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:

It takes a girl to supply the answer!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Roscoe Karns.

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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 Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

What is really important?

Some reviewers have criticized the studio-bound look (Bringing Up Baby wasn't???), flat, high- key photography, the fact Rock Hudson isn't Cary Grant, that much of the comedy is slapstick (which, I guess, means physical and visual), that gags are recycled from older films......I mean, who cares? This is a total delight, probably the best comic roles Prentiss and Hudson ever had, and one of the funniest post World War 2 movies of all. Today, the 6th or 7th time I've seen it, I found when it was over I wanted to go out and buy a DVD of it.

Hawks' films may not have the pictorial qualities that Ford's, Welles', and Hitchcock's had, but when it came to involving you in a group of characters and their silly, yet somehow believable, antics, he had no superiors. It's not surprising it took the French New Wave, with their impatience for tired and predictable dramatic conventions, to finally recognize and rank Hawks at the very highest level of film artists.

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