Man's Favorite Sport?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Man's Favorite Sport? | |
|---|---|
 Original theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks |
| Written by | Pat Frank (story) John Fenton Murray Steve McNeil |
| Starring | Rock Hudson Paula Prentiss Maria Perschy |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
| Cinematography | Russell Harlan |
| Editing by | Stuart Gilmore |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1964 |
| Running time | 120 mins |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Man's Favorite Sport? is a 1964 comedy starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. Released by Universal Pictures, the movie was directed and produced by Howard Hawks.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story concerns a Roger Willoughby (Hudson), a well-known fishing expert who works for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Abigail Page (Prentiss) is a brash and flighty public relations woman. Page is determined to secure Willoughby's participation in a prestigious fishing tournament and after some machinations succeeds, only to learn that Willoughby is a phony--he's never fished before in his life.
Impetuously, Abigail concocts a scheme in which Roger will fake his way through the tournament, she enlisting his support only after threatening to reveal his horrible secret. Their schemes to maintain the artifice provide the impetus for the film. Willoughby proves himself to be supremely inept: he cannot fish, cannot set up a tent, cannot run or even board a motorboat. He cannot even swim, as he demonstrates by toppling or plunging straight to the lakebed each time he ventures to go fishing.
In the vein of the screwball genre, the dialog is fast and overlapping, the humor broad and slapstick, multiple levels of deception abound, and a decidedly adversarial relationship constantly teeters on the edge of romance.
[edit] Release and reviews
Upon its release on February 5, 1964, Man's Favorite Sport? performed acceptably but not exceptionally (as had Hawk's previous film Hatari!). The critics' reactions were somewhat tepid, particularly in comparison to Hawk's earlier works[1], though Molly Haskell wrote a glowing analysis of the picture seven years later in The Village Voice. Haskell admitted an indifference to the film in 1964, and that upon revisiting the film in 1971 she was "both delighted and deeply moved by the film--delighted by the grace and real humor with which the story was told, and moved by the reverberation of the whole substratum of meaning, of sexual antagonism, desire, and despair."[2]
Hudson was given relatively sympathetic reviews for the difficult position of impersonating Cary Grant. Robin Wood notes: "It was cruel to make [Hudson] the night-club scene from Bringing up Baby which Cary Grant brought off with such panache."[3]
Prentiss was especially praised for her energetic performance--probably the best role of her career. "Miss Prentiss slips ... agreeably into Katharine Hepburn's shoes. Her bass voice is comically imposing. She's more consciously malevolent/charming than Miss Hepburn in Baby. She's just terrible to Hudson and her outrageousness almost makes the movie half a good comedy."[4] Robin Wood: "Paula Prentiss is--as always--very good, but at times one has the feeling that Hawks is importing a characterization on her instead of working with her."[3] Hawks would later say: "Paula Prentiss was good, but she couldn't remember what she was doing from one shot to the next. Her shots never matched".[5] About the starlet for whom he had forgone the Paramount deal, Hawks summarized: "I think that Paula Prentiss is good. She ought to be a big comedy star. I don't know what's the matter."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ McCarthy, Todd. Howard Hawks : The Grey Fox of Hollywood. Grove Press, 596, 602. ISBN 0-8021-1598-5.
- ^ McBride, Joseph; Haskell, Molly. "Man's Favorite Sport? (Revisited)", Focus on Howard Hawks. Prentice-Hall, Inc, 135-138. ISBN 0-133-84289-4.
- ^ a b Wood, Robin. Howard Hawks. Doubleday & Company, 138. ISBN 0-814-33276-5.
- ^ Willis, Donald C. The Films of Howard Hawks. The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 40. ISBN 0-810-80860-9.
- ^ Willis, Donald C. The Films of Howard Hawks. The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 208. ISBN 0-810-80860-9.
- ^ McBride, Joseph. Hawks on Hawks. University of California Press, 150. ISBN 0-520-04552-1.
[edit] Further reading
- Quigley Publishing Company, Inc (2000). International Motion Picture Almanac, 71st Edition. Quigley Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-900610-65-4.
- Universal Pictures, Co., Inc (1963). Showman's Manual : Man's Favorite Sport?. Universal Pictures, Co., Inc. (Studio Pressbook).
[edit] External links
- Man's Favorite Sport? at the Internet Movie Database
- Man's Favorite Sport? at Allmovie
- Man's Favorite Sport? at Rotten Tomatoes
|
|||||||||||||||||
