Synopsis
Sam Craig (Spencer Tracy) and Tess Harding (Katharine Hepburn) are journalists for the same New York newspaper in the early 1940s. Tess, the daughter of a diplomat (Minor Watson), is an internationally inclined political affairs columnist, a polyglot educated in various prestigious European universities who has traveled the world (based on reporter Dorothy Thompson). Meanwhile, Sam is an everyman sportswriter who worked his way up.
A feud in their columns, over baseball, develops into romance, love, and marriage, despite their different backgrounds and worlds. When Sam invites her on a date to a baseball game, Tess inadvertently breaks the "men only" atmosphere of the press box, and is initially confused and unfamiliar with the rules of the sport, before enjoying herself and befriending other spectators.
After Sam and Tess marry, a conflict arises over Tess's priorities and Sam's place in her life. They have several minor disagreements, but a bigger problem occurs when Tess is coerced to take on the care of a Greek refugee child Chris (George Kezas) without having a chance to consult Sam. When Sam initially believes Tess is pregnant with their child, he is thrilled, but upon meeting Chris, he is at first unconvinced about taking on an unrelated orphan with whom he cannot even communicate. Still, he tries to befriend the boy as much as he can, and introduces him to sports.
Tess learns that she has received the award of "Woman of the Year", to be given to her at a fancy ceremony. That evening, Sam wonders who will be looking after the boy, and is unsatisfied with her answer of "I'll ask one of the elevator boys to look in on him." Sam decides to stay home to look after Chris. Tess is upset—she wants him to be beside her on her big night, and is embarrassed at the thought that the public will wonder where he is. Sam says she can tell everyone he had more important plans, and Tess accidentally offends him by asking whether anyone would believe that Sam could find something more important to do. After Tess leaves, Sam tells Chris to dress and pack. While Tess is at her ceremony, Sam returns the child to the home for Greek refugee children and walks out on the marriage. Tess only learns of this upon her return, when she goes to change for photographers only to discover the men and their belongings are all missing. She attempts to go reclaim Chris, but he refuses (because he wants to stay with his friends—fellow refugees).
The next day, Tess receives an invitation, addressed to both of them, to go to the home of her father and the aunt who raised her (Fay Bainter). However, Sam is covering a championship boxing match that evening and tells her he can not go. Tess arrives alone, only to be told that her aunt and her father are to be married that night, after 15 years of "making the same mistake" and saying nothing of their attraction. Listening to the words of the wedding ceremony encourages Tess to attempt a reconciliation with Sam.
She enters Sam's new riverside home the next morning and starts to prepare breakfast. Sam is eventually woken by her noisy incompetence in the kitchen, and comes to watch her. She proclaims her new 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 once again tries to cook breakfast, only to fail because she knows nothing of cooking.
Sam tells her this is the first time he is disappointed in her—for going to extremes. He says to her he does not want Tess Harding or "just little Mrs. Craig", but can't she be Tess Harding Craig? Tess happily agrees, and they reconcile. Gerald, Tess' inconsiderate secretary (Dan Tobin), arrives with a bottle of champagne and reminds Tess of her commitment to launch a ship at 8:30 am. Sam takes Gerald outside, the bottle smashes, and Sam returns claiming to have launched Gerald.
Read more about this topic: Woman Of The Year