I've learned more about acting from watching (Spencer) Tracy than in any other way. He has great truth in everything he does.
The speaker was Sir Laurence Olivier, himself considered one of the greatest actors of all time. But he admired Spencer Tracy as the best of his generation, thanks to a seemingly inherent naturalistic acting style — of the kind that Marlon Brando would be credited with introducing to motion pictures during the 1950s.
But Tracy did it in the 1930s, '40s, '50s — and into the '60s.
He was self-effacing about his stature in the industry . . . at least in public. Tracy's most famous quote about the art of acting is simple: "Just know your lines and don't bump into the furniture."
But perhaps this anecdote is more revealing about the man himself: When he was introduced to Katharine Hepburn on the set of their first film together, "Woman of the Year" (1942), Hepburn said to him, "I'm afraid I'm a little tall for you, Mr. Tracy." To which Tracy replied, "Don't worry, I'll cut you down to my size."
In this instance, of course, he didn't have to. Tracy and Hepburn went on to make nine movies together, and they had one of the most famous love affairs in the annals of Hollywood.
The 100th birthday of the late, great Spencer Tracy was Wednesday. And it seems like a fitting time to reflect on the movies that best demonstrate his talent. Most of the best are available on video. And those that are not can be seen from time to time on Turner Classic Movies and other TV channels.
All of the Tracy and Hepburn teamings are enjoyable, but if I had to pick three favorites, they'd be "Woman of the Year," "State of the Union" (1948) and "Adam's Rib" (1949), all very funny battle-of-the-sexes comedies.
Among the excellent early Tracy films are the still-chilling "Fury" (1936, Sylvia Sidney) and the hilarious "Libeled Lady" (1938, Jean Harlow, William Powell, Myrna Loy).
Tracy won back-to-back best-actor Academy Awards (he was the first performer to do so) for "Captains Courageous" (1937) and "Boys Town" (1938). (His first Oscar statuette was mistakenly inscribed "Dick Tracy.")
But better-remembered are the trio of dramas co-starring Clark Gable — "San Francisco" (1936), "Test Pilot" (1938) and "Boom Town" (1940).
Gable is quoted as saying of Tracy:
The guy's good. There's nobody in the business who can touch him, and you're a fool to try. And (he) knows it, so don't fall for that humble stuff.
The true-life adventures, "Stanley and Livingstone" (1939) and "Northwest Passage" (1940) remain great fun. Tracy's thoughtful adaptation of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941, Ingrid Bergman) also holds up well. And the comedies, "Father of the Bride" (1950), and its sequel, "Father's Little Dividend" (1951, both with Elizabeth Taylor as his daughter).
Others worth checking out include the Western "Broken Lance" (1954), the suspense-thriller "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955) and the political drama, "The Last Hurrah" (1958).
Some of Tracy's later films are also his most famous — "Inherit the Wind" (1960), "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" (1963) and his last, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967).
Tracy was quite ill with lung congestion during the making of the latter film, and no insurance company would touch him. But he got through the picture and managed to deliver one last strong performance, with the help of director Stanley Kramer and co-stars Hepburn and Sidney Poitier.
A few weeks later, Tracy died of a heart attack.
The best actors make their performances seem effortless. Perhaps it is best put by Bogart:
Spence is the best we have, because you don't see the mechanism at work.
But we'll let Katharine Hepburn have the last word on Spencer Tracy:
I think that Spencer always thought that acting was a rather silly way for a man to make a living.
Entertainment editor Chris Hicks may be reached by e-mail at hicks@desnews.com