History Film / WomanOfTheYear

* ShesGotLegs: Sam's first view of Tess is of her shapely leg as she adjusts her stocking. [[EatingTheEyeCandy He's impressed.]]

A 1942 RomanticComedy / {{Dramedy}} movie directed by George Stevens, notable in part for being the first [[ThoseTwoActors onscreen pairing]] of Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/SpencerTracy. It won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for screenwriters Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner, Jr.; in addition, Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress.

Sam Craig (Tracy) and Tess Harding (Hepburn) both write for the same newspaper, the fictional New York ''Chronicle''--he as a sportswriter, she as a high-powered political analyst. A feud in their columns erupts over baseball, leading their editor (Reginald Owen) to order them to meet in his office and stop their intramural squabbling. Sam is immediately impressed when he catches the attractive Tess adjusting her stockings, and she is equally attracted to him. He invites her to go to a baseball game with him, and they have a wonderful time.

Sam Craig (Tracy) and Tess Harding (Hepburn) both write for the same newspaper, the fictional New York ''Chronicle''--he as a sportswriter, she as a high-powered political analyst. A feud in their columns erupts over baseball, leading their editor to order them to meet in his office and stop their intramural squabbling. Sam is immediately impressed when he catches the attractive Tess adjusting her stockings, and she is equally attracted to him. He invites her to go to a baseball game with him, and they have a wonderful time.

[[quoteright:308:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/womanoftheyear19424.jpg]]

* TheMaidenNameDebate: Symbolic of the central conflict of the story. Even after their marriage, Tess is still referred to as "Miss Harding." (Presumably she keeps her maiden name for professional purposes, but it symbolizes the way she continues to live her life the way she did when she was single.) Sam proposes that she learn to find a balance between being Miss Harding and Mrs. Craig.

* {{Omniglot}}: Tess converses in several different languages during the film.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Tess tries to tell Sam that she's adopted a Greek refugee child; Sam thinks she's trying to tell him that she's pregnant.
* OppositesAttract: The whole premise. Tess and Sam not only have different interests, but are from very different backgrounds as well. The trope is {{deconstructed}} by showing the realistic challenges of a marriage between two people with such great differences. Their difficulties are presented as stemming from class and emotional differences as well as from those of gender.

* FeminineWomenCanCook: Tess isn't traditionally feminine, so of course she has no idea what to do in a kitchen.

* MarriedToTheJob: Tess.

* OppositesAttract: The whole premise. Tess and Sam not only have different interests, but are from very different backgrounds as well. Their difficulties are presented as stemming from class and emotional differences as well as from those of gender. The trope is {{deconstructed}} by realistically showing the challenges of a marriage between two people with such great differences.

* BreakTheHaughty: Supposedly, the [[FocusGroupEnding women of the audience]] didn't like the original ending (see Trivia page for details) because they found Tess too intimidating and wanted to see her taken down a peg; so the new ending, where she proved to be incompetent in the kitchen, was shot.

The next day, Tess receives an invitation to the wedding of her widowed father and her maternal aunt, who was also her feminist mentor. While listening to the wedding vows, Tess is deeply moved and realizes that she has neglected Sam. She finds the apartment he has rented, bluffs her way inside, and tries to cook breakfast for him. She proclaims her intention of being nothing more than his wife and thinking only of his domestic needs, but he believes it is an insincere tactic to win him back. Her effort ends in EpicFail when the coffeepot and waffle iron both overflow, and she breaks down. Sam tells her this is the first time he is disappointed in her, faulting her for going to extremes. He says he does not want Tess Harding (the busy single woman with no time for him) or "just Mrs. Craig," but instead [[TheMaidenNameDebate "Tess Harding Craig."]] Tess happily agrees, and they reconcile.

* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Tess tries to tell Sam that she's adopted Chris, a Greek refugee child; Sam thinks she's trying to tell him that she's pregnant.

A 1942 RomanticComedy / {{Dramedy}} movie directed by George Stevens, notable in part for being the first [[ThoseTwoActors onscreen pairing]] of Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/SpencerTracy.

A 1942 {{Dramedy}} movie directed by George Stevens, notable in part for being the first [[ThoseTwoActors onscreen pairing]] of Creator/KatharineHepburn and Creator/SpencerTracy.

[[quoteright:310:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/womanoftheyear1942.jpg]]

Despite the [[OppositesAttract wide differences between their lives and personalities,]] Sam and Tess fall in love and decide to marry. After a hurried wedding squeezed into Tess's hectic schedule, Sam moves into her apartment. Over the next few months, they have several minor disagreements about not being together enough, but they are still very much in love.

The next day, Tess receives an invitation to the wedding of her widowed father and her maternal aunt, who was her mentor. While listening to the wedding vows, Tess is deeply moved and realizes that she has neglected Sam. She finds the apartment he has rented, bluffs her way inside, and tries to cook breakfast for him. She proclaims her intention of being nothing more than his wife and thinking only of his domestic needs, but he believes it is an insincere tactic to win him back. Tess's attempt to cook, ends in EpicFail when the coffeepot and waffle iron both overflow, and she breaks down. Sam tells her this is the first time he is disappointed in her, faulting her for going to extremes. He says he does not want Tess Harding or "just Mrs. Sam Craig," but instead "Tess Harding Craig." Tess happily agrees, and they reconcile.

* AltarTheSpeed: When he calls his mother, Sam clearly assumes the wedding is weeks, if not months, away. He is stunned to find that Tess has arranged for it to take place in mere days.

* OppositesAttract: The whole premise.

Despite the [[OppositesAttract wide differences between their lives and personalities,]] Sam and Tess fall in love and decide to marry. After a hurried wedding squeezed into Tess's hectic schedule, Sam moves into her apartment. They have several minor disagreements about not being together enough, but a bigger problem occurs a few months later: Tess volunteers to take on the care of Chris, a Greek refugee child, without consulting Sam. Though Sam likes the boy, he is angry and criticizes Tess for not giving even "ten percent" of her heart to matters at home. Their argument is interrupted by the news that she has just been named "America's Outstanding Woman of the Year."

On the night of the banquet, Sam realizes that Chris is very lonely and misses his friends at the refugee home. When Tess off-handedly tells Sam that the child will be alone during the banquet, they have a bitter argument, and Sam stays home. While Tess is at her ceremony, Sam returns Chris to the refugee home and walks out on Tess.

The next day, Tess receives an invitation to the wedding of her widowed father and her maternal aunt, who was her mentor. While listening to the wedding vows, Tess is deeply moved and realizes that she has neglected Sam. She finds the apartment he has rented, bluffs her way inside, and tries to cook breakfast for him. She proclaims her intention of being nothing more than his wife and thinking only of his domestic needs, but he believes it is an insincere tactic to win him back. Trying to prove herself, Tess continues trying to cook, but it ends in EpicFail when the coffeepot and waffle iron both overflow. She breaks down, and Sam tells her this is the first time he is disappointed in her, faulting her for going to extremes. He says he does not want Tess Harding or "just Mrs. Sam Craig," but instead "Tess Harding Craig." Tess happily agrees, and they reconcile.