Editing Spencer Tracy (section)

===Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1935–1955)===

====Growing reputation====
[[File:Spencer tracy fury cropped.jpg|thumb|Tracy in [[Fritz Lang]]'s ''[[Fury (1936 film)|Fury]]'' (1936), his first major hit]]

In the 1930s, MGM was the most respected movie production studio in Hollywood.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 224.</ref> When Tracy arrived there, he was all but unknown. Biographer [[James Curtis (biographer)|James Curtis]] writes: "Tracy was scarcely a blip on the box office barometer in 1935, a critics' darling and little more".<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 365.</ref> He was, however, well known for being a troublemaker.<ref name="curtis 258">Curtis (2011) p. 258.</ref> Producer [[Irving Thalberg]] was nevertheless enthusiastic about working with the actor, telling journalist [[Louella Parsons]]: "Spencer Tracy will become one of MGM's most valuable stars."<ref name="curtis 260">Curtis (2011) p. 260.</ref>

Curtis notes that the studio managed Tracy with care, a welcome change from the ineptitude and apathy he had known while at Fox, which was like "a shot of adrenaline" for the actor.<ref name="curtis 260"/> His first film under the new contract was the quickly produced ''[[The Murder Man]]'' (1935),<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 261.</ref> which included the feature film debut of [[James Stewart]]. Thalberg then began a strategy of pairing Tracy with the studio's top actresses:<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 326.</ref> ''[[Whipsaw (film)|Whipsaw]]'' (1935) co-starred [[Myrna Loy]] and was a commercial success.<ref name="Curtis 2011 p. 272">Curtis (2011) p. 272.</ref> ''[[Riffraff (1936 film)|Riffraff]]'' (1936) put Tracy opposite [[Jean Harlow]]. Both films were, however, designed and promoted to showcase their leading ladies, thus continuing Tracy's reputation as a secondary star.<ref>Curtis (2011) pp. 266, 293. Deschner (1972) p. 47, quotes [[Louella Parsons]] saying: "Instead of being a star himself, he was a leading man to all MGM's glamour girls."</ref>

''[[Fury (1936 film)|Fury]]'' (1936) was the first film to prove that Tracy could make a success on his own merit.<ref name="curtis 293">Curtis (2011) p. 293.</ref> Directed by [[Fritz Lang]], Tracy played an innocent man who swears revenge after narrowly escaping death by a [[Lynching|lynch mob]]. The film and performance received excellent reviews.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 291.</ref> It made a profit of $1.3 million worldwide.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 292.</ref> Curtis writes: "audiences who, just a year earlier, had no clear handle on him, were suddenly turning out to see him. It was a transition that was nothing short of miraculous&nbsp;... [and showed] a willingness on the part of the public to embrace a leading man who was not textbook handsome nor bigger than life."<ref name="curtis 293"/>

[[File:Test Pilot 4 1938.jpg|thumb|Lobby card with [[Clark Gable]] and [[Myrna Loy]] in ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]'' (1938), one of the three enormously successful films that fixed Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination]]
''Fury'' was followed one month later with the release of the big-budget disaster movie ''[[San Francisco (1936 film)|San Francisco]]'' (1936). Tracy played a supporting role alongside [[Clark Gable]] in the film, allowing audiences to see him with the top male star in Hollywood.<ref name="Curtis 2011 p. 272"/> Taking on the role of a priest, Tracy reportedly felt a heavy responsibility in representing the church.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 277.</ref> Despite having only 17 minutes of screen time, Tracy was highly praised for his performance and received an [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar nomination for Best Actor]].<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 310.</ref> ''San Francisco'' became the highest-grossing picture of 1936.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Donald Deschner, in his book on Tracy, credits ''Fury'' and ''San Francisco'' as the "two films that changed his career and gave him the status of a major star".<ref>Deschner (1972) p. 44.</ref>

