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Spencer Tracy

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156-404: Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age , Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor , from nine nominations. During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of

312-434: A lynch mob . The film and performance received excellent reviews. It made a profit of $ 1.3 million worldwide. 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 ... [and showed] a willingness on the part of the public to embrace a leading man who was not textbook handsome nor bigger than life." Fury

468-457: A centralised organization and stressed acceptance of any mission to which the pope might call them. His main principle became the unofficial Jesuit motto: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God"). This phrase is designed to reflect the idea that any work that is not evil can be meritorious for the spiritual life if it is performed with this intention, even things normally considered of little importance. The Society of Jesus

624-558: A crook or a con man. The mold was broken with his seventh picture, Disorderly Conduct (1932), and it was the first of his films since Up the River to return a profit. In mid-1932, after nine pictures, Tracy remained virtually unknown to the public. He considered leaving Fox once his contract was up for renewal, but a raise in his weekly salary to $ 1,500 convinced him to stay. He continued to appear in unpopular films, with Me and My Gal (1932) setting an all-time low attendance record for

780-496: A decade for films to adapt to sound and return to the level of artistic quality of the silents, which they did in the late 1930s when the Greatest Generation came of age. Many great works of cinema that emerged from this period were of highly regimented filmmaking. One reason this was possible is that, as so many films were made, not every one had to be a big hit. A studio could gamble on a medium-budget feature with

936-540: A few key activities. First, they founded schools throughout Europe. Jesuit teachers were trained in both classical studies and theology , and their schools reflected this. These schools taught with a balance of Aristotelian methods with mathematics. Second, they sent out missionaries across the globe to evangelize those peoples who had not yet heard the Gospel , founding missions in widely diverse regions such as modern-day Paraguay , Japan, Ontario , and Ethiopia . One of

1092-401: A good script and relatively unknown actors. This was the case with Citizen Kane (1941), directed by Orson Welles and regarded as one of the greatest films of all time . Other strong-willed directors, like Howard Hawks , Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra , battled the studios in order to achieve their artistic visions. The apogee of the studio system may have been the year 1939, which saw

1248-631: A long and very detailed account of the country and its religion as well as treatises in Tibetan that attempted to refute key Buddhist ideas and establish the truth of Catholic Christianity. Jesuit missions in the Americas became controversial in Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal where they were seen as interfering with the proper colonial enterprises of the royal governments. The Jesuits were often

1404-598: A member of the college debate team , Tracy excelled in arguing and public speaking. It was during a tour with the debate team that he auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City. He was offered a scholarship to attend the school after performing a scene from one of his earlier roles. Tracy left Ripon and began classes at AADA in April 1922. O'Brien was also enrolled there and

1560-601: 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 prize at the Cannes Film Festival . Tracy had personally been unhappy with the picture and threatened to leave during production. This behavior became a regular occurrence for Tracy, who

1716-504: A partner or comrade. From this came "Society of Jesus" (SJ) by which they would be known more widely. Religious orders established in the medieval era were named after particular men: Francis of Assisi (Franciscans); Domingo de Guzmán , later canonized as Saint Dominic (Dominicans); and Augustine of Hippo (Augustinians). Ignatius of Loyola and his followers appropriated the name of Jesus for their new order, provoking resentment by other orders who considered it presumptuous. The resentment

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1872-438: A photographed play in that the events seem to exist objectively and that cameras only give us the best view of the whole play. This treatment of space consists of four main aspects: centering, balancing, frontality, and depth. Persons or objects of significance are mostly in the center part of the picture frame and never out of focus. Balancing refers to the visual composition, i. e., characters are evenly distributed throughout

2028-656: A place of study in Louvain (1614). This was the earliest foundation of what would later be called Heythrop College . Campion Hall , founded in 1896, has been a presence within Oxford University since then. 16th and 17th-century Jesuit institutions intended to train priests were hotbeds for the persecution of Catholics in Britain, where men suspected of being Catholic priests were routinely imprisoned, tortured, and executed. Jesuits were among those killed, including

2184-546: A priest in Boys Town (also 1938). Portraying Edward J. Flanagan , a Catholic priest and founder of 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." Tracy received strong reviews for his performance, and the movie grossed $ 4 million worldwide. For the second year running, Tracy received an Academy Award for Best Actor. He

2340-474: A sold-out crowd and tepid response. 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". Tracy considered leaving the show before it even opened on Broadway, and lasted there just six weeks before announcing his intention to close

2496-643: A sound footing, introducing the Tridentine Reforms and finding suitable men to fill vacant sees. He established a house of religious women in Limerick known as the Menabochta ("poor women" ) and in 1565 preparations began for establishing a school at Limerick. At his instigation, Richard Creagh , a priest of the Diocese of Limerick, was persuaded to accept the vacant Archdiocese of Armagh , and

2652-404: A special obedience to the sovereign pontiff in regard to the missions" to the effect that a Jesuit is expected to be directed by the pope " perinde ac cadaver " ("as if he was a lifeless body") and to accept orders to go anywhere in the world, even if required to live in extreme conditions. This was so because Ignatius, its leading founder, was a nobleman who had a military background. Accordingly,

2808-584: 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. Tracy was reunited with Clark Gable and Myrna Loy for Test Pilot (1938). The film was another enormous commercial and critical success, permanently cementing the notion of Gable and Tracy as a team in the public imagination. Based on the positive response he had received in San Francisco , MGM again cast Tracy as

2964-425: A suspense film about an escape from a Nazi concentration camp, met with critical acclaim. It was followed by the aviation film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944). On the strength of these three releases, the annual Quigley poll revealed Tracy was MGM's biggest money-making star of 1944, His only film the following year was his third with Hepburn, Without Love (1945), a light romantic comedy that performed well at

3120-564: A time been predominantly Protestant, notably Poland and Lithuania . Today, Jesuit colleges and universities are located in over one hundred nations around the world. Under the notion that God can be encountered through created things and especially art, they encouraged the use of ceremony and decoration in Catholic ritual and devotion. Perhaps as a result of this appreciation for art, coupled with their spiritual practice of "finding God in all things", many early Jesuits distinguished themselves in

3276-450: A two-week binge . Tracy was removed from the Fox payroll while he recovered in a hospital, and then sued for $ 125,000 for delaying the production. He completed only two more pictures with the studio. The details on how Tracy's relationship with Fox ended are unclear: later in life Tracy maintained that he was fired for his drunken behavior, but the Fox records do not support such an account. He

