Pat and Mike (1952)

Pat's a brilliant athlete, except when her domineering fiance is around. The lady's golf championship is in her reach until she gets flustered by his presence at the final holes. He wants ... See full summary »

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Spencer Tracy	...	Mike Conovan
Katharine Hepburn	...	Patricia 'Pat' Pemberton
Aldo Ray	...	Davie Hucko
William Ching	...	Collier Weld
Sammy White	...	Barney Grau
George Mathews	...	Sylvester 'Spec' Cauley
Gussie Moran	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Babe Didrikson Zaharias	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Don Budge	...	Himself (Sports Star)
Alice Marble	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Frank Andrew Parker	...	Himself (Sports Star) (as Frank Parker)
Betty Hicks	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Beverly Hanson	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Helen Dettweiler	...	Herself (Sports Star)
Loring Smith	...	Mr. E.H. Beminger

Storyline

Pat's a brilliant athlete, except when her domineering fiance is around. The lady's golf championship is in her reach until she gets flustered by his presence at the final holes. He wants them to get married and forget the whole thing, but she can't give up on herself that easily. She enlists the help of Mike, a slightly shady sports promoter. Together they face mobsters, a jealous boxer, and a growing mutual attraction.

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Plot Keywords:

golf | manager | boxer | championship | tennis | 

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Taglines:

Together again - and it's no fib, their funniest hit since "Adam's Rib"

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Mulher Absoluta

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The seventh of nine films to feature Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

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Goofs

Hepburn's character throws 3 pieces of luggage off a slowly moving train over a period of about 30 seconds. But when she steps off of the train they are all together in a pile.

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Quotes

Pat Pemberton: What's to prevent me smoking when you're not around?
Mike Conovan: When am I not around?
Pat Pemberton: Well, you don't expect to be watching me every minute... out of every... twenty-four hours... out of every day, do you?
Mike Conovan: If I have to, sure.
Pat Pemberton: Not sure I'll like that.
Mike Conovan: Not asking you to like it. But you'll see pretty soon, pretty soon I'll trust you because you'll trust me. Because what's good for you is good for me and you for me, see? We're the same. We're equal. We're partners, see? 5-0, 5-0.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)

User Reviews

Well, you see, this is a question of getting married. You've never been married to a lobster.

Out of MGM, Pat and Mike is directed by George Cukor and written by Ruth Gordon & Garson Kanin (Oscar nominated). It stars Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn & Aldo Ray. David Raksin scores the music and William H. Daniels photographs it on location around Los Angeles. Most of the golfing scenes were filmed at the Riviera Country Club, with other work shot at Occidental College. The film is notable for featuring many sports star cameos, some who show up include: Babe Zaharias, Betty Hicks, Helen Dettweiler, Don Budge, Gussie Moran, Beverly Hanson and Alice Marble. In the support cast are Charles Bronson, Frank Richards, Jim Backus, and Chuck Connors.

Hugely efficient romantic comedy that sees Hepburn as sprightly PE teacher, Pat Pemberton, who is courted for stardom by shifty promoter Mike Conovan (Tracy). The trouble is is that as talented as Pat is, she goes to pieces when watched by her beau, Davie Hucko (Ray). Pretty soon Pat starts responding to Mike's methods of coaching, and could there even be love in the air too? OK, so it doesn't hold any surprises in how it pans out, but the fun is in getting there. The script is tight as a padlock and Cukor gets great performances out of his two leads. Notably Hepburn, who gets to show her undoubted athletic ability. Added bonus is Raksin's score, which is breezy with jazzy tones and sits nicely in context to the material playing out.

Not as sharp as Adam's Rib, but clever and funny in equal measure. 7/10