Spencer Tracy: a formidable character actor with enough presence to take the lead or even get the better of more recognizably leading men when paired. Here are a handful of his that I love.
San Francisco (1937): Tracy gets the better of Clark Gable in this tale wound around the great earthquake of 1906. Gable is a rogue/gambling house owner who's best friend (Tracy) is a Catholic priest. Both men are tied to a young singer (Janet McDonald) who is slowly being ruined by the seamy attachment to Gable. The ending may be a little trite for some, but it's a good film with Tracy as the rock solid center. He received a Best Actor Oscar nod for the effort.
Boys Town (1937): Tracy once again dons the robes to play Father Flannigan, a man dedicated to the principle that there is no such thing as a bad boy. A young Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), does his level best to test the Father's theory as a tough kid in need of the right example.
A Guy Named Joe (1943): Pete Sandidge (Tracy) is a reckless WWII pilot with a great pal Al Yackey (Ward Bond) and a better gal Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), herself an accomplished flier. When Pete is killed completing a mission Dorinda spirals out of control with grief. Enter a young flier Ted Randall (Van Johnson) and a second chance, that is if Pete will put someone else first for once. That's right, Pete. Recently assigned as a ghostly instructor to Randal and still whispering in Dorinda's ear, a late, desperate mission will bring the ill fated lovers together for a moment of decision and redemption. I really like this one.
Keeper of the Flame (1943): my personal favorite pairing of Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Following the death of a nationally celebrated idol named Robert Forrest, a well know journalist and admirer of Forrest's, Stephen O'Malley (Tracy), visits the widow with the idea of writing an homage to the great man. When she resists strongly he begins to suspect something horribly wrong is at the root of it. He's right.
Adam's Rib (1949): the best comedic pairing of the duo. The two play lawyers on either side of an attempted murder between a man and wife. The trial (and friends) tries their own marriage in an entertaining if a bit one sided look at a subject of men and women struggling to a modern equality.
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955): one of my favorites. Bitter and somewhat literally broken, John J. Macreedy (Tracy) steps off a train in the middle of a desert nowhere, half a horse town on a singular and personal mission, in the wake of WWII. What that mission is quickly consumes a town with a dirty secret that it is willing to kill to protect. Great supporting character work by an all star cast and Robert Ryan as the piece's villain.
Inherit the Wind (1960): This is really the Scopes trial thinly camouflaged and reduced to caricature with Tracy playing the part of Clarence Darrow, if with a surprising twist. Gene Kelly almost steals the show as the cynical journalist whose paper is bankrolling the defense.
I'm leaving off a number of films I like, but this is a good start across an able career.
San Francisco (1937): Tracy gets the better of Clark Gable in this tale wound around the great earthquake of 1906. Gable is a rogue/gambling house owner who's best friend (Tracy) is a Catholic priest. Both men are tied to a young singer (Janet McDonald) who is slowly being ruined by the seamy attachment to Gable. The ending may be a little trite for some, but it's a good film with Tracy as the rock solid center. He received a Best Actor Oscar nod for the effort.
Boys Town (1937): Tracy once again dons the robes to play Father Flannigan, a man dedicated to the principle that there is no such thing as a bad boy. A young Whitey Marsh (Mickey Rooney), does his level best to test the Father's theory as a tough kid in need of the right example.
A Guy Named Joe (1943): Pete Sandidge (Tracy) is a reckless WWII pilot with a great pal Al Yackey (Ward Bond) and a better gal Dorinda Durston (Irene Dunne), herself an accomplished flier. When Pete is killed completing a mission Dorinda spirals out of control with grief. Enter a young flier Ted Randall (Van Johnson) and a second chance, that is if Pete will put someone else first for once. That's right, Pete. Recently assigned as a ghostly instructor to Randal and still whispering in Dorinda's ear, a late, desperate mission will bring the ill fated lovers together for a moment of decision and redemption. I really like this one.
Keeper of the Flame (1943): my personal favorite pairing of Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Following the death of a nationally celebrated idol named Robert Forrest, a well know journalist and admirer of Forrest's, Stephen O'Malley (Tracy), visits the widow with the idea of writing an homage to the great man. When she resists strongly he begins to suspect something horribly wrong is at the root of it. He's right.
Adam's Rib (1949): the best comedic pairing of the duo. The two play lawyers on either side of an attempted murder between a man and wife. The trial (and friends) tries their own marriage in an entertaining if a bit one sided look at a subject of men and women struggling to a modern equality.
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955): one of my favorites. Bitter and somewhat literally broken, John J. Macreedy (Tracy) steps off a train in the middle of a desert nowhere, half a horse town on a singular and personal mission, in the wake of WWII. What that mission is quickly consumes a town with a dirty secret that it is willing to kill to protect. Great supporting character work by an all star cast and Robert Ryan as the piece's villain.
Inherit the Wind (1960): This is really the Scopes trial thinly camouflaged and reduced to caricature with Tracy playing the part of Clarence Darrow, if with a surprising twist. Gene Kelly almost steals the show as the cynical journalist whose paper is bankrolling the defense.
I'm leaving off a number of films I like, but this is a good start across an able career.
You might even consider adding Harold Lloyd into the mix. Not quite on their level, but worth a look to say the least.