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3432-592: A wordless robot in R.U.R. He graduated from AADA in March 1923. Immediately following graduation, Tracy joined a new stock company based in White Plains, New York , where he was given peripheral roles. Unhappy there, he moved to a company in Cincinnati , but failed to make an impact. In November 1923, he landed a small part on Broadway in the comedy A Royal Fandango , starring Ethel Barrymore . Reviews for

3588-527: 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. In October 1939, a Fortune magazine survey of the nation's favorite movie actors listed Tracy in first place. MGM capitalized on Tracy's popularity, casting him in four movies for 1940. I Take This Woman with Hedy Lamarr

3744-472: Is a chain of cause and effect with causal agents – in classical style, events do not occur randomly. Time in classical Hollywood is continuous, linear, and uniform, since non-linearity calls attention to the illusory workings of the medium. The only permissible manipulation of time in this format is the flashback . It is mostly used to introduce a memory sequence of a character, e.g. , Casablanca . The greatest rule of classical continuity regarding space

3900-649: Is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defence and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine, by means of public preaching, lectures and any other ministration whatsoever of the Word of God, and further by means of retreats, the education of children and unlettered persons in Christianity, and the spiritual consolation of Christ's faithful through hearing confessions and administering

4056-561: Is ambiguously defined. To some, it began with The Jazz Singer , which was released in 1927, when the Interbellum Generation came of age and increased box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. To others, the era began in 1929, when the silent age had definitively ended. Most Hollywood pictures from the late 1920s to 1960s adhered closely to a genre — Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, and biopic (biographical picture) — and

4212-418: Is classified among institutes as an order of clerks regular , that is, a body of priests organized for apostolic work, and following a religious rule. The term Jesuit (of 15th-century origin, meaning "one who used too frequently or appropriated the name of Jesus") was first applied to the society in reproach (1544–1552). The term was never used by Ignatius of Loyola, but over time, members and friends of

4368-842: Is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna della Strada , a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary , and it is led by a superior general . The headquarters of the society, its general curia , is in Rome. The historic curia of Ignatius is now part of the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù , the Jesuit mother church . Members of the Society of Jesus make profession of "perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience" and "promise

4524-482: Is object permanence: the viewer must believe that the scene exists outside the shot of the cinematic frame to maintain the picture's realism. The treatment of space in classical Hollywood strives to overcome or conceal the two-dimensionality of film ("invisible style") and is strongly centered upon the human body. The majority of shots in a classical film focus on gestures or facial expressions (medium-long and medium shots ). André Bazin once compared classical film to

4680-457: Is particularly noted for her influence on on-screen performance techniques. Griffith's 1915 epic The Birth of a Nation , also starring Gish, was ground-breaking for film as a means of storytelling – a masterpiece of literary narrative with numerous innovative visual techniques. The film initiated so many advances in American cinema that it was rendered obsolete within a few years. Though 1913

4836-584: Is the founding document of the Society of Jesus as an official Catholic religious order. Ignatius was chosen as the first Superior General . Paul III's bull had limited the number of its members to sixty. This limitation was removed through the bull Exposcit debitum of Julius III in 1550. In 1543, Peter Canisius entered the Company. Ignatius sent him to Messina, where he founded the first Jesuit college in Sicily . Ignatius laid out his original vision for

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4992-520: 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. Tracy returned to the role of a concerned father in The Actress (1953). Producer Lawrence Weingarten recalled: "That film ... 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

5148-979: The Spiritual Exercises to help others follow the teachings of Jesus Christ . On 15 August 1534, Ignatius of Loyola (born Íñigo López de Loyola), a Spaniard from the Basque city of Loyola , and six others mostly of Castilian origin, all students at the University of Paris , met in Montmartre outside Paris, in a crypt beneath the church of Saint Denis , now Saint Pierre de Montmartre , to pronounce promises of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Ignatius' six companions were: Francisco Xavier from Navarre ( modern Spain ), Alfonso Salmeron , Diego Laínez , Nicolás Bobadilla from Castile ( modern Spain ), Peter Faber from Savoy , and Simão Rodrigues from Portugal . The meeting has been commemorated in

5304-517: The American Film Institute's list ranking the top 25 male and 25 female greatest screen legends of American film history. As of 2024, Sophia Loren ( 90) is the only living star. Other surviving figures who were nominated for the list include Ann Blyth (96), Claire Bloom (93), Rita Moreno (92) and Margaret O'Brien (87). Jesuit The Society of Jesus ( Latin : Societas Iesu ; abbreviation: SJ ), also known as

5460-696: The Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council . Jesuit missionaries established missions around the world from the 16th to the 18th century and had both successes and failures in Christianizing the native peoples. The Jesuits have always been controversial within the Catholic Church and have frequently clashed with secular governments and institutions. Beginning in 1759,

5616-728: The First Nations and Native American languages they had learned. For instance, before his death in 1708, Jacques Gravier , vicar general of the Illinois Mission in the Mississippi River valley, compiled a Miami–Illinois –French dictionary , considered the most extensive among works of the missionaries. Extensive documentation was left in the form of The Jesuit Relations , published annually from 1632 until 1673. Whereas Jesuits were active in Britain in

5772-866: The Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( / ˈ dʒ ɛ ʒ u ɪ t s , ˈ dʒ ɛ zj u -/ JEZH -oo-its, JEZ -ew- ; Latin: Iesuitae ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III . The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue . The Society of Jesus

5928-519: The Kangxi Emperor and many Jesuit converts that Chinese veneration of ancestors and Confucius was a nonreligious token of respect, Pope Clement XI 's papal decree Cum Deus Optimus ruled that such behavior constituted impermissible forms of idolatry and superstition in 1704; his legate Tournon and Bishop Charles Maigrot of Fujian, tasked with presenting this finding to the Kangxi Emperor , displayed such extreme ignorance that

6084-670: The Liturgy of Hours in common) allowed them to be flexible and meet diverse needs arising at the time. After much training and experience in theology, Jesuits went across the globe in search of converts to Christianity. Despite their dedication, they had little success in Asia, except in the Philippines . For instance, early missions in Japan resulted in the government granting the Jesuits

6240-691: The Martyrium of Saint Denis, Montmartre . They called themselves the Compañía de Jesús , and also Amigos en El Señor or "Friends in the Lord", because they felt "they were placed together by Christ." The name "company" had echoes of the military (reflecting perhaps Ignatius' background as Captain in the Spanish army) as well as of discipleship (the "companions" of Jesus). The Spanish "company" would be translated into Latin as societas like in socius ,

