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Kramer vs. Kramer

1979 film by Robert Benton

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 2, 2026
Entity authorityQ193577
Source-derived summary

Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Justin Henry and Jane Alexander. It tells the story of a couple's divorce, its effect on their young son, and the subsequent evolution of their relationship and views on parenting. Kramer vs. Kramer explores the psychology and fallout of divorce, and touches on emerging and prevailing social issues such as gender roles, fathers' rights, work-life balance, and single parents.

Kramer vs. Kramer was theatrically released December 19, 1979, by Columbia Pictures. The film emerged as a major commercial success at the box office, grossing more than $173 million on an $8 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1979 in the United States and Canada. It received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with high praise for its direction, story, screenplay and performances of the cast, with major praise directed towards Hoffman and Streep's performances.

Editorial summary

“Kramer vs. Kramer” enters the record as 1979 film by Robert Benton. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kramer, film and Robert can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1979, 1977—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1979-12-05, 1980-02-28, 1979-12-19—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Kramer, film and Robert.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Kramer vs. Kramer” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kramer, film and Robert provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q193577. VIAF identifies the subject as 316751721. The Library of Congress control number is no97072638. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979 and 1977.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Kramer vs. Kramer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Kramer vs. Kramer primary sources, Kramer vs. Kramer archive and Kramer research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kramer vs. Kramer”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Kramer vs. Kramer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.