By this point, Tracy entered a period of self-imposed sobriety and MGM expressed pleasure with Tracy's professionalism.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 278.</ref> His public reputation continued to grow with ''[[Libeled Lady]]'' (also 1936), a [[screwball comedy]] that cast him with [[William Powell]], Loy and Harlow. According to Curtis, "Powell, Harlow and Loy were among the biggest draws in the industry, and equal billing in such a powerhouse company could only serve to advance Tracy's standing".<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 299.</ref> ''Libeled Lady'' was his third hit picture in the space of six months.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 308.</ref>

====Oscar wins====

Tracy appeared in four films released in 1937. ''[[They Gave Him a Gun]]'', a crime-drama, went largely unnoticed,<ref name="curtis 316">Curtis (2011) p. 316.</ref> but ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' was one of the major film events of the year.<ref name="curtis 316"/> Tracy played a Portuguese fisherman in the adventure movie, based on the novel by [[Rudyard Kipling]]. He was uncomfortable feigning a foreign accent,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 300.</ref> and resented having his hair curled,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 305.</ref> but the role was a hit with audiences and Tracy won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. ''Captains Courageous'' was followed by ''[[Big City (1937 film)|Big City]]'' with [[Luise Rainer]] and ''[[Mannequin (1937 film)|Mannequin]]'' with [[Joan Crawford]], the latter of which performed well at the box office.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 339.</ref> With two years of hit movies and industry recognition, Tracy became a star in the United States. A 1937 poll of 20 million people to find the "King and Queen of Hollywood" ranked Tracy sixth among males.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 333. The poll was conducted by 55 metropolitan newspapers. Ahead of Tracy in the poll were [[Clark Gable]], [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], [[Tyrone Power]], [[William Powell]] and [[Nelson Eddy]].</ref>

Tracy was reunited with Clark Gable and Myrna Loy for ''[[Test Pilot (film)|Test Pilot]]'' (1938). The film was another enormous commercial and critical success,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 347.</ref> permanently cementing the notion of Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination.

[[File:Captains courageous tracy and bartholomew.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Tracy and [[Freddie Bartholomew]] in ''[[Captains Courageous (1937 film)|Captains Courageous]]'' (1937)]]

Based on the positive response he had received in ''San Francisco'', MGM again cast Tracy as a priest in ''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]'' (also 1938).<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 343.</ref> Portraying [[Edward J. Flanagan]], a Catholic priest and founder of [[Boys Town (organization)|Boys Town]] in Nebraska, was a role Tracy took seriously: "I'm so anxious to do a good job as Father Flanagan that it worries me, keeps me awake at night."<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 345.</ref> Tracy received strong reviews for his performance, and the movie grossed $4 million worldwide.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 362.</ref> For the second year running, Tracy received an Academy Award for Best Actor. He was humble about the recognition, saying in his acceptance speech: "I honestly do not feel that I can accept this award&nbsp;... I can accept it only as it was meant to be for a great man—Father Flanagan".<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 363.</ref> Although he did keep his Oscar, a second statuette was struck and immediately sent to Flanagan.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 364.</ref> Tracy was listed as the fifth biggest box office star of 1938.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 359.</ref>

Tracy was absent from screens for almost a year before returning to Fox on loan and appearing as [[Henry M. Stanley]] in ''[[Stanley and Livingstone]]'' (1939) with [[Nancy Kelly]]. Curtis maintains that Tracy's non-visibility did little to affect his standing with the public or exhibitors.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 390.</ref> In October 1939, a ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine survey of the nation's favorite movie actors listed Tracy in first place.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 391.</ref>

====Established star====

MGM capitalized on Tracy's popularity, casting him in four movies for 1940. ''[[I Take This Woman (1940 film)|I Take This Woman]]'' with [[Hedy Lamarr]] was a critical and commercial failure,<ref name="curtis 399">Curtis (2011) p. 399.</ref> but the historical drama ''[[Northwest Passage (film)|Northwest Passage]]''—Tracy's first film in [[Technicolor]]—proved popular.<ref name="curtis 399"/> He then portrayed [[Thomas Edison]] in ''[[Edison, the Man]]''. Howard Barnes of the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' was not charmed by the story, but wrote that Tracy, "by sheer persuasion of his acting", made the film worthy.<ref>Deschner (1972) p. 49.</ref> ''[[Boom Town (film)|Boom Town]]'' was the third and final Gable-Tracy picture, also starring [[Claudette Colbert]] and [[Hedy Lamarr]], making it one of the most anticipated films of the year.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 400.</ref> The film opened to the biggest crowd since ''[[Gone With the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]''.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 406.</ref>

