With his no-nonsense, man’s man persona and natural style, Spencer Tracy was successful in both dramas and comedies. Although he was an alcoholic, he was known for his professionalism. It was with that understanding of addiction that he helped a broken Montgomery Clift give his great performance in Judgment at Nuremberg.
Tracy often worked with director Stanley Kramer, mostly on the powerful, political/ethical films that Kramer was known for. He frequently co-stared with Katherine Hepburn (their semi-secret affair lasted nearly thirty years), making nine films together.
Before mentioning the good, I’d feel lax if I didn’t give a dishonorable mention to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), where his poor performance matched the films confused sexuality and drab dialog.
An Honorable mention goes to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1963), which is more important than good, and to It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), which is fun if not terribly good, and to Boys Town (1938), which works for a family film provided you have a couple kids under ten watching.
Now the eight best:
8 – Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) — A wartime propaganda film that is both exciting and supposedly accurate, at least militarily.
7 – Pat and Mike (1952) — The second Hepburn/Tracy film, it tries to wave a feminist flag, but in 2017, it feels like it does the opposite. Still, it has some funny moments. [Also on the Katherine Hepburn list]
6 – Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) — A strange noir/western hybrid set in 1945. It’s tense, showing the worst of humanity—including a nod at racism—in a nowhere town of miserable people. It’s a little too nihilistic to be fun, but it’s interesting.
5 – Adam’s Rib (1949) — Another Hepburn/Tracy film, this one setting them as competing lawyers. The best bits come from a young Judy Holliday as the defendant who shoots her unfaithful husband. [Also on the Katherine Hepburn list]
4 – Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) — The first of two Stanley Kramer films on this list (of four if you count the Honorable mentions). This one deals with a trial of Nazi war criminals and has lost none of its relevancy.
3 – Desk Set (1957) — A romantic comedy with middle-aged characters for a change. It’s Hepburn and Tracy again. This time she’s a genius and he’s an eccentric tech guru. It’s a Christmas movie and delightful. [Also on the Katherine Hepburn list]
2 – Libeled Lady (1936) — A four-way romantic comedy with Tracy, Jean Harlow, William Powell, and Myrna Loy. Powell is hired by Tracy to stop Loy from suing a newspaper for libel, any way he can. [Also on both the William Powell list and the Myrna Loy list]
1 – Inherit the Wind (1960) – The second Stanley Kramer film on this list. A fictitious take on the Monkey Trial, with amazing work by Tracy and Fredric Marsh in the greatest court battle ever on screen.