6396-621: The Petrine primacy and the priority of the Mass amongst the sacraments with his students and congregation, and that his sermons should emphasize obedience to secular princes if he wished to avoid arrest. The number of scholars in their care was very small. An early example of a school play in Ireland is sent in one of Good's reports, which was performed on the Feast of St. John in 1566. The school

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6552-494: The Protestant Reformation throughout Catholic Europe. Ignatius and the early Jesuits did recognize, though, that the hierarchical church was in dire need of reform. Some of their greatest struggles were against corruption, venality , and spiritual lassitude within the Catholic Church. Ignatius insisted on a high level of academic preparation for the clergy in contrast to the relatively poor education of much of

6708-905: The Roxy Theatre in New York City. He was loaned to Warner Bros. for 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), a prison drama co-starring Bette Davis . Tracy was hopeful that it would be his break-out role, but despite good reviews, this failed to materialize. Critics began to notice Tracy with The Power and the Glory (1933). The story of a man's rise to prosperity had a screenplay by Preston Sturges and Tracy's performance as railroad tycoon Tom Garner received uniformly strong reviews. William Wilkerson of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "This sterling performer has finally been given an opportunity to show an ability that has been boxed in by gangster roles ... [the film] has introduced Mr. Tracy as one of

6864-629: The Scholastic structure of Catholic thought. This method of teaching was important in the context of the Scientific Revolution, as these universities were open to teaching new scientific and mathematical methodology. Further, many important thinkers of the Scientific Revolution were educated by Jesuit universities. In addition to the teachings of faith , the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum (1599) would standardize

7020-485: The Spiritual Exercises . During a four-week period of silence, individuals undergo a series of directed meditations on the purpose of life and contemplations on the life of Christ. They meet regularly with a spiritual director who guides their choice of exercises and helps them to develop a more discerning love for Christ. The retreat follows a "Purgative-Illuminative-Unitive" pattern in the tradition of

7176-420: The cross cut , which establishes the concurrence of action in different locations. Jump cuts are allowed in the form of the axial cut , which does not change the angle of shooting at all, but has the clear purpose of showing a perspective closer or farther from the subject, and therefore does not interfere with temporal continuity. Classical narration progresses always through psychological motivation, i.e., by

7332-543: The "badness" out of him and helped him improve his grades. It helped me develop memory for lines that has been a godsend since I started stage work; it gave me something of a stage presence; and it helped get rid of my awkwardness. Also, I gradually developed the ability to speak extemporaneously. — Tracy was a key member of his college debating team, which he later said helped with his acting career. At Marquette Academy , he began attending plays with lifelong friend and fellow actor Pat O'Brien , awakening his interest in

7488-402: The "hopeless miscasting of Mr. Tracy". The film became Tracy's biggest money-loser at MGM. Tracy finished off the 1940s with 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

7644-411: The "photographed play" style by creating an imaginary 180-degree axis between the viewer and the shot, allowing viewers to clearly orient themselves within the position and direction of action in a scene. According to the 30-degree rule , cuts in the angle that the scene is viewed from must be significant enough for the viewer to understand the purpose of a change in perspective. Cuts that do not adhere to

7800-522: The 16th and 17th centuries introduced Western science and astronomy, then undergoing its own revolution , to China. The scientific revolution brought by the Jesuits coincided with a time when scientific innovation had declined in China: [The Jesuits] made efforts to translate western mathematical and astronomical works into Chinese and aroused the interest of Chinese scholars in these sciences. They made very extensive astronomical observation and carried out

7956-594: The 16th century, due to the persecution of Catholics in the Elizabethan times, an English province was only established in 1623. The first pressing issue for early Jesuits in what today is the United Kingdom was to establish places for training priests. After an English College was opened in Rome (1579), a Jesuit seminary was opened at Valladolid (1589), then one in Seville (1592), which culminated in

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8112-578: The 1930s, MGM was the most respected movie production studio in Hollywood. When Tracy arrived there, he was all but unknown. Biographer James Curtis writes: "Tracy was scarcely a blip on the box office barometer in 1935, a critics' darling and little more". He was, however, well known for being a troublemaker. 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." Curtis notes that

8268-480: The 30-degree rule, known as jump cuts , are disruptive to the illusion of temporal continuity between shots. The 180-degree and 30-degree rules are elementary guidelines in filmmaking that preceded the official start of the classical era by over a decade, as seen in the pioneering 1902 French film A Trip to the Moon . Cutting techniques in classical continuity editing serve to help establish or maintain continuity, as in

8424-511: 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. The film was the biggest commercial success of Tracy's career to date, earning $ 6 million worldwide. MGM wanted a sequel, and while Tracy was unsure, he accepted. Father's Little Dividend (1951)

8580-589: The Catholic Church expelled Jesuits from most countries in Europe and from European colonies. Pope Clement XIV officially suppressed the order in 1773. In 1814, the Church lifted the suppression. Ignatius of Loyola , a Basque nobleman from the Pyrenees area of northern Spain, founded the society after discerning his spiritual vocation while recovering from a wound sustained in the Battle of Pamplona . He composed

8736-830: The Japanese Language", a Japanese–Portuguese dictionary written 1603); Vietnamese (Portuguese missionaries created the Vietnamese alphabet , which was later formalized by Avignon missionary Alexandre de Rhodes with his 1651 trilingual dictionary ); Tupi (the main language of Brazil); and the pioneering study of Sanskrit in the West by Jean François Pons in the 1740s. Jesuit missionaries were active among indigenous peoples in New France in North America, many of them compiling dictionaries or glossaries of

8892-412: The Pope, and the Ottoman Empire , had rendered any journey to Jerusalem impossible. Again in 1540, they presented the project to Paul III. After months of dispute, a congregation of cardinals reported favourably upon the Constitution presented, and Paul III confirmed the order through the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae ("To the Government of the Church Militant"), on 27 September 1540. This

9048-436: The Portuguese Province to agree a surety for the ransom of Wolfe, who was quickly banished on release. Daniel returned to Ireland the following year, but was immediately captured and incriminating documents were found on his person, which were taken as proof of his involvement with the rebellious cousin of the Earl of Desmond , James Fitzmaurice and a Spanish plot. He was removed from Limerick, taken to Cork "just as if he were

