Editing Spencer Tracy (section)

====Final MGM years====
[[File:Father of the bride 1950 promo.jpg|thumb|left|Tracy and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in a promotional image for ''[[Father of the Bride (1950 film)|Father of the Bride]]'' (1950). The comedic role of Stanley Banks was one of Tracy's nine Oscar-nominated performances.]]

Tracy received his first Academy Award nomination in 12 years for playing the role of Stanley Banks in ''[[Father of the Bride (1950 film)|Father of the Bride]]'' (1950). In the comedy film, Banks attempts to handle preparations for the upcoming wedding of his daughter ([[Elizabeth Taylor]]). "It's the second strong comedy in a row for Spencer Tracy, doing the title role, and he socks it", ''Variety'' commented.<ref name="curtis 599">Curtis (2011) p. 599.</ref> The film was the biggest commercial success of Tracy's career to date, earning $6 million worldwide.<ref name="curtis 599"/> MGM wanted a sequel, and while Tracy was unsure, he accepted.<ref name="curtis 600">Curtis (2011) p. 600.</ref> ''[[Father's Little Dividend]]'' (1951) was released ten months later and performed well at the box office.<ref name="curtis 609">Curtis (2011) p. 609.</ref> On the strength of the two movies, Tracy polled as one of the nation's top stars once more.<ref name="curtis 609"/>

Tracy portrayed a lawyer in ''[[The People Against O'Hara]]'' (1951) and re-teamed with Hepburn for the sports comedy ''[[Pat and Mike]]'' (1952), the second feature written expressly for them by Kanin and Gordon. ''Pat and Mike'' became one of the duo's most popular and critically acclaimed films.<ref>Berg (2004) p. 198.</ref> Tracy followed it with ''[[Plymouth Adventure]]'' (also 1952), a historical drama set aboard the ''[[Mayflower]]'', co-starring [[Gene Tierney]]. It met with poor critical and box office response and posted a loss of $1.8 million for MGM.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 637.</ref> Tracy returned to the role of a concerned father in ''[[The Actress]]'' (1953). Producer [[Lawrence Weingarten]] recalled: "That film&nbsp;... got more [acclaim] from the critics than any film I ever made in all the years, and we didn't make enough to pay for the ushers in the theatre."<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 652.</ref> For his performance in ''The Actress'', Tracy won a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor&nbsp;– Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe Award]] and received a nomination for the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|British Academy Film Award]].

MGM lent Tracy to Fox for the well-received Western film ''[[Broken Lance]]'', his only film released in 1954.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 674.</ref> In 1955, Tracy turned down [[William Wyler]]'s ''[[The Desperate Hours (1955 film)|The Desperate Hours]]'' because he refused to take second-billing to [[Humphrey Bogart]].<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 680.</ref> Instead, Tracy appeared as a one-armed protagonist who faces the hostility of a small desert town in ''[[Bad Day at Black Rock]]'' (1955), a film directed by [[John Sturges]]. For his work, Tracy received a fifth Oscar nomination and was awarded the [[Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actor]] prize at the [[Cannes Film Festival]].

Tracy had personally been unhappy with the picture and threatened to leave during production.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 670 for threatening to leave; p. 680 for negativity toward the film.</ref> This behavior became a regular occurrence for Tracy, who was increasingly lethargic and cynical. He began production on ''[[Tribute to a Bad Man]]'' in the summer of 1955, but pulled out when he claimed that the shooting location in the Colorado mountains gave him [[altitude sickness]].<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 687.</ref> The problems caused by the picture fractured Tracy's relationship with MGM. In June 1955, he was one of the two remaining stars of the studio's peak years (the other being [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]]), but with his contract up for renewal, Tracy opted to freelance for the first time in his movie career.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 689.</ref>