Of the nine films Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn made together I have, as of now, seen four; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", "Pat and Mike", and "Woman of the Year". So far this is my favorite.

Now I wouldn't go as far as some and call this one of the great comedies of all time, but I would say this is an enjoyable funny that has at least two very, very funny scenes, which I will get to in a moment.

The movie was directed by Walter Lang ("Can-Can", "The Jackpot", and "Moon Over Miami") and was written by Phoebe and Henry Ephron (parents to Nora).

Tracy stars as Richard Sumner a sort of efficiency expert who is sent to over look Bunny Watson's (Katherine Hepburn) research department. What kind of company she works for exactly I'm not sure. And soon Bunny and her co-workers Joan Blondell (Peg), Dina Merrill (Sylvia) and Sue Randall (Ruthie) become anxious trying to figure out what exactly Sumner is doing there and will it cost anyone their job.

There is also a side story going on about Bunny and a man she has been seeing for seven years Mike (Gig Young) who has yet to ask the big question, but Bunny remains devoted to him anyway.

I would have preferred if the movie had focused more on the relationship in the office between Tracy and Hepburn, but that's okay.

Now for those two funny scenes. The highlight of this film includes an "evaluation" scene between Racy and Hepburn having lunch. Their timing and chemistry is amazing. The scene reminds me of the gin rummy scene in "Born Yesterday". The other highlight includes an "apartment" scene with Tracy getting caught in the rain staying over at Hepburn's place. Soon complications set in, and I will not reveal them here. But these two scenes are probably the best in the film.

I also like the film's message. Technology by itself is not perfect. I'm totally against all these advancement in the field, which is funny considering I'm using a computer right now. But I liked the film's cynical look at technology.

Bottom-line Enjoyable Tracy/Hepburn comedy that has two very funny scenes which demonstrates how great these two people were and what amazing chemistry they had. Check it out.

The Great Kate and Spence. Fantastc 50's architecture and clothes and - watch out - SMART DIALOGUE! Nora Ephron's parents wrote and produced this gem and you see where she got her chops. Fast, funny and all pros at the top of their game. Watch for the scene on the roof top of the building when Tracy and Hepburn have their first lunch. it is freezing but these two are so hot and fast and smart that you can't take your eyes off of the screen.

Short on extras, but a few goodies, like a newsreel about the fashions the film inspired and a commentary by Dina Merril and John Lee (?) who I assume is a historian as I certainly don't know him. But, the film is the thing and it is wonderful.

This is an extremely well done screen adaptation of a unique play. You expect nothing less from the team of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. However they do not distract from the performances of the other actors who are well-known in their own right. Harry Ellerbe, who plays Smithers, played the main role of Richard Sumner in the play.
Bunny and her staff and the research department are all preparing for Christmas season. But who should appear on a seen but the mysterious Richard Sumner, with a tape measure, 24 questions, and mysterious past in electronic brains. The conversation between Richard Sumner and Bunny are worth with film its self; yet it only gets better from there.

This movie stars Katharine Hepburn as Bunny Watson and Spencer Tracy as Richard Sumner. Bunny is the smart and witty manager of the reference department at a big TV network. She and her coworkers do their best to answer a large variety factual of questions in a timely manner, and they usually do a pretty good job. However, the company sends in Richard Sumner to improve the division's perfomance, and suddenly everyone's afraid they're going to be replaced by a very large computer(aka EMERAC). Bunny's boyfriend, on the other hand, is afraid that he's going to get replaced by Sumner.

As far as the romance goes, this movie is lukewarm. There's not a lot of romantic chemistry between Bunny and Sumner, although I do think that their conversations were a lot of fun to watch. However, I thought this movie was really funny and clever.

I've been waiting for this DVD forever because I love this movie but can't stand the pan-and-scan version. I just saw this mentioned on Turner Classic Movies, cried out "Yes! Yes!" and immediately came to Amazon to see if they have it. I am so glad they do! And in honor of this great movie finally being released in all of it's widescreen glory, I am cut and pasting my review for the video version here below:

"Like Floating Island...Delicious!"

The smart dialogue, the gorgeous fashion, the way you want to kick Gig Young in the teeth...I wish more modern comedy could be this clever. (My two favorite scenes are the rooftop lunch quiz and the rainy evening misunderstanding. As usual you never think Tracy is acting, he's so real. And Hepburn's Miss Watson (her name a inside-joke nod to the founder of IBM -Thomas J. Watson) is a character you root for to blow off egotistical beau Mike. Another bonus is the Sumners snooty EMIRAC assistant, Miss Warringer-whose come-uppance couldn't be better. I want a brown coat like Bunny's!

Thank goodness this is finally out on DVD and WIDESCREEN! It's completely enjoyable now without the distractions of pan and scan!

Tracy and Hepburn Forever!