9204-575: The Year was followed by an adaptation of John Steinbeck 's Tortilla Flat (also 1942) which met with a tepid response. MGM did not hesitate to repeat the teaming of Tracy and Hepburn and cast them in the dark mystery Keeper of the Flame (1943). Despite a weak critical reception the film out-grossed Woman of the Year confirming the strength of their partnership. 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. The Seventh Cross (1944),

9360-418: The advent of sound film , until the 1960s (perhaps till 1972, when Dolby Stereo was introduced). It eventually became the most powerful and pervasive style of filmmaking worldwide. Similar or associated terms include classical Hollywood narrative , the Golden Age of Hollywood , Old Hollywood , and classical continuity . The period is also referred to as the studio era , which may also include films of

9516-467: The adventure movie, based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling . He was uncomfortable feigning a foreign accent, and resented having his hair curled, but the role was a hit with audiences and Tracy won the Academy Award for Best Actor . Captains Courageous was followed by Big City with Luise Rainer and Mannequin with Joan Crawford , the latter of which performed well at the box office. With two years of hit movies and industry recognition, Tracy became

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9672-421: The attention of Hollywood . After a successful film debut in John Ford 's Up the River (in which he starred with Humphrey Bogart ), he was signed to a contract with Fox Film Corporation . Tracy's five years with Fox featured one acting tour de force after another that were usually ignored at the box office, and he remained largely unknown to movie audiences after 25 films, nearly all of them starring him as

9828-411: The best goddamned actor I've ever seen!" Yellow opened on September 21; reviews were mixed but it ran for 135 performances. It was the beginning of an important collaboration for Tracy: "I'd have quit the stage completely," he later commented, "if it hadn't been for George M. Cohan." Cohan wrote a part specifically for Tracy in his next play, The Baby Cyclone . It opened on Broadway in September 1927 and

9984-423: The biggest draws in the industry, and equal billing in such a powerhouse company could only serve to advance Tracy's standing". Libeled Lady was his third hit picture in the space of six months. Tracy appeared in four films released in 1937. They Gave Him a Gun , a crime-drama, went largely unnoticed, but Captains Courageous was one of the major film events of the year. Tracy played a Portuguese fisherman in

10140-462: The box office despite muted enthusiasm from critics. 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. Tracy told a journalist in April, "I'm coming back to Broadway to see if I can still act." The play was The Rugged Path by Robert E. Sherwood . It first previewed in Providence on September 28, to

10296-467: The box office. 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. 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". She had wanted him for her comeback vehicle, The Philadelphia Story (1940). Hepburn

10452-400: The call for the society's suppression. Jesuit priests such as Manuel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta founded several towns in Brazil in the 16th century, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro , and were very influential in the pacification, religious conversion , and education of indigenous nations. They also built schools, organized people into villages, and created a writing system for

10608-430: The city for eight months, before moving to Kilmallock in December 1565 under the protection of the Earl of Desmond, where they lived in more comfort than the primitive conditions they experienced in the city. However they were unable to support themselves at Kilmallock and three months later they returned to the city in Easter 1566, and strangely set up their house in accommodation owned by the Lord Deputy of Ireland, which

10764-436: The city in very bad health, but had recovered due to the kindness of the people. They established contact with Wolfe, but were only able to meet with him at night, as the English authorities were attempting to arrest the legate. Wolfe charged them initially with teaching to the boys of Limerick, with an emphasis on religious instruction, and Good translated the catechism from Latin into English for this purpose. They remained in

10920-410: The clergy of his time. The Jesuit vow against "ambitioning prelacies" can be seen as an effort to counteract another problem evidenced in the preceding century. Ignatius and the Jesuits who followed him believed that the reform of the church had to begin with the conversion of an individual's heart. One of the main tools the Jesuits have used to bring about this conversion is the Ignatian retreat, called

11076-415: 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. 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 (also 1941), co-starring Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner . Tracy

11232-696: The early 1940s, he was one of MGM's top stars. In 1942, he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year , beginning a professional and personal partnership that led to nine films over 25 years. In 1955, Tracy won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Bad Day at Black Rock . Tracy left MGM in 1955 and continued to work regularly as a freelance star, despite several health issues and an increasing weariness and irritability as he aged. His personal life

11388-537: The eighth time in the office-based comedy Desk Set (1957). He again had to be convinced to stay with the film, one which met with a weak response. Tracy appeared in The Old Man and the Sea (1958), a project that had been in development for five years. An adaptation of Ernest Hemingway 's novella of the same title , Hemingway's agent, Leland Hayward , had previously written to the author: "Of all Hollywood people,

11544-546: The emperor mandated the expulsion of Christian missionaries unable to abide by the terms of Ricci's Chinese catechism. Tournon's summary and automatic excommunication for any violators of Clement's decree  – upheld by the 1715 bull Ex Illa Die  – led to the swift collapse of all the missions in China; the last Jesuits were finally expelled after 1721. The first Jesuit school in Ireland

11700-636: The end of 1568 the Anglican Bishop of Meath, Hugh Brady , was sent to Limerick charged with a Royal Commission to seek out and expel the Jesuits. Daniel was immediately ordered to quit the city and went to Lisbon, where he resumed his studies with the Portuguese Jesuits. Good moved on to Clonmel , before establishing himself at Youghal until 1577. In 1571, after Wolfe had been captured and imprisoned at Dublin Castle , Daniel persuaded

11856-649: The feudal fiefdom of Nagasaki in 1580. This was removed in 1587 due to fears over their growing influence. Jesuits did, however, have much success in Latin America. Their ascendancy in societies in the Americas accelerated during the seventeenth century, wherein Jesuits created new missions in Peru , Colombia , and Bolivia ; as early as 1603, there were 345 Jesuit priests in Mexico alone. Francis Xavier , one of

12012-434: The film as a form of storytelling. It was also the year when Yevgeni Bauer (the first true film artist, according to Georges Sadoul ) started his short, but prolific, career. In the world generally and America specifically, the influence of Griffith on filmmaking was unmatched. Equally influential were his actors in adapting their performances to the new medium. Lillian Gish , the star of film short The Mothering Heart ,

12168-416: The film industry itself, with the height of the studio system . This mode of production, with its reigning star system promoted by several key studios, had preceded sound by several years. By mid-1920, most of the prominent American directors and actors, who had worked independently since the early 1910s, had to become a part of the new studio system to continue to work. The beginning of the sound era itself

