Spencer Tracy Several of Tracy's films, particularly his comedies, are regarded as classics of American cinema. He starred in four of the titles on the American Film Institute's list of "100 Years ... 100 Laughs": "Adam's Rib", "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", "Father of the Bride" and "Woman of the Year". "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was included on AFI's list of the 100 greatest American movies, while "Captains Courageous" was featured on their list of America's most inspiring movies. Tracy was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Actor, a category record he holds with Laurence Olivier. He was
The High and the Mighty (film) McGuire, Ginger Rogers, Ida Lupino, and Joan Crawford rejecting parts in the film, Wellman ended up casting good but lesser-known actors in some of the roles. Spencer Tracy was offered the role of Dan Roman but turned it down because, Wellman said, that Tracy found the script "lousy" while assistant director Andrew McLaglen claimed that Tracy's friends told the actor he was "in for an ego-bruising ride" which led Tracy to excuse himself from the film. Without Tracy, Jack Warner threatened to remove the Warner Bros. funding unless another prominent lead could be found. Wellman convinced producer John Wayne to