wrapped in beautifully timed comedy, with Hepburn and Tracy’s on-screen chemistry wowing a whole generation for the first time.

KEEPER OF THE FLAME (1943)

Just a few months after the release of Woman of the Year, Hepburn and Tracy teamed up again, this time for a mystery war drama titled Keeper of the Flame, directed by George Cukor, a lifelong friend of Hepburn. 

Keeper of the Flame is the only film in the pair’s filmography that does not revolve around romance. Tracy plays a journalist, O’Malley, who plans on writing a book about the national war hero Robert Forest before being informed of his sudden death. Seeking answers surrounding the death, O’Malley reaches out to Forest’s widow (Hepburn), who initially agrees to cooperate. But it’s not long before O’Malley uncovers a series of unanswered questions.

Keeper of the Flame is notable for its poor reception on release, with MGM studio boss Louis B Mayer allegedly storming out of the cinema, enraged by the film’s themes. Often described as leftist propaganda, the film is possibly the most disappointing Hepburn-Tracy film ever produced, and even Cukor would describe it as one of his worst movies. Apart from the propaganda debate, this film lacks pace, as the mystery drags on, while the long-awaited twist falls flat.

WITHOUT LOVE (1945)

A lesser-known film in Hepburn and Tracy’s filmography is the final film from British director Harold S. Bucquet, Without Love. Hepburn plays Jamie, a lonely widow who helps the war effort by marrying Patrick (Tracy), a research scientist who has set up a lab in her house. The two have no feelings for each other and are still not over their former partners. However, as time progresses, Jamie and Patrick slowly fall in love. Similar to The Philadelphia Story, also written by Donald Ogden Smith and based on a Philip Barry play, Without Love emphasises Jamie’s transformation from an isolated widow into a new woman.

Unlike the popular screwball comedies of the period, Without Love relies far more on its dialogue than on any physical comedy. Moreover, it often employs ellipsis as a narrative technique, omitting details and concealing scenes behind closed doors. This encourages the audience to use their imagination. The result is one of the lesser-known yet most enjoyable films featuring Hepburn and Tracy.

SEA OF GRASS (1947)

Like Keeper of the Flame, acclaimed director Elia Kazan was reportedly unhappy with Sea of Grass on its release, actively discouraging audiences from seeing it. Kazan’s film is a strange mix of Western and melodrama. Set in a frontier town in New Mexico, the film fails to combine the main elements of both genres, resulting in a disjointed narrative as the two stories run parallel. We have a cattle rancher, Brewton (Tracy), and his new wife, Lutie (Hepburn), who cannot adapt to the rough frontier and eventually have an affair with the local judge, Chamberlain (Melvyn Douglas).

While the film has enough action to keep punters entertained, the collision of Western and melodrama feels forced and ultimately ruins the film’s pace. It is evident early on that Brewton loves the prairie much more than his wife; however, Lutie’s love for him is never explored or explained.

STATE OF THE UNION (1948)

Frank Capra’s faithful adaptation of Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay’s satire about a fictional Republican presidential candidate combines political commentary with the comedic spirit of Duck Soup (1933), The Great Dictator (1940), and To Be or Not to Be (1942).

Our story follows aircraft tycoon Grant Matthews (Tracy), who enters the presidential race with backing from his Republican newspaper magnate, Kay (Angela Lansbury). Kay plans to be the power behind the throne upon his election, but things get complicated when his estranged wife, Mary (Hepburn), reunites with Matthews as a facade for his campaign.

This is the first film in the Hepburn and Tracy filmography in which they play a long-term married couple, and some palpable melancholy surrounds their scenes. Hepburn and Tracy had a 25-year relationship; however, they never married due to Tracy’s Catholic beliefs about divorce from his long-estranged wife. Therefore, they could only ever appear as a married couple on screen; this sense of realism pervades State of the Union.

Compared to Capra’s Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1938), State of the Union has a sharp, cynical and pessimistic tone but retains flashes of the director’s trademark idealism.

ADAM’S RIB (1949)

Written by Hepburn and Tracy’s longtime friends Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam’s Rib is perfectly tailored to the strengths of its lead actors, with the movie’s battle-of-the-sexes screwball comedy more assured than any other movie of the time.

Adam (Tracy) and Amanda (Hepburn) are married New York lawyers assigned to the case of a woman who shot her husband on discovering his affair. Adam argues she is guilty of attempted murder, while Amanda takes her side, noting the double standards for men and women.

Gordon and Kanin’s brilliantly witty and fast-paced screenplay elevates Adam’s Rib to one of the best screwball comedies of the decade while never shying away from more emotional moments. Adam’s Rib is also progressive in the landscape of 1940s comedy through Hepburn’s depiction of a successful female New York lawyer. However, the film also falls into the same trap as Woman of the Year, as Hepburn’s independent and competent character is never far from male control.

Adam’s Rib remains one of the most enjoyable and iconic Hepburn and Tracy films, showcasing their outstanding comedic timing and chemistry alongside a supporting cast that includes Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, and Jean Hagen.

PAT AND MIKE (1952)

Following the critical and financial success of Adam’s Rib, Gordon and Kanin would team up again with George Cukor to make another lighthearted comedy starring Tracy and Hepburn. But this time, the resulting movie would showcase Katharine Hepburn’s athletic abilities.

Pat (Hepburn) is a great athlete who decides to hire the sports promoter, Sam (Tracy), to help her deal with the frustrations of her overbearing fiancé. But as Pat quickly discovers, Sam has some shady business dealings from his past. 

Pat and Mike often feel like a mere celebration of Katharine Hepburn’s athletic abilities, and there is no doubt that Cukor’s film has aged poorly since its release. Yet, several hilarious scenes include Pat’s rising anxiety during a tennis match and a very young Charles Bronson getting his butt kicked by Katharine Hepburn.

DESK SET (1957)

Following a five-year break after Pat and Mike, Desk Set, directed by Walter Lang, is the second-to-last film in the Hepburn and Tracy filmography. The plot centres around a powerful computer brought into a reference library to help the employees research facts and answer questions from the general public. Yet comedy quickly ensues when the workers believe the computer called EMERAC has been installed to replace them.

The film opened to mediocre reviews but has since received more favourable praise, likely because it still feels relevant today. Desk Set has simultaneously aged poorly and well. The size of the computer used in the film is laughably enormous and appears to be far more challenging to operate than any collection of reference books. Yet at the same time, the film provides a fascinating discussion of emerging 1950s tech and workforce concerns, and it remains relevant despite the technological progress made.

At its heart, Desk Set is not a metascience-fiction film that wants us to ponder technological evolution. Instead, it is a charming and timeless love story of two middle-aged people thrown together.