Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn made nine movies together in their long and storied careers, and they’ve all been collected for Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection. However, it should be said that whenever people talk about “classic Hepburn-Tracy” (the verbal sparring, the witty battle-of-the-sexes comedy), they’re really only referring to three movies. George Stevens’ 1942 Woman of the Year was the pair’s first and arguably best pairing, and their unique chemistry set the template by which we’ve defined them: proud lug Tracy meeting his match in the brittle Hepburn. But only two George Cukor films—Adam’s Rib and my personal favorite, Pat and Mike—made sublime use of this dynamic. The rest is just filler and Desk Set—Keeper of the Flame is a stuffy dud from Cukor, State of the Union is lesser Capra, and the embarrassing Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was old-fashioned in 1967.