Pat und Mike (1952)

Pat und Mike: Directed by George Cukor. With Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray, William Ching. Pat is a women’s sports sensation unless her fiancé is around. Her new shady manager Mike keeps them apart and develops feelings for her.

“Katharine Hepburn has said this deceptively casual 1952 comedy is her favorite of the nine on screen pairings with longtime partner Spencer Tracy, and one can see why as the film takes advantage of her natural athletic prowess. Directed by the redoubtable George Cukor and written by the husband-and-wife team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon (u0026quot;Adamu0026#39;s Ribu0026quot;), this is not so much a rollicking screwball farce as a sly opposites-attract love story set in a world pitched between professional sports and the street-slang and pinstripe suits of Damon Runyon. Itu0026#39;s not a complicated plot. Mike Conovan is a dem-and-dose sports promoter who already manages a punch-drunk fighter named Davie Hucko. On a country club golf course, he sees a great golfing talent in Pat Pemberton, a college physical-education instructor who turns out to be accomplished in a number of sports including sharp-shooting and tennis. Mike immediately sees the financial possibilities of promoting a u0026quot;lady athleteu0026quot;, and a mutual attraction develops.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, he also discovers Patu0026#39;s one major Achillesu0026#39; heel – her self-doubt is such that she cannot perform to her world-class standards under the patronizing eye of her selfish fiancée Collier. Naturally, this impediment gives rise to the movieu0026#39;s funniest sight gags, including a particularly hilarious tennis match with real pro Gussie Moran where Patu0026#39;s tennis racket gets smaller, Moranu0026#39;s get larger, and the net grows higher. The rest of the film consists of scenes highlighting Patu0026#39;s ascending trajectory as a pro star, and consequently, the fortyish Hepburnu0026#39;s impressive physical talent facing off with the likes of Olympic champion Babe Didrickson Zaharias in a pro golf tournament. The Tracy-Hepburn team shows a genuine rhythm to their banter here, and Tracy seems to be having fun playing a street-savvy huckster. I find it amusing how Hepburnu0026#39;s character – with her crisp New England-based diction – is supposed to be from Oakland. Aldo Ray makes a memorable impression as Davie, while a young Charles Bronson can be seen as one of the hoods subject to Patu0026#39;s masterful judo moves. There are no extras offered with the 2000 DVD.”