Tracy signed a new contract with MGM in April 1941, which paid $5,000 a week and limited him to three pictures a year (Tracy had previously expressed a need to reduce his workload).<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 385.</ref> The contract also stated for the first time that his billing was to be "that of a star". Contrary to popular belief, the contract did not include a clause that he receive top billing, but from this point onward, every film Tracy appeared in featured his name first.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 415.</ref>

Tracy returned to the role of Father Flanagan for the sequel ''[[Men of Boys Town]]'' (1941). It was followed by Tracy's only venture into the horror genre, an adaptation of ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' (also 1941), co-starring [[Ingrid Bergman]] and [[Lana Turner]]. Tracy was unhappy with the film, disliking the heavy make-up he needed to portray Hyde.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 411.</ref> Critical response to the film was mixed and brought Tracy the only negative reviews of his career.<ref>Curtis (2011) pp. 422–423.</ref> Theodore Strauss of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "Mr. Tracy's portrait of Hyde is not so much evil incarnate as it is the ham rampant."<ref>Deschner (1972) p. 170.</ref> The film was financially successful, however, taking in more than $2 million at the box office.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 423.</ref>
[[File:Woman of the Year poster.jpg|thumb|270px|[[Lobby card]] for ''[[Woman of the Year]]'' (1942), the first of nine pictures Tracy made with [[Katharine Hepburn]]]]
Tracy was set to star in a film version of ''[[The Yearling]]'' for 1942, but several on-set difficulties and bad weather on location forced MGM to shelve the production.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 420.</ref> With the end of that project, he became available for the new [[Katharine Hepburn]] film, ''[[Woman of the Year]]'' (1942). Hepburn greatly admired Tracy, calling him "the best movie actor there was".<ref>Berg (2004) p. 146.</ref> She had wanted him for her comeback vehicle, ''[[The Philadelphia Story (film)|The Philadelphia Story]]'' (1940).<ref>Berg (2004) p. 138.</ref> Hepburn was delighted that Tracy was available for ''Woman of the Year'', saying "I was just damned grateful he was willing to work with me."<ref name="berg 171">Berg (2004) p. 171.</ref> The romantic comedy performed well at the box office and received strong reviews.<ref name="curtis 457">Curtis (2011) p. 457.</ref> William Boehnel wrote in the ''[[New York World-Telegram]]'', "To begin with, it has Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in the leading roles. This in itself would be enough to make any film memorable. But when you get Tracy and Hepburn turning in brilliant performances to boot, you've got something to cheer about."<ref name="curtis 457"/>

''Woman of the Year'' was followed by an adaptation of [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[Tortilla Flat (film)|Tortilla Flat]]'' (also 1942) which met with a tepid response.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 479.</ref> MGM did not hesitate to repeat the teaming of Tracy and Hepburn and cast them in the dark mystery ''[[Keeper of the Flame (film)|Keeper of the Flame]]'' (1943). Despite a weak critical reception the film out-grossed ''Woman of the Year'' confirming the strength of their partnership.<ref>Curtis (2011) pp. 479–480; Kanin (1971) p. 5.</ref>

Tracy's next three appearances were all war-based. ''[[A Guy Named Joe]]'' (1943) with [[Irene Dunne]] surpassed ''San Francisco'' to become his highest-grossing film to date.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 500.</ref> ''[[The Seventh Cross (film)|The Seventh Cross]]'' (1944), a suspense film about an escape from a Nazi concentration camp, met with critical acclaim.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 505.</ref> It was followed by the aviation film ''[[Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo]]'' (1944). On the strength of these three releases, the annual [[Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll|Quigley poll]] revealed Tracy was MGM's biggest money-making star of 1944,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 512.</ref> His only film the following year was his third with Hepburn, ''[[Without Love (film)|Without Love]]'' (1945), a light romantic comedy that performed well at the box office despite muted enthusiasm from critics.<ref name="curtis 515">Curtis (2011) p. 515.</ref>

====Stage and screen====
[[File:Spencer tracy sea of grass.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Sea of Grass (film)|The Sea of Grass]]'' (1947)]]

In 1945, Tracy returned to the stage for the first time in 15 years. He had been through a dark patch personally—culminating with a hospital stay—and Hepburn felt that a play would help restore his focus.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 517 for hospital stay; p. 512 for "Hepburn's strategy".</ref> Tracy told a journalist in April, "I'm coming back to Broadway to see if I can still act."<ref name="curtis 515"/> The play was ''The Rugged Path'' by [[Robert E. Sherwood]]. It first previewed in [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] on September 28, to a sold-out crowd and tepid response.<ref>Curtis (2011) pp. 525–256.</ref> It was a difficult production; director [[Garson Kanin]] later wrote: "In the ten days prior to the New York opening all the important relationships had deteriorated. Spencer was tense and unbending, could not, or would not, take direction".<ref>Kanin (1971) p. 97.</ref> Tracy considered leaving the show before it even opened on Broadway,<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 528.</ref> and lasted there just six weeks before announcing his intention to close the show.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 531.</ref> It closed on January 19, 1946, after 81 performances.<ref name=Deschner51>Deschner (1972) p. 51.</ref> Tracy later explained to a friend: "I couldn't say those goddamn lines over and over and over again every night&nbsp;... At least every day is a new day for me in films&nbsp;... But this thing—every day, every day, over and over again."<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 530.</ref>

Tracy was absent from screens in 1946, the first year since his motion picture debut that there was no Spencer Tracy release.<ref name=Deschner51/> His next film was ''[[The Sea of Grass (film)|The Sea of Grass]]'' (1947), a melodrama set in the American Old West with Hepburn. Similar to ''Keeper of the Flame'' and ''Without Love'', a lukewarm response from critics did not stop it from being a financial success both at home and abroad.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 549.</ref> He followed it later that year with ''[[Cass Timberlane]]'', in which he played a judge. It was a commercial success, but Curtis notes that co-star Lana Turner overshadowed Tracy in most of the reviews.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 559.</ref>

A fifth film with Hepburn, [[Frank Capra]]'s political drama ''[[State of the Union (film)|State of the Union]]'', was released in 1948. Tracy played a presidential candidate in the movie, which was warmly received.<ref name="Curtis 2011 p. 546">Curtis (2011) p. 546.</ref> He then appeared in ''[[Edward, My Son]]'' (1949) with [[Deborah Kerr]]. Tracy disliked the role, and told director [[George Cukor]], "It's rather disconcerting to me to find how easily I play a heel."<ref name="curtis 567">Curtis (2011) p. 567.</ref> Upon its release, ''[[The New Yorker]]'' wrote of the "hopeless miscasting of Mr. Tracy".<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 579.</ref> The film became Tracy's biggest money-loser at MGM.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 580.</ref>

Tracy finished off the 1940s with ''[[Malaya (film)|Malaya]]'' (1949), an adventure film with [[James Stewart]], and ''[[Adam's Rib]]'' (also 1949), a comedy with Tracy and Hepburn playing married lawyers who oppose each other in court. Tracy and Hepburn's friends, [[Garson Kanin]] and [[Ruth Gordon]], wrote the parts specifically for the two leads. The film received strong reviews and became the highest-grossing Tracy-Hepburn picture to date.<ref>Curtis (2011) p. 587.</ref> Film critic [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote, "Mr. Tracy and Miss Hepburn are the stellar performers in this show and their perfect compatibility in comic capers is delightful to see."<ref>{{cite news|last=Crowther |first=Bosley |title='Adam's Rib,' 'Tight Little Island,' 'Amazing Mr. Beecham' Among Movie Newcomers |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=August 25, 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E02E5DC1F3BE23BBC4E51DFB4678382659EDE |date=December 26, 1949 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228065121/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E02E5DC1F3BE23BBC4E51DFB4678382659EDE |archive-date=December 28, 2013 }}</ref>

====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>