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Adam's Rib
Starring Anne Heche and Adam Arkin, this classic battle of the sexes and court room farce presents a witty examination of husband and wife attorneys. Originally crafted for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, this theatre adaptation of the Oscar-nominated screenplay includes never-before-heard original material. A L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance Adam Arkin, Anne DeSalvo, Paul Eiding, Mary Pat Gleason, Annabelle Gurwitch, Anne Heche, Marvin Kaplan, Loren Lazerine, Robert Lesser, John Pankow and Amy Pietz.
2 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 1, 2015
This is a general fiction play that pits 2 lawyers, married to each other, against each other over the equality of the sexes. Very well done with a lot of humor & a deadly serious, tough call. It's short, only 1.25 hours, & really worth listening to. Highly recommended.
December 18, 2016
Whiny, nasal Anne Heche is definitely no Katherine Hepburn and Amy Pietz’s no Judy Holliday, but I enjoyed the battle of the sexes that is Adam’s Rib. The film from which this dramatization was adapted was released in 1949, and, consequently, even with the adaptation, remains a bit dated. But I enjoyed the banter.
November 27, 2025
Adam’s Rib, written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin
8 out of 10
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is considered to be one of the best comedies…
It is on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list:
- http://www.listchallenges.com/new-yor...
Katharine Hepburn is majestic as the lawyer Amanda Bonner.
Her real life husband and excellent actor Spencer Tracy portrays the spouse and also a man of the law- Adam Bonner.
The title seems to refer to the Bible story that has the woman created by God, but only from Adam’s Rib.
The suggestion is one of supposed inferiority and the main theme of the film is there expressed in the metaphor of the title.
Doris Attinger is a woman betrayed, cheated upon by her husband Warren that is having an affair with Beryl Caighn.
We see the confused and depressed Doris Attinger, trying to advance thorough a crowd and find her way.
When she reaches the room where she knows she can find her husband, she takes out a revolver and…causes the audience to laugh.
Because she starts reading instructions from a booklet that is evidently the manual for the gun that she fires.
For the viewers it is clear that the woman does not what she is doing, even after entering the room where she finds her husband.
He is intimate with another woman, there is screaming and accusations fly, while Doris Attinger pulls the gun.
But when she shoots, she does not even look towards her enemies, she looks back, scared by this outrage.
Warren Attinger is injured, taken to a hospital, while the wife is taken into police custody, indicted and placed in the newspapers ‘headlines.
Amanda Bonner reads about the story and expresses a rather feminist view that would dominate the film.
Adam Bonner is not pleased to find out that he is assigned on the case of Doris Attinger as the prosecutor.
He even calls his wife to share this feeling and she is so incensed that she decides to defend the victim of men’s prejudices.
Amanda Bonner makes excellent points and many humorous ones, as she establishes the guilt of the husband.
Walter Attinger, not only neglected his wife, cheated on her, but he has also abused her and used violence.
Adam Bonner is no pushover and in his turn he proves that the wife responded to aggresivity with her own violence.
Laughs can he heard in court when different women are invited, prominent in their domain and they demonstrate that women are equal, if not more to men.
The jury is invited to imagine a different scenario, wherein the two women involved in the case are men.
And Walter Attinger is a woman in this version, and as the actor and actresses are dressed and made up this is again funny.
The comedy is effervescent, the dialogue is sparkling, but the themes proposed are serious and poignant.
Especially in the forties, when the movie was produced and women still had to gain more rights, as they actually do even today.
If we consider Saudi Arabia and other lands with the sharia or other laws that restrict women rights to a bare minimum, the emancipation of women has a long way to go.
Notwithstanding this most important issue in the film, Adam Bonner has his points to make and he is on the right side of the argument.
In spite of everything, her mistreatment by her husband, her equal rights in marriage and in front of the law, Doris Attinger broke the law when she used a gun to get a vigilante payback and tried to revenge herself.
Excellent comedy, with important moral and ethical themes.
8 out of 10
A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is considered to be one of the best comedies…
It is on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list:
- http://www.listchallenges.com/new-yor...
Katharine Hepburn is majestic as the lawyer Amanda Bonner.
Her real life husband and excellent actor Spencer Tracy portrays the spouse and also a man of the law- Adam Bonner.