12324-479: The film, Tracy considered The Old Man and the Sea the toughest part he ever played. In reviewing the performance, Jack Moffitt of The Hollywood Reporter said it was "so intimate and revealing of universal human experience that, to me, it almost transcended acting and became reality". Tracy received Oscar and BAFTA Award nominations for the work. After abandoning two projects, including a proposed remake of The Blue Angel with Marilyn Monroe , Tracy's next feature

12480-710: The film; in America, this artistic change is attributed to filmmakers like D. W. Griffith finally breaking the grip of the Edison Trust to make films independent of the manufacturing monopoly. Films worldwide began to noticeably adopt visual and narrative elements which would be found in classical Hollywood cinema. 1913 was a particularly fruitful year for the medium, as pioneering directors from several countries produced films such as The Mothering Heart (D. W. Griffith), Ingeborg Holm ( Victor Sjöström ), and L'enfant de Paris ( Léonce Perret ) that set new standards for

12636-591: The first Roman-style academic institution in the East, St. Paul Jesuit College in Macau , China. Founded by Alessandro Valignano , it had a great influence on the learning of Eastern languages (Chinese and Japanese) and culture by missionary Jesuits, becoming home to the first western sinologists such as Matteo Ricci . Jesuit efforts in Goa were interrupted by the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portuguese territories in 1759 by

12792-608: The first modern cartographic work in China. They also learned to appreciate the scientific achievements of this ancient culture and made them known in Europe. Through their correspondence, European scientists first learned about the Chinese science and culture. For over a century, Jesuits such as Michele Ruggieri , Matteo Ricci , Diego de Pantoja , Philippe Couplet , Michal Boym , and François Noël refined translations and disseminated Chinese knowledge , culture , history , and philosophy to Europe. Their Latin works popularized

12948-614: The first time in his movie career. Tracy's first post-MGM appearance was in The Mountain (1956) with Robert Wagner , who played his much younger brother (Wagner had earlier played his son in Broken Lance ). The location filming in the French Alps proved a difficult experience, and he threatened to leave the project. His performance earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Actor. Tracy and Hepburn then paired together for

13104-472: The frame. The action is subtly addressed towards the spectator (frontality) and set , lighting (mostly three-point lighting , especially high-key lighting ), and costumes are designed to separate foreground from the background (depth). The New Hollywood of the mid-1960s to early 1980s was influenced by the romanticism of the classical era, as was the French New Wave . These were recognized on

13260-522: The highest-grossing picture of 1936. 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". By this point, Tracy entered a period of self-imposed sobriety and MGM expressed pleasure with Tracy's professionalism. 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

13416-499: The late Renaissance were significant in their roles both as a missionary order and as the first religious order to operate colleges and universities as a principal and distinct ministry. By the time of Ignatius' death in 1556, the Jesuits were already operating a network of 74 colleges on three continents. A precursor to liberal education , the Jesuit plan of studies incorporated the Classical teachings of Renaissance humanism into

13572-492: The late silent era. For millennia, the only visual standard of narrative storytelling art was the theatre . Since the first narrative films in the mid-late 1890s, filmmakers have sought to capture the power of live theatre on the cinema screen. Most of these filmmakers started as directors on the late 19th-century stage, and likewise, most film actors had roots in vaudeville (e.g. The Marx Brothers ) or theatrical melodramas. Visually, early narrative films had adapted little from

13728-538: The lead role in his next picture, a prison movie. Production company Fox Film Corporation was unsure about Tracy, saying that he did not photograph well, but Ford convinced them that he was right for the role. Up the River (1930) marked the film debut of both Tracy and Humphrey Bogart . After seeing the rushes , Fox immediately offered Tracy a long-term contract. Knowing that he needed the money for his family, with his young son deaf and recovering from polio , Tracy signed with Fox and moved to California. He appeared on

13884-563: The leading man. None of them were hits, although his performance in The Power and the Glory (1933) was highly praised at the time. In 1935, Tracy joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hollywood's most prestigious studio at the time. His career flourished after his fifth MGM film, Fury (1936), and in 1937 and 1938 he won consecutive Oscars for Captains Courageous and Boys Town . Tracy teamed with Clark Gable , MGM's most prominent leading man, for three major box office successes, and by

14040-415: The local languages of Brazil. José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega were the first Jesuits that Ignacio de Loyola sent to the Americas. Jesuit scholars working in foreign missions were very dedicated in studying the local languages and strove to produce Latinized grammars and dictionaries . This included: Japanese (see Nippo jisho , also known as Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam , "Vocabulary of

14196-458: The most anticipated films of the year. The film opened to the biggest crowd since Gone With the Wind . 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). The contract also stated for the first time that his billing was to be "that of a star". Contrary to popular belief,

14352-530: The name " Confucius " and had considerable influence on the Deists and other Enlightenment thinkers, some of whom were intrigued by the Jesuits' attempts to reconcile Confucian morality with Catholicism . Upon the arrival of the Franciscans and other monastic orders, Jesuit accommodation of Chinese culture and rituals led to the long-running Chinese Rites controversy . Despite the personal testimony of

14508-786: The namesake of Campion Hall, as well as Brian Cansfield, Ralph Corbington , and many others. A number of them were canonized among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales . Four Jesuit churches remain today in London alone, with three other places of worship remaining extant in England and two in Scotland . The Jesuits first entered China through the Portuguese settlement on Macau , where they settled on Green Island and founded St. Paul's College . The Jesuit China missions of

14664-485: The new order in the "Formula of the Institute of the Society of Jesus", which is "the fundamental charter of the order, of which all subsequent official documents were elaborations and to which they had to conform". He ensured that his formula was contained in two papal bulls signed by Pope Paul III in 1540 and by Pope Julius III in 1550. The formula expressed the nature, spirituality, community life, and apostolate of

14820-673: The new religious order. Its famous opening statement echoed Ignatius' military background: Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the Cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the Name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth, should, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience, keep what follows in mind. He

14976-515: The next day—October 29—the New York stock market crashed . Unable to obtain funding, Dread did not open on Broadway. Following this disappointment, Tracy again considered leaving the theater and returning to Milwaukee for a more stable life. In January 1930, Tracy was approached about a new play called The Last Mile . Looking to cast the lead role of a murderer on death row , producer Herman Shumlin met with Tracy, and later recounted: "beneath

15132-622: The notable stock manager William H. Wright in the spring of 1924. A stage partnership was formed with the young actress Selena Royle , who had already made her name on Broadway. It proved a popular draw and their productions were favorably received. One of these performances brought Tracy to the attention of a Broadway producer, who offered him the lead in a new play. The Sheepman previewed in October 1925, but it received poor reviews and closed after its trial run in Connecticut . Dejected, Tracy

15288-474: The one that comes the closest to me in quality, in personality and voice, in personal dignity and ability, is Spencer Tracy." Tracy was delighted to be offered the role. He was told to lose some of his 210 pounds before filming began but failed to do so. Hemingway thus reported that Tracy was a "terrible liability to the picture", and had to be reassured that the star was being carefully photographed to disguise his weight problem. Appearing alone on screen for most of

15444-504: The only force standing between the Indigenous and slavery . Together throughout South America but especially in present-day Brazil and Paraguay , they formed Indigenous Christian city-states, called " reductions ". These were societies set up according to an idealized theocratic model. The efforts of Jesuits like Antonio Ruiz de Montoya to protect the natives from enslavement by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers would contribute to

15600-402: The opening lines of the founding document declared that the society was founded for "whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God, to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith, and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine". Jesuits are thus sometimes referred to colloquially as "God's soldiers", "God's marines", or "the Company". The society participated in

15756-705: The opposition; there were already congregations named after the Trinity and as "God's daughters". In 1537, the seven travelled to Italy to seek papal approval for their order . Pope Paul III gave them a commendation, and permitted them to be ordained priests. These initial steps led to the official founding in 1540. They were ordained in Venice by the bishop of Arbe (24 June). They devoted themselves to preaching and charitable work in Italy . The Italian War of 1536–1538 renewed between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , Venice,

15912-546: The original companions of Loyola , arrived in Goa ( Portuguese India ) in 1541 to carry out evangelical service in the Indies. In a 1545 letter to John III of Portugal, he requested an Inquisition to be installed in Goa to combat heresies like crypto-Judaism and crypto-Islam. Under Portuguese royal patronage , Jesuits thrived in Goa and until 1759 successfully expanded their activities to education and healthcare. In 1594 they founded

16068-614: The original seven arrived in India already in 1541. Finally, though not initially formed for the purpose, they aimed to stop Protestantism from spreading and to preserve communion with Rome and the pope . The zeal of the Jesuits overcame the movement toward Protestantism in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and southern Germany . Ignatius wrote the Jesuit Constitutions , adopted in 1553, which created

16224-403: The other sacraments. Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals, and indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good. In fulfilling the mission of the "Formula of the Institute of the Society", the first Jesuits concentrated on

16380-709: The powerful Marquis of Pombal , Secretary of State in Portugal. The Portuguese Jesuit António de Andrade founded a mission in Western Tibet in 1624 (see also " Catholic Church in Tibet "). Two Jesuit missionaries, Johann Grueber and Albert Dorville , reached Lhasa , in Tibet, in 1661. The Italian Jesuit Ippolito Desideri established a new Jesuit mission in Lhasa and Central Tibet (1716–21) and gained an exceptional mastery of Tibetan language and culture, writing

16536-478: The reality inherent to the stage, film (unlike the stage) offers the freedom to manipulate apparent time and space, and thus create the illusion of realism – that is temporal linearity and spatial continuity. By the early 1910s, when the Lost Generation was coming of age, filmmaking was beginning to fulfill its artistic potential. In Sweden and Denmark, this period would later be known as the "Golden Age" of

16692-539: The release of such classics as The Wizard of Oz ; Gone with the Wind ; The Hunchback of Notre Dame ; Stagecoach ; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ; Destry Rides Again ; Young Mr. Lincoln ; Wuthering Heights ; Only Angels Have Wings ; Ninotchka ; Beau Geste ; Babes in Arms ; Gunga Din ; The Women ; Goodbye, Mr. Chips ; and The Roaring Twenties . The visual-narrative style of classical Hollywood cinema, as elaborated by David Bordwell ,

16848-541: The reviews. A fifth film with Hepburn, Frank Capra 's political drama State of the Union , was released in 1948. Tracy played a presidential candidate in the movie, which was warmly received. 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." Upon its release, The New Yorker wrote of

17004-564: The sacraments to the public. In late 1568 the Castle Lane School, in the presence of Daniel and Good, was attacked and looted by government agents sent by Sir Thomas Cusack during the pacification of Munster. The political and religious climate had become more uncertain in the lead up to Pope Pius V 's formal excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I , which resulted in a new wave of repression of Catholicism in England and Ireland. At

17160-452: The same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio. For instance, Cedric Gibbons and Herbert Stothart always worked on MGM films ; Alfred Newman worked at 20th Century Fox for twenty years; Cecil B. DeMille 's films were almost all made at Paramount Pictures ; and director Henry King 's films were mostly made for 20th Century Fox. Similarly, actors were mostly contract players. Film historians note that it took about

17316-438: The screen's best performers". Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times stated: "No more convincing performance has been given on the screen than Spencer Tracy's impersonation of Tom Garner." Shanghai Madness (1933), meanwhile, revealed Tracy to have a previously unseen sex appeal and served to advance his standing. Despite this attention, Tracy's next two movies went largely unnoticed. Man's Castle (1933) with Loretta Young

17472-567: The screen's greatest actors. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Tracy as the 9th greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema . Tracy first discovered his talent for acting while attending Ripon College , and he later received a scholarship for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts . He spent seven years in the theater, working in a succession of stock companies and intermittently on Broadway . His breakthrough came in 1930, when his lead performance in The Last Mile caught

17628-526: The show were poor and it closed after 25 performances; Tracy later said of the failure, "My ego took an awful beating." When he took a position with a struggling company in New Jersey, Tracy was living on an allowance of 35 cents a day. In January 1924, he played his first leading role with a company in Winnipeg , but the organization soon closed. Tracy finally achieved some success by joining forces with

17784-442: The show. It closed on January 19, 1946, after 81 performances. Tracy later explained to a friend: "I couldn't say those goddamn lines over and over and over again every night ... At least every day is a new day for me in films ... But this thing—every day, every day, over and over again." Tracy was absent from screens in 1946, the first year since his motion picture debut that there was no Spencer Tracy release. His next film

17940-468: The society adopted the name with a positive meaning. While the order is limited to men, Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal , favored the order and she is reputed to have been admitted surreptitiously under a male pseudonym. The Jesuits were founded just before the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ensuing Counter-Reformation that would introduce reforms within the Catholic Church, and so counter

