The Couch Potato’s Guide to Old Hollywood: The Legacy of Spencer Tracy

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

By Geoff Carter

Spencer Tracy was known as an actor’s actor, a man so skilled in the craft that everyone–critics, directors, other thespians, and even producers, stood in awe of him. His singular talent was in the fact that his craft was very nearly transparent; you never saw him acting. And his range was phenomenal; in the span of one movie (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) he plays both a gentle humanitarian and an animalistic maniac—and does so believably, and (because he hated wearing it) very little make-up. During the course of his long career, he played shrewd politicians, shrewder attorneys, cops fighting (and losing to) temptation, exasperated fathers, as well as the simplest of fishermen.

One major unifying thread in Tracy’s work, however, seems to be that of a man discovering truth and meting out justice, or—at the very least—a decent human being who can earn our trust. Henry Drummond (Inherit the Wind), Judge Dan Haywood (Judgement at Nuremberg), or John J. MacReedy (Bad Day at Black Rock) were paragons of integrity and moral courage, and who else could have played them but Spencer Tracy? Who could we trust more than Father Flanagan (Boys Town), Stanley T. Banks (Father of the Bride), or Manuel in Captains Courageous?

In addition to playing characters who were heroic paragons of morality and courage, Tracy was a superb comic actor. Besides being a perfect foil for Katherine Hepburn in their nine comedies together, he was the perfect actor to play Stanley T. Banks, exasperated and bewildered (and virtually fleeced) bystander in Father of the Bride. During the scene in which he is pressed into service as an unwilling bartender at his own house during his daughter’s engagement party is priceless. 

Tracy was neither tall nor good-looking yet was such a magnetic leading man that casting another actor in one of his roles would be unthinkable. And he usually played the most decent of men, and it was that sense of decency that gave him his strength. Who else could have played Father Flanagan in Boys Town? And who else could have weathered, withstood—and finally won—the strong-willed and audacious Katherine Hepburn?

Tracy was a natural, an actor who seemed to fit effortlessly into a character; he was an everyman, an on-screen presence that nearly every viewer could relate to: a father, a teacher, a mentor, a friend, a lover, a shyster, or a judge. He could do it all. 

---

The Top Ten Films of Spencer Tracy

Inherit the Wind: Loosely based on the notorious Scopes Trial in which a high-school science teacher was put on trial for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. Henry Drummond, (Tracy), a character based on real-life attorney Clarence Darrow, defends the young educator, while Matthew Harrison Brady (Frederick March)—based on Williams Jennings Bryant—attacks him on grounds that the teaching of evolution is blasphemous. Tracy plays Drummond, the determined attorney, and champion of logic, with a patient and unflappable front while March’s Brady, full of bombast, seems shrill and almost childish—especially near the end. Notable for fine supporting performances by Gene Kelly, Harry Morgan, and Dick York. 

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Frederick March, Gene Kelly, Dick York, Harry Morgan, and Claude Akins. Written by Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith. Directed by Stanley Kramer.

---

Judgement at Nuremburg: Based on the international war crimes trials in the aftermath of World War II, this film examines the line between duty and personal responsibility as Judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) conducts a military tribunal against four German judges and prosecutors who—at the behest of the Third Reich—knowingly sentenced innocent people to imprisonment in concentration camps or death. Haywood is particularly interested in how Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster), a scholar and renowned man of law, could have violated his code of ethics and committed the atrocities of which he is accused. Tracy’s performance of a logical man patiently struggling to understand the madness of an entire population without rancor or emotional color is incredible. Notable for a superb supporting cast, including a small (and strangely underplayed) part by William Shatner.

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Maximillian Schell, Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, Richard Widmark, and Marlene Dietrich. Written by Abby Mann. Directed by Stanley Kramer.

---

The Seventh Cross: In this World War II drama, seven prisoners, including a Jewish grocery clerk named George Heisler (Tracy) escape from a concentration camp. The camp commander erects seven crosses, vowing to hang the escapees on them once they are caught. Heisler slowly makes his way across occupied Germany, witnessing his comrades being picked off one by one. Heisler asks an old girlfriend for help but is turned away. He finally turns to his friend Paul Roeder (Hume Cronyn) for help. Despite the risk, Roder and his wife (Jessica Tandy) put Heisler in touch with the German underground and manage to help him escape. Tracy’s performance of a desperate man whose faith in common human decency is tested and then rekindled is remarkable. Notable for the excellent performances from the husband and wife team of Cronyn and Tandy. 

Starring: Specer Tracy, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Signe Hasso, Agnes Moorehead, and Ray Collins. Written Helen Deutsch. Directed by Fred Zinnemann.

---

Father of the Bride: In this family comedy, lawyer Stanley T. Banks (Tracy) learns at the dinner table that his young daughter Kay (Elizabeth Taylor) is engaged to be married to young Buckley Dunston (Don Taylor). When his wife Ellie (Joan Bennett) immediately starts planning the affair, Stanley realizes he’s in for it. What started out as a small intimate affair soon balloons into a massive—and expensive—undertaking, a wedding with “all the trimmings”. When Stanley lays down the law and insists that they cannot afford more than 150 guests, he is soon overruled by the powers that be. He finally resorts to suggesting to his daughter that they elope, an idea shot down by his wife. But, as with all comedies (and most weddings), a happy ending ensues. Notable for Elizabeth Taylor’s vibrant performance as Kay.

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Bennett, Don Taylor, Billie Burke, Russ Tamblyn, and Leo G. Carroll. Written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.

---

The Last Hurrah: A John Ford film that presents a tongue-in-cheek examination of the inner workings of a big-city political machine. Incumbent mayor Frank Skeffington (Tracy) is running for a fifth term as mayor of a mid-size New England town. Facing widespread opposition that decries widespread graft and corruption, Skeffington is so still of confident of victory, he invites his journalist nephew Adam Caulfield (Jeffrey Hunter) to follow and document the inner workings of Skeffington’s old-fashioned and hands-on campaign style. Caulfield is both impressed and horrified by some of his uncle’s tactics, but—at the end—realizes that Skeffington is, almost despite himself, the salt of the earth. This performance is quintessential Tracy: a shrewd and opportunistic (Irish) rascal with a heart of gold.

Starring; Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Pat O’Brien, Basil Rathbone, Dianne Foster, John Carradine, and Donald Crisp. Written by Frank S. Nugent. Directed by John Ford.

---

Bad Day at Black Rock: In this Neo-Western set during the days following World War II, a one-armed stranger stops in the tiny desert town of Black Rock seeking a man named Komoko, to whom he wants to give a medal awarded to his son posthumously. The stranger, John Macreedy (Tracy) served with Komoko’s son and has taken it upon himself to visit his friend’s father. The townspeople, led by Reno Smith (Robert Ryan) greet the visitor with unmitigated hostility, and it soon becomes apparent they are hiding something. As the visitor digs more deeply, he discovers Komoko has died mysteriously in a fire at the family farm. Convinced the townspeople are responsible, Macreedy determines to get to the bottom of Komoko’s demise. Tracy’s understated performance as the quietly determined and laconic Macreedy is in perfect counterpoint to the sadistic bullying of Reno and his cronies. 

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Anne Francis. Written by Don McGuire and Millard Kaufman. Directed by John Sturges.

---

The Old Man and the Sea: In this cinematic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s famous novel, Tracy plays Santiago, the old Cuban fisherman, with only a minimum of dialogue. Instead, the film relies on Tracy’s subtle physicality and nearly inscrutable facial expressions. He plays Santiago as a stoic man working with and finally fighting the sea he knows so well, so much so in fact, that he almost seems to be a force of nature himself, transcending the personal as he personified the existential struggle of a man fighting for his very life. 

Starring: Spencer Tracy. Written by Peter Viertel (based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway). Directed by John Sturges.

---

Adam’s Rib: In this romantic comedy pairing with Katherine Hepburn—one of nine in which the two worked together—Tracy plays Adam Bonner, an assistant district attorney, whose wife, Amanda (Katherine Hepburn) is a defense attorney. They argue over the case of Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday) who has shot her husband Warren (Tom Ewell) after discovering him in bed with another woman. Amanda maintains that the case demonstrates a double standard for woman and agrees to defend Doris after learning that Adam has been assigned to prosecute her. Tensions mount as the couple faces off in the courtroom and in home in this novel look at the classic battle of the sexes. Notable for the hilarious supporting performances by Holliday and Ewell as the Attingers. 

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Judy Holliday, Tom Ewell, David Wayne, Jean Hagen, and Hope Emerson. Written by Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. Directed by George Cukor.

---

Captains Courageous: In this 1937 film, Harvey Cheyne (Freddie Bartholomew) plays the spoiled son of a business tycoon. While accompanying his father on a business trip to Europe, Harvey falls overboard and is rescued by the crew of a Portuguese fishing boat. Refusing Harvey’s demands to be taken back to New York, he is pressed into service on the boat and befriended by Manuel (Tracy), a Portuguese fisherman, who teaches him the value of hard work, friendship, sacrifice, and courage. Tracy’s performance as the gregarious and salt-of-the-earth fisherman earned him an Academy Award. Notable for fine supporting performances by Mickey Rooney and Lionel Barrymore.

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Melvyn Douglas, and John Carradine. Written by John Lee Mahin, Marc Connelly, and Dale Van Every. Directed by Victor Fleming.

---

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: In this version of the Robert Louis Stevenson supernatural thriller, Tracy plays the title role(s) in a tour-de-force performance. Henry Jekyll (Tracy) believes that good and evil co-exist in every human being. To prove his point, he creates a serum that brings out his evil side, personified by Mr. Hyde. Hyde rapes a young woman named Ivy (Ingrid Bergman) and continues abusing her, enjoying his evil indulgences. Full of remorse, Jekyll vows never to take the serum again, but on his way to his fiancé’s house, he transforms into Hyde without ingesting the serum. Hyde then begins to take over Jekyll’s personality until events culminate in tragedy. Notable for Ingrid Bergman’s layered performance as Ivy, the victimized young woman. 

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane, and C. Aubrey Smith. Written by John Lee Mahin, Percy Heath, and Samuel Hoffenstein. Directed by Victor Fleming.

---

Honorable Mention

Boys Town

Fury

Pat and Mike

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

---