Tracy And Hepburn: The Definitive Collection

In 1942, MGM came up with the idea of pairing two of the studio's stock players, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Woman of the Year, a snappy comedy about a political journalist and a sports reporter first locking horns, then embraces, revealed a remarkable chemistry that was to be exploited in eight more films. Their warm, intimate off-screen relationship would become the subject of books and dramatizations. With the advent of home video, the two were anything but ignored. Numerous sets have been issued on VHS and DVD that included a variety of their joint efforts, primarily the comedies. Warner Home Video is about to release a new DVD set aptly titled Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection. The terrific new box includes all the films in which they appeared together, as well as the superb 1986 documentary The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn, in which Kate is joined by stars like Frank Sinatra and Liz Taylor in discussing the consummate actor.

Keeper of the Flame

As the comedies are so widely celebrated, it is the dramas, shown far less often, that prove the real sleepers. The team's second collaboration, also from 1942, is George Cukor's murky melodrama Keeper of the Flame. Tracy is a writer planning a biography of a recently deceased American hero. He wins the confidence of the victim's reclusive wife, and ends up uncovering far more than he imagined. This pitch-black, anti-fascist statement still manages to provoke and disturb, and is well worth owning.

A Sea Of Grass

Another relative rarity is A Sea of Grass, a sprawling melodrama set in the 19th century American West. At first, Kate appears too Bryn-Mawrish for the role of a pioneering Western woman who turns to passionate lawyer Melvyn Douglas, when problems threaten her marriage to wealthy cattle baron Tracy. Ultimately she turns in a fine, understated performance. As always, Tracy is superb, and young Robert Walker nearly steals the show as their rakish son. In one of his first major films, director Elia Kazan provided striking visuals in this uneven, but fascinating effort.

Without Love

Less interesting is the 1945 comedy Without Love, in which Hepburn portrays an heiress who offers lodging, and, later, a comfortable marriage of convenience to government scientist Tracy. To the couple's surprise, the marriage proves to be anything but loveless. This pleasant, chatty film is abetted by lively support from Keenan Wynn, and Lucille Ball, as a sassy realtor.

State Of The Union / Adam’s Rib

With the late 40's came the great, classic comedies, beginning with Frank Capra's State of the Union. Tracy is a reputable businessman who becomes a presidential candidate, and, soon, a pawn of the political machine. Hepburn is his scrupled spouse, and Angela Lansbury shines as an icy debutante backer. Great performances by all, and a terrific script qualify the film as among the duo's greatest. That particular distinction falls to their next collaboration, the 1949 Adam's Rib. The brilliant, Kanin/Gordon script showcases the stellar couple, who portray lawyers on opposite sides of a controversial murder case. The incomparable supporting cast includes: Judy Holliday, Jean Hagen, Tom Ewell and David Wayne. Yet this would hardly be a swan song; and there were wonderful things to come.

Pat & Mike

The stars and writing team collaborated again in Cukor's delightful Pat and Mike, where jock Hepburn is exploited by sports promoter Tracy, and in 1957, Desk Set, a prophetic urban comedy on the theme of computers supplanting people in the workplace. Ten years later, Hepburn made her last movie with Tracy, and Tracy, his final film, the groundbreaking Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, the first mainstream film to deal with interracial marriage.

The ancillary special features that accompany the films are minimal, but more than adequate. They include vintage film shorts and cartoons, as well as audio commentary for Desk Set. The film transfers are all excellent, and the packaging is nicely designed, with the DVDs in convenient, individual flip-over trays. For ardent Tracy & Hepburn fans, it doesn't get better than this!

Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection
DVD
$59.98
http://www.warnerbros.com/