The title seems to refer to the Bible story that has the woman created by God, but only from Adam’s Rib.
The suggestion is one of supposed inferiority and the main theme of the film is there expressed in the metaphor of the title.
Doris Attinger is a woman betrayed, cheated upon by her husband Warren that is having an affair with Beryl Caighn.
We see the confused and depressed Doris Attinger, trying to advance thorough a crowd and find her way.
When she reaches the room where she knows she can find her husband, she takes out a revolver and…causes the audience to laugh.
Because she starts reading instructions from a booklet that is evidently the manual for the gun that she fires.
For the viewers it is clear that the woman does not what she is doing, even after entering the room where she finds her husband.
He is intimate with another woman, there is screaming and accusations fly, while Doris Attinger pulls the gun.
But when she shoots, she does not even look towards her enemies, she looks back, scared by this outrage.
Warren Attinger is injured, taken to a hospital, while the wife is taken into police custody, indicted and placed in the newspapers ‘headlines.
Amanda Bonner reads about the story and expresses a rather feminist view that would dominate the film.
Adam Bonner is not pleased to find out that he is assigned on the case of Doris Attinger as the prosecutor.
He even calls his wife to share this feeling and she is so incensed that she decides to defend the victim of men’s prejudices.
Amanda Bonner makes excellent points and many humorous ones, as she establishes the guilt of the husband.
Walter Attinger, not only neglected his wife, cheated on her, but he has also abused her and used violence.
Adam Bonner is no pushover and in his turn he proves that the wife responded to aggresivity with her own violence.
Laughs can he heard in court when different women are invited, prominent in their domain and they demonstrate that women are equal, if not more to men.
The jury is invited to imagine a different scenario, wherein the two women involved in the case are men.
And Walter Attinger is a woman in this version, and as the actor and actresses are dressed and made up this is again funny.
The comedy is effervescent, the dialogue is sparkling, but the themes proposed are serious and poignant.
Especially in the forties, when the movie was produced and women still had to gain more rights, as they actually do even today.
If we consider Saudi Arabia and other lands with the sharia or other laws that restrict women rights to a bare minimum, the emancipation of women has a long way to go.
Notwithstanding this most important issue in the film, Adam Bonner has his points to make and he is on the right side of the argument.
In spite of everything, her mistreatment by her husband, her equal rights in marriage and in front of the law, Doris Attinger broke the law when she used a gun to get a vigilante payback and tried to revenge herself.
Excellent comedy, with important moral and ethical themes.
Did Not Finish
March 16, 2026From the little that I heard, the writing was sharp and funny, but Anne Heche as Amanda does an odd and terrible impersonation of Katherine Hepburn (who played Amanda in the 1949 movie). It was so distracting that I had to stop listening after only five minutes.
April 2, 2026
3.5 bumped to 4.0
March 31, 2019
"The Battle of the Sexes" looks much different after 50 years or so.
But, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Slapping women isn't seen quite the same any longer, even if only by women. Meant as a comedy, but is it?
I'm afraid this production doesn't shine as brightly as the movie. Of course, who could possibly out-act Tracy and Hepburn, at the height of their powers and involvement?
Still, worth the listen. Food for thought.
But, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Slapping women isn't seen quite the same any longer, even if only by women. Meant as a comedy, but is it?
I'm afraid this production doesn't shine as brightly as the movie. Of course, who could possibly out-act Tracy and Hepburn, at the height of their powers and involvement?
Still, worth the listen. Food for thought.
February 12, 2020
Oh boy was this fun! A comedic spoof film noire with lots of characters and narrated by a saucy Irish house keeper. I enjoyed all but the expected 1950s ending that conceded to male privilege and female subjugation, a real stinker of an ending
April 14, 2024
A quick listen when cleaning the house. It did have me laughing a time or two, so it was worth it. The characters are well done, as it is read as a play. Overall, not my style, but a fun one just the same!
January 13, 2022
Silly and fun
November 15, 2023
Well... I found another box of plays.
March 21, 2026
Battle of the sexes done ever so tightly and cleverly in the courtroom with snappy, witty dialogue and not a syllable out of place! Anne Heche and Adam Arkin - a standing ovation deservedly earned,
June 23, 2014
audio book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews