Woman of the Year Overview:

Woman of the Year (1942) was a Comedy - Romance Film directed by George Stevens and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.

SYNOPSIS

This is the first of the Hepburn-Tracy on-screen sparring matches, and perhaps the best. Hepburn and Tracy work for the same newspaper, he a sports writer and she a political commentator. They meet after his angry response to her opinion that baseball should be called off during the war. To the surprise of all, they marry. The odd-couple pairing results in sharply observed scenes from a marriage: her fumbling at housework and devotion to her work, his drinking and resentment of her career. The inevitable bumps lead Hepburn to consider divorce just as she's chosen Woman of the Year. Originally developed by Garson Kanin, he turned it over to Lardner and his brother Michael, who earned Oscars.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Woman of the Year was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999.

Academy Awards 1942 --- Ceremony Number 15 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressKatharine HepburnNominated
Best WritingRing Lardner, Jr., Michael KaninWon
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BlogHub Articles:

ONE MOVIE, THREE QUOTES: Woman of the Year (1942)

By Carol Martinheira on May 12, 2022 From The Old Hollywood Garden

ONE MOVIE, THREE QUOTES: Woman of the Year (1942) On May 12, 2022 By CarolIn Uncategorized Image from Pinterest It?s Katharine Hepburn?s birthday and you know what that means. May?s edition of ONE MOVIE, THREE QUOTES goes out to her! No, not The Philadelphia Story (... Read full article


Woman of the Year (1942)

on Sep 15, 2017 From Journeys in Classic Film

Out of all the on-screen teams the studio system created, none endures as strongly as the teaming of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The two made nine films together, and had a strong romantic relationship off-screen, and nearly every film they made is magic distilled in some form. Their first ... Read full article


1001 Classic Movies: Woman of the Year

By Amanda Garrett on May 19, 2017 From Old Hollywood Films

Woman of the Year (1942) is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. This romantic comedy stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as dueling newspaper reporters who fall in love. This series will now appear every Friday to accommodate my schedule. Each Monday Friday, I'm going to recomm... Read full article


WOMAN OF THE YEAR On Criterion Blu-ray

By Dan Day Jr. on Apr 30, 2017 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

One of the greatest romantic comedies of all time gets the Criterion treatment. WOMAN OF THE YEAR (1942) is the very first collaboration between screen legends Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, and many believe it is the best. When one watches WOMAN OF THE YEAR, it's hard to believe that Tracy &... Read full article


“A Mulher do Dia / Woman of the Year” (1942) e a mulher que eu quero ser

By L? on Aug 14, 2015 From Critica Retro

“A Mulher do Dia / Woman of the Year” (1942) e a mulher que eu quero ser Este texto cont?m spoilers. Quando somos crian?as, nos fazem a pergunta: “o que voc? quer ser quando crescer”? Acredito que seria mais sensato reformular a quest?o, e perguntar: “Q... Read full article


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Quotes from

Tess Harding: Sam, why can't we sit down like adults and patch this thing up?
Sam Craig: I'm afraid that might become a habit. Then we'd wind up with a patchwork quilt for a marriage.


Sam Craig: [Sam and Tess are both mildly drunk. Tess's head is resting on Sam] There's something I have to get off my chest...
Tess Harding: [starts to get up] I'm too heavy...
Sam Craig: [smiles] No. I love you.
Tess Harding: You do?
Sam Craig: Positive.
Tess Harding: [sighs] That's nice. Even when I'm sober?
Sam Craig: Even when you're brilliant.


Tess Harding: I'm going to be you wife. You don't think that I can do the little ordinary things that any idiot can do, do you?
Sam Craig: No.
Tess Harding: Why not?
Sam Craig: Because you're incapable of doing them, that's why. You can't expect Seabiscuit to stop in the middle of the stretch, drink a glass of water, and count to seven at the same time, you know. That takes training.
Tess Harding: Well, I'm not Seabiscuit.


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Facts about

As Katharine Hepburn's close friend and frequent director, George Cukor was a natural choice to direct, but for her first film with Spencer Tracy, Hepburn wanted Tracy to be as comfortable as possible, so as a quasi-producer, she hired George Stevens, who had directed her in Alice Adams. As Hepburn said, "I just thought he (Tracy) should have a big, manly man on his team - someone who could talk about baseball." Cukor (who was openly gay and known for his friendships with actresses) would later become a good friend of Tracy and would direct both actors in Keeper of the Flame, Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike.
The Broadway musical version opened at the Palace Theater on May 29, 1981, ran for 770 performances starring Lauren Bacall and Harry Guardino and was nominated for the 1981 Tony Awards for the Best Musical, Book and Score.
The reason for the changed ending is revealed in the book 'A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn' by Anne Edwards. It says, "Mankiewicz and Stevens were concerned that 'the average American housewife, seated next to her husband, staring for two hours at this paragon of beauty, intelligence, wit, accomplishment, and everything else, (could not) help but wonder if her husband (wasn't) comparing her very unfavorably with this goddess he sees on the screen.' Stevens, who for all his charm was a dedicated male chauvinist, decided with Mankiewicz that Tess Harding had to have her comeuppance." This is why the ending was added showing Tess as incompetent in the kitchen.
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National Film Registry

Woman of the Year

Released 1942
Inducted 1999
(Sound)




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Also directed by George Stevens




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Also produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz




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