The last six of the Tracy-Hepburn films each examined the relations of the two stars in settings where public attention was frequently occupied by other factors. STATE OF THE UNION looked at the pressures of a Presidential campaign on a failing marriage. ADAM'S RIB looked at the professional competition of a married couple handling a major criminal case on both sides. The current film dealt with the sports world. DESK SET dealt with corporations and computers. And GUESS WHO'S COMING FOR DINNER dealt with race relations in America.
PAT AND MIKE (as mentioned above) is about the sports world. Pat Pemberton is a physical education instructor at a California College, who is engaged to Collier Weld (William Ching) one of the College's administrators. Collier frequently asks her assistance in getting donations for the college by playing golf and losing to the potential donors. But the one they are playing with has a loud-mouthed wife who keeps lecturing Pat on how to perfect her swing, until Pat can no longer stand it and demonstrates how much better a player she is than the loud-mouth. She is approached by Jim Bacchus to try to turn professional, and she does enter a series of games, and is approached by Mike Conovan (Tracy) about throwing a game. She refuses. He watches her playing and sees how wonderful she is, but he also notes her collapse in the last round of playing against Babe Zaharias. He does not see the reason - Collier showed up to lend his support, but he has a face on him that suggests he secretly does not expect Pat will succeed. So his face unnerves her and causes her to lose.
Gradually Pat decides to let Mike become her manager, and finds that it calls for his total control of her life in terms of diet and exercise, although he treats his heavyweight boxer Hucko (Aldo Ray) the same. But it works...and as she is good in other sports besides golf (such as tennis) she can work throughout the year. But in the course of an exhibition game in San Francisco Pat loses her careful control when she sees Collier and his family in the stand. She soon thinks the tennis net has jumped up several feet, or that her racket has shrunk. She collapses. Mike is concerned for her health but he now knows (as he saw her reaction to Collier) that Pat's boyfriend is "Joe Jinx".
Mike resolves to keep Pat from Collier as long as possible, and her game improves. However, while he is now clearheaded about being honest in the games (the money from the games is quite good), his business partners (George Matthews and one Charles Buchinsky - later better recalled as Charles Bronson) are less scrupulous. In fact the film reminds us of the seedier side of sports in general, regarding betting and fixing events.
Will Mike keep his partners under control? Will he find a way of getting rid of Collier's evil eye effect? These occupy the conclusion of the film. But the movie is funny, in particular when Hepburn uses her physical abilities to help out her manager - who is less than enthused by her actions. So are the problems Mike has with his heavyweight champ Hucko, with Aldo Ray drinking too many beers when he should be training, or when he has to be reminded of Mike's importance by repeating a three sentence mantra. MIke is intelligent enough to realize the mantra is not likely to be acceptable to Pat, so she does not repeat it...until the movie ends, and then she is asking Mike the questions.
A worthy follow up to ADAM'S RIB, I can only say that this film comedy is "cherce!"
PAT AND MIKE (as mentioned above) is about the sports world. Pat Pemberton is a physical education instructor at a California College, who is engaged to Collier Weld (William Ching) one of the College's administrators. Collier frequently asks her assistance in getting donations for the college by playing golf and losing to the potential donors. But the one they are playing with has a loud-mouthed wife who keeps lecturing Pat on how to perfect her swing, until Pat can no longer stand it and demonstrates how much better a player she is than the loud-mouth. She is approached by Jim Bacchus to try to turn professional, and she does enter a series of games, and is approached by Mike Conovan (Tracy) about throwing a game. She refuses. He watches her playing and sees how wonderful she is, but he also notes her collapse in the last round of playing against Babe Zaharias. He does not see the reason - Collier showed up to lend his support, but he has a face on him that suggests he secretly does not expect Pat will succeed. So his face unnerves her and causes her to lose.
Gradually Pat decides to let Mike become her manager, and finds that it calls for his total control of her life in terms of diet and exercise, although he treats his heavyweight boxer Hucko (Aldo Ray) the same. But it works...and as she is good in other sports besides golf (such as tennis) she can work throughout the year. But in the course of an exhibition game in San Francisco Pat loses her careful control when she sees Collier and his family in the stand. She soon thinks the tennis net has jumped up several feet, or that her racket has shrunk. She collapses. Mike is concerned for her health but he now knows (as he saw her reaction to Collier) that Pat's boyfriend is "Joe Jinx".
Mike resolves to keep Pat from Collier as long as possible, and her game improves. However, while he is now clearheaded about being honest in the games (the money from the games is quite good), his business partners (George Matthews and one Charles Buchinsky - later better recalled as Charles Bronson) are less scrupulous. In fact the film reminds us of the seedier side of sports in general, regarding betting and fixing events.
Will Mike keep his partners under control? Will he find a way of getting rid of Collier's evil eye effect? These occupy the conclusion of the film. But the movie is funny, in particular when Hepburn uses her physical abilities to help out her manager - who is less than enthused by her actions. So are the problems Mike has with his heavyweight champ Hucko, with Aldo Ray drinking too many beers when he should be training, or when he has to be reminded of Mike's importance by repeating a three sentence mantra. MIke is intelligent enough to realize the mantra is not likely to be acceptable to Pat, so she does not repeat it...until the movie ends, and then she is asking Mike the questions.
A worthy follow up to ADAM'S RIB, I can only say that this film comedy is "cherce!"