Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)

The author of a best-selling fishing guide is actually incredibly inexperienced when it comes to the sport, which causes mayhem when he is entered into a competition.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Pat Frank (story "The Girl Who Almost Got Away"), John Fenton Murray

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Paula Prentiss, Maria Perschy

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rock Hudson	...	Roger Willoughby
Paula Prentiss	...	Abigail Page
Maria Perschy	...	Isolde 'Easy' Mueller
John McGiver	...	William Cadwalader
Charlene Holt	...	Tex Connors
Roscoe Karns	...	Major Phipps
James Westerfield	...	Policeman
Norman Alden	...	John Screaming Eagle
Forrest Lewis	...	Skaggs
Regis Toomey	...	Bagley
Tyler McVey	...	Customer Bush
Kathie Browne	...	Marcia

Storyline

Roger Willoughby is considered to be a leading expert on sports fishing. He's written books on the subject and is loved by his customers in the sporting goods department at Abercrombie and Fitch, where he works. There's only one problem however: he's never been fishing in his life. When the store owner enters him in a fishing contest, mayhem ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

fiance fiancee relationship | partial remake | screwball comedy | slapstick comedy | neo screwball comedy | 

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Taglines:

What is Man's Favorite Sport?...Just ask any Girl!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Original run time of the movie was +145 min. After previews audiences were very positive but producers still insisted on cutting at least 20 minutes as they found it way too long for a romantic comedy. Needles to say Hawks wasn't exactly very happy with the final version.

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Goofs

When Roger visits Abigail at her camp her air bed is supported on a frame that holds it about 8 inches off the ground. Later, during the rainstorm, the bed is flat on the ground so it can be washed into the lake.

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Quotes

Roger Willoughby: Did you take a special course in blackmail, or is it just a natural talent?

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Connections

References Libeled Lady (1936)

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Soundtracks

Man's Favorite Sport
Music by Henry Mancini
Lyric by Johnny Mercer

User Reviews

Major Battle in the War between the Sexes--Won by Director Hawks

Howard Hawks may not have invented the war between the sexes; but where comedic film-making is concerned, he was the Napoleon of the sub-genre. In such features as "I Was a Male War Bride" and "Man's Favorite Sport", he gave each side in the conflict its turn, always from the male point of view however; and in the process, as Alfred Hitchcock did with staging scenes where something was occurring other than the dialogue's exact subject, he brought a new intensity to developing and ongoing relationships, so vital to the creation of character. In "Man's Favorite Sport", a story about a man who has never fished in his life having to try to win a fishing tournament in order to save his job, he saw a fine opportunity for physical "lazzi" and active scenes; in between the three active scenes of angling and several hilarious misadventures with physical equipment including chairs, inflatable waders and a car-park locale misunderstanding, he also found time to have his writers write some equally memorable dialogue confrontations of many sorts. The cast in this well-liked and well-remembered comedy include veterans John Mcgyver as the boss, Roscoe Karnes and others as grizzled veteran anglers, Pretty Maria Perschy, Charlene Holt and Paula Prentiss as the women in the hero's life, talented Norma Alden as a hip, wisecracking but lovable Indian, and Rock Hudson as Roger Willoughby, the beleaguered junior exec. In the film's storyline, however, Hawks faced one impossibility: Roger Willoughby by never fishing had separated his scheme for making clients happy--by using consultants at various sites and departmental experts to supply information and teaching expertise--from his job, being the man who made the entire scheme work. Strictly speaking, as Paula Prentiss says, Roger is a phony; but this does no alter the workability of the scheme; and the climax--the fishing tournament's outcome, Roger's confessing to his boss and what happens afterward form an exciting, dialogue-rich and memorable conclusion to the side-splitting goings on. The problem Hudson faces--the distinction between theory and practice of the theory--is a bedeviling one in a nation many of whose academic tsars are heavy with inadequate theories and whose practitioners are light on results themselves. I highly recommend this classic for a study of Hawks' techniques as well as for anyone wanting a loud laugh of fifty any time. Add flashy titles, low- key music and crisp, clean sets and a knockout comedy performance by all concerned, especially Paula Prentiss, and this film becomes an instant US classic satire.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man's Favorite Sport?

Filming Locations:

Revue Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gibraltar Productions, Laurel Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1