18096-528: The spirituality of John Cassian and the Desert Fathers . Ignatius' innovation was to make this style of contemplative mysticism available to all people in active life. Further, he used it as a means of rebuilding the spiritual life of the church. The Exercises became both the basis for the training of Jesuits and one of the essential ministries of the order: giving the exercises to others in what became known as "retreats". The Jesuits' contributions to

18252-409: The stage only once more in his life. Winfield Sheehan , the head of Fox, committed to making Tracy a bankable commodity. The studio promoted the actor, releasing ads for his second film Quick Millions (1931) with the headline "A New Star Shines". Three films were made in quick succession, all of which were unsuccessful at the box office. Tracy found himself typecast in comedies , usually playing

18408-416: The stage, and their narratives had adapted very little from vaudeville and melodrama. Before the visual style which would become known as "classical continuity", scenes were filmed in full shot and used carefully choreographed staging to portray plot and character relationships. Editing technique was extremely limited, and mostly consisted of close-ups of writing on objects for their legibility. Though lacking

18564-438: 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. His first film under the new contract was the quickly produced The Murder Man (1935), which included the feature film debut of James Stewart . Thalberg then began a strategy of pairing Tracy with the studio's top actresses: Whipsaw (1935) co-starred Myrna Loy and

18720-435: The study of Latin , Greek , classical literature, poetry, and philosophy as well as non-European languages, sciences, and the arts. Furthermore, Jesuit schools encouraged the study of vernacular literature and rhetoric , and thereby became important centres for the training of lawyers and public officials. The Jesuit schools played an important part in winning back to Catholicism a number of European countries which had for

18876-487: The surface, here was a man of passion, violence, sensitivity and desperation: no ordinary man, and just the man for the part." The Last Mile opened on Broadway in February, where Tracy's performance was met by a standing ovation that lasted 14 curtain calls. The Commonweal described him as "one of our best and most versatile young actors". The play was a hit with critics, and ran for 289 performances. In 1930, Broadway

19032-524: The theater. With little care for their studies and "itching for a chance to go and see some excitement", Tracy and O'Brien enlisted in the Navy together when Tracy turned 18. They were sent to the Naval Training Station in northern Illinois, where they were still recruits-in-training when World War I came to an end. Tracy achieved the rank of seaman second class , but never went to sea and

19188-555: The theatre." For his performance in The Actress , Tracy won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the British Academy Film Award . MGM lent Tracy to Fox for the well-received Western film Broken Lance , his only film released in 1954. In 1955, Tracy turned down William Wyler 's The Desperate Hours because he refused to take second-billing to Humphrey Bogart . Instead, Tracy appeared as

19344-467: The third class learned Donatus by heart, though translated into English rather than through Latin. Young boys in the fourth class were taught to read. Progress was slow because there were too few teachers to conduct classes simultaneously. In the spirit of Ignatius' Roman College founded 14 years before, no fee was requested from pupils, though as a result the two Jesuits lived in very poor conditions and were very overworked with teaching and administering

19500-454: The two leads. The film received strong reviews and became the highest-grossing Tracy-Hepburn picture to date. 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." Tracy received his first Academy Award nomination in 12 years for playing the role of Stanley Banks in Father of

19656-423: The two shared a small studio apartment. Money was scarce, and the two often lived on meals of rice and pretzels and shared one decent suit between them. Tracy was deemed fit to progress to the senior class, allowing him to join the academy's stock company . He made his New York debut in a play called The Wedding Guests , which opened in October 1922. He made his debut Broadway appearance three months later, playing

19812-480: The visual and performing arts as well as in music. The theater was a form of expression especially prominent in Jesuit schools. Jesuit priests often acted as confessors to kings during the early modern period . They were an important force in the Counter-Reformation and in the Catholic missions, in part because their relatively loose structure (without the requirements of living and celebration of

19968-681: The will of a human character and its struggle with obstacles towards a defined goal. This narrative element is commonly composed of a primary narrative (e.g. a romance) intertwined with a secondary narrative or narratives. This narrative is structured with an unmistakable beginning, middle and end, and generally there is a distinct resolution. Utilizing actors, events, causal effects, main points, and secondary points are basic characteristics of this type of narrative. The characters in classical Hollywood cinema have clearly definable traits, are active, and very goal oriented. They are causal agents motivated by psychological rather than social concerns. The narrative

20124-534: Was The Last Hurrah (1958). It reunited him with his debut director, John Ford, after 28 years and his childhood friend Pat O'Brien. Tracy took a year to commit to the project, in which he played an Irish-American mayor seeking re-election. The movie was favorably reviewed, but not commercially successful. At the end of 1958, the National Board of Review named Tracy the year's Best Actor . He nevertheless began to ponder retirement, with Curtis writing that he

20280-551: Was 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. 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

20436-482: Was "chronically tired, unhappy, ill, and uninterested in work". Classical Hollywood cinema Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking that first developed in the 1910s to 1920s during the later years of the silent film era . It then became characteristic of American cinema during the Golden Age of Hollywood from about 1927,

20592-420: Was a commercial success. 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. Fury (1936) was the first film to prove that Tracy could make a success on his own merit. Directed by Fritz Lang , Tracy played an innocent man who swears revenge after narrowly escaping death by

20748-717: Was a critical and commercial failure, but the historical drama Northwest Passage —Tracy's first film in Technicolor —proved popular. 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. Boom Town was the third and final Gable-Tracy picture, also starring Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr , making it one of

20904-403: Was a global landmark for filmmaking, 1917 was primarily an American one; the era of "classical Hollywood cinema" is distinguished by a narrative and visual style which began to dominate the film medium in America by 1917. The narrative and visual style of classical Hollywood style developed further after the transition to sound-film production. The primary changes in American filmmaking came from

21060-583: Was a hit. Tracy followed this success with another Cohan play, Whispering Friends , and in 1929 took over from Clark Gable in Conflict , a Broadway drama. Other roles followed, but it was the lead in Dread , written by Pulitzer Prize -winning dramatist Owen Davis that gave Tracy high hopes for success. The story of a man's descent into madness, Dread previewed in Brooklyn to an excellent reception, but on

21216-472: Was anticipated to be a hit, but made only a small profit. The Show-Off (1934), for which he was lent to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , proved popular, but his subsequent outings continued to be unsuccessful. Tracy drank heavily during his years with Fox and gained a reputation as an alcoholic. He failed to report for filming on Marie Galante in June 1934, and was found in his hotel room, virtually unconscious after

21372-473: Was being scouted to find actors to work in the new medium of sound films . Tracy was cast in two Vitaphone shorts ( Taxi Talks and The Hard Guy ), but he had not considered becoming a film actor: "I had no ambition in that direction and I was perfectly happy on the stage", he later explained in an interview. One person who saw Tracy in The Last Mile was director John Ford . Ford wanted Tracy for

21528-460: Was born in Milwaukee on April 5, 1900, the second son of Caroline (née Brown; 1874–1942) and truck salesman John Edward Tracy (1873–1928). His mother was from a wealthy Presbyterian Midwestern family, while his father was of Irish Catholic descent. He had a brother Carroll, who was four years older. Tracy was a difficult and hyperactive child  with poor school attendance. Raised Catholic , he

21684-516: Was conducted in one large aula, but the students were divided into distinct classes. Good gives a highly detailed report of the curriculum taught and the top class studied the first and second parts of Johannes Despauterius 's Commentarli grammatici, and read a few letters of Cicero or the dialogues of Frusius (André des Freux, SJ). The second class committed Donatus' texts in Latin to memory and read dialogues as well as works by Ēvaldus Gallus. Students in

21840-407: Was consecrated at Rome in 1564. This early Limerick school, Crescent College , operated in difficult circumstances. In April 1566, William Good sent a detailed report to Rome of his activities via the Portuguese Jesuits. He informed the Jesuit superior general that he and Edmund Daniel had arrived at Limerick city two years beforehand and their situation there had been perilous. Both had arrived in

21996-420: Was conveyed to them by certain influential friends. They recommenced teaching at Castle Lane, and imparting the sacraments, though their activities were restricted by the arrival of Royal Commissioners. Good reported that as he was an Englishman, English officials in the city cultivated him and he was invited to dine with them on a number of occasions, though he was warned to exercise prudence and avoid promoting

22152-613: Was delighted that Tracy was available for Woman of the Year , saying "I was just damned grateful he was willing to work with me." The romantic comedy performed well at the box office and received strong reviews. 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." Woman of

22308-434: Was discharged in February 1919. His father's desire to see one of his sons gain a college degree drove Tracy back to high school to finish his diploma. Studies at two more institutions, plus the additional allowance of " war credits ", won Tracy a place at Ripon College . He entered in February 1921, declaring his intention to major in medicine. Tracy was a popular student at Ripon, where he served as president of his hall and

22464-471: Was established at Limerick by the apostolic visitor of the Holy See , David Wolfe . Wolfe had been sent to Ireland by Pope Pius IV with the concurrence of the third Jesuit superior general, Diego Laynez . He was charged with setting up grammar schools "as a remedy against the profound ignorance of the people". Wolfe's mission in Ireland initially concentrated on setting the sclerotic Irish Church on

22620-510: Was followed one month later with the release of the big-budget disaster movie 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. Taking on the role of a priest, Tracy reportedly felt a heavy responsibility in representing the church. Despite having only 17 minutes of screen time, Tracy was highly praised for his performance and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor . San Francisco became

22776-437: Was forced back to Wright and the stock circuit. In the fall of 1926, Tracy was offered his third shot at Broadway: a role in a new George M. Cohan play called Yellow . Tracy swore that if the play failed to be a hit he would leave stock and work in a "regular" business instead. Tracy was nervous about working with Cohan, one of the most important figures in American theater, but during rehearsals Cohan announced, "Tracy, you're

22932-483: Was heavily influenced by the ideas of the Renaissance and its resurgence of mankind as the focal point. It is distinguished at three general levels: devices, systems, and the relations of systems. The devices most inherent to classical Hollywood cinema are those of continuity editing . This includes the 180-degree rule , one of the major visual-spatial elements of continuity editing. The 180-degree rule keeps with

23088-407: Was humble about the recognition, saying in his acceptance speech: "I honestly do not feel that I can accept this award ... I can accept it only as it was meant to be for a great man—Father Flanagan". Although he did keep his Oscar, a second statuette was struck and immediately sent to Flanagan. Tracy was listed as the fifth biggest box office star of 1938. Tracy was absent from screens for almost

23244-537: 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 . 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 ), but with his contract up for renewal, Tracy opted to freelance for

23400-520: Was involved in a number of college activities. He made his stage debut in June 1921, playing the male lead in The Truth . He was very well received in the role and quickly developed a passion for the stage; he was reportedly "obsessive about acting to the degree that he talked about little else". He and some friends formed an acting company called the Campus Players, which they took on tour. As

23556-473: Was placed in the care of Dominican Order nuns at the age of nine in an attempt to transform his behavior. Later in life, he remarked that he "never would have gone back to school if there had been any other way of learning to read the subtitles in the movies". He became fascinated with movies, watching the same ones repeatedly and later re-enacting scenes to his friends and neighbors. He attended several Jesuit academies in his teenage years, which he claimed took

23712-541: Was recorded by Jesuit José de Acosta of a conversation with the Archbishop of Santo Domingo. In the words of one historian: "The use of the name Jesus gave great offense. Both on the Continent and in England, it was denounced as blasphemous; petitions were sent to kings and to civil and ecclesiastical tribunals to have it changed; and even Pope Sixtus V had signed a Brief to do away with it." But nothing came of all

23868-608: Was released ten months later and performed well at the box office. On the strength of the two movies, Tracy polled as one of the nation's top stars once more. 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. Tracy followed it with Plymouth Adventure (also 1952), an historical drama set aboard

24024-418: Was still under contract with the studio when MGM expressed their interest in the actor. They were in need of a new male star, and contacted Tracy on April 2, 1935, offering him a seven-year deal. That afternoon, the contract between Tracy and Fox was terminated "by mutual consent". Tracy made a total of 25 pictures in the five years he was with Fox Film Corporation, most of which lost money at the box office. In

24180-497: Was troubled, with a lifelong struggle against severe alcoholism and guilt over his son's deafness . Tracy and his wife Louise became estranged in the 1930s, but the couple never divorced. His 25-year relationship with Katharine Hepburn was an open secret . Towards the end of his life, Tracy worked almost exclusively for director Stanley Kramer . Tracy made his last film with Kramer, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), completed just 17 days before he died. Spencer Bonaventure Tracy

24336-401: Was unhappy with the film, disliking the heavy make-up he needed to portray Hyde. Critical response to the film was mixed and brought Tracy the only negative reviews of his career. 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." The film was financially successful, however, taking in more than $ 2 million at

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