Customer Reviews

Pat & Mike [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

MGM does a grand job in restoring this 1952 comedy classic to DVD perfection!!! Presented in Black/White, Standard Screen size (4:3 tv aspect ratio - before WideScreen (1953)).

This was Spencer Tracy's & Katherine Hepburn's 7th film together and as always are Classic Team mates!!! Now digitally remastered and on DVD makes it even better. Flawlessly digitalized makes the picture quality absolutely astounding to watch. Hepburns athletism can be more appreciated especially during the golf scenes when she drives the balls into the far distance (only now can we see these tiny spheres in the distance with DVD clarity!).

Summary; Masterfully directed by George Cukor, Athletic Pat (Hepburn) plays a very skillful amateur female sports nut who seems trapped in a rich socialite engaged to be married life. Mike (Tracy) a sports promoter eyes Hepburn in a Pro-Amatuer Golf match & sees a gold mine to be had. Hustling her to turn pro & be his client Hepburn decides this is a way to escape her miserable dominating fiances & to be married life. Hepburn shows hows some amazing athletic talents in golf & tennis. Tracy & Hepburn are a grand pair to watch & Hollywoods 1950's happy ending prevails. This is a keeper and the DVD is a beauty!

Special Features include: Cast & Crew, Behind the Scenes, Theatrical Teaser & Trailer.

Pat & Mike is great family entertainment & Katherine Hepburn shows how women can be independent (wearing slacks), athletic (amazing golfer& tennis player) & feminine (beautiful & vunerable) all in one. Enjoy.

PAT & MIKE is the seventh Tracy-Hepburn collaboration, and it stars Spencer Tracy as Mike Conovan, the moneyminded sports racketeer with a heart of gold, and Katharine Hepburn (looking a great deal younger than she did in 1951's THE AFRICAN QUEEN) as his beautiful 'property', Pat Pemberton. Pat is an all-round 'lady athlete', adept at golf and tennis (not to mention shooting, basketball and presumably swimming), but completely frazzled whenever her fiance Collier Weld (a suitably smarmy William Ching) is around and watching her. In a bid to become more in control of herself and her life, she (contrarily) submits to Mike's management and he takes her around the country as a golf and tennis pro. It doesn't take much imagination to realise what happens next--Mike's 'handling' of Pat is the kind of handling she's willing to accept (switch 'Tracy' for 'Mike' and 'Hepburn' for 'Pat' and you get also a description of Tracy and Hepburn's real-life relationship), and before long, Collier is pretty much left in the dust.

This film is evidently a star vehicle for Tracy and Hepburn, containing next to no artistic pretensions or even any real attempt to press a subtle feminist point (in contrast with other Tracy/Hepburn films like WOMAN OF THE YEAR or ADAM'S RIB). In fact, the film seems to be just a comfortable, familiar joke between actors, writers and audience--we know these characters, we know these actors, we know what kind of relationship they always have (bantering, sparring, and in the end just a perfect fit)... the only thing that's different is the names of the characters. Sam, Adam, Mike--Tess, Amanda, Pat--what's the difference?

To be fair, Hepburn's character of Pat Pemberton is much softer and more vulnerable than either Tess Harding or Amanda Bonner. This character variation doesn't hide the real point of the screenplay though--Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin evidently wanted a chance to display both Hepburn's natural athletic abilities (phenomenal for a non-professional, but possibly not 100% believable against sports stars like Babe Zaharias) and her incredible legs. Well, they did succeed at both of these things, to great effect. It's great fun for a Hepburn fan, having read about her deep and abiding love of any and all sports, to get a chance to actually watch her playing golf and tennis onscreen. (This doesn't mean, of course, that the frequent and long golf scenes don't test one's patience occasionally!)

Spencer Tracy has great fun as Mike as well, the sports agent who originally wants Pat to flub a game and come in second. He claims early on in the film that the trouble with her is that she's got too honest a face--it's only Tracy's ability to make rough-and-tumble characters believably vulnerable at heart that makes his later declaration ("I must have caught something from you" i.e. honesty) acceptable. The chemistry between the two is probably closer to the comfortable rapport they shared in ADAM'S RIB as man and wife than the fireworks that went off between them in WOMAN OF THE YEAR. Whatever the case, it is still always a joy to watch Tracy and Hepburn together onscreen, and it's largely because this film stars who it does that you can allow yourself to enjoy and be taken in by what is evidently a cutesy star vehicle written by the stars' friends (Gordon and Kanin), and directed by the leading lady's best and favourite director George Cukor. (Some of the visual tricks, particularly Hepburn's face appearing on that of a horse, are actually more disturbing than flattering, and I--for one--would prefer not to pursue the metaphor through to its end.) Tracy and Hepburn are also boosted by an excellent supporting cast, particularly William Ching as Pat's obnoxious suitor and Aldo Ray as Mike's dimwitted star protege (until Pat comes along, that is!).

PAT & MIKE is a romantic comedy, but it's also romantic-comedy-*lite*. There are no forced or fake separations that are geared towards wringing tears from viewers before a reconciliation (contrast again with ADAM'S RIB and most formulaic films in recent years). The film is just a little piece of joyful fluff--not taxing at all for either the writers, the actors, or the viewers. For a brilliant comic set-piece, watch out for the scene in which Pat takes on the two seedy sports racketeers and dispenses them with remarkable ease and efficiency. Otherwise, watch PAT & MIKE with the knowledge that this is neither Tracy and Hepburn's best, nor is it their worst. If you keep your expectations down, you'll certainly enjoy watching this film because it aims low (aiming only to please and amuse, and not necessarily to engage and thrill), and fulfils those aims very well. 8/10.

One of the most amusing things about this romantic comedy is the fact that Katharine Hepburn was 44 years old when it was made. She played a super athlete. I think modern audiences would find it hard not to cringe watching her play tennis. Certainly Hepburn was in great shape for a woman her age, but the flight of imagination necessary to allow me to see her as a world class athlete was beyond my reach.

Still this is a cute little story highlighted by the usual fine chemistry between Hepburn and co-star Spencer Tracy. He plays a grammatically challenged sports manager/promoter with the familiar Spencer Tracy heart of gold who falls in love with his "property." In small roles, Chuck Conners plays a cop and Charles Bronson a not too bright thug. Aldo Ray is a feeble minded heavyweight boxer and William Ching is Hepburn's incompatible boyfriend. The Ruth Gordon/Garson Kanin script was ahead of its time as it had Hepburn kicking male tail with the greatest of ease, albeit facetiously. This is worth seeing for the good snapshot of mid-century American values presented.

According to film lore, writers Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin were inspired to write PAT AND MIKE when they realized that Katherine Hepburn was a near-professional-level golfer and tennis player. The result is a sprightly tale of a college physical education teacher named Pat (Hepburn) who turns pro with the help of a slightly shady promoter manager named Mike (Tracy.)

As always, Tracy and Hepburn make for an engaging pair, and the supporting cast is crammed with memorable faces, including Jim Backus, Chuck Conners, a very young Charles Bronson, and even Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer--and every one plays with the same charming touch. The sports scenes also gives sports fans a glimpse at such legendary atheletes as Babe Didrikson Zaharias. But the real interest here is the script itself: in an era noted for sexism, PAT AND MIKE is flatly feminist, and the story finds Hepburn first rebelling against fiance William Ching's "little woman" mentality and then straightening out Spenser Tracy on the same point--and in one of the film's most memorable scenes, Hepburn effectively shoves Tracy aside to beat up two men who threaten him!

Given the nature of its story, PAT AND MIKE spends quite a lot of time on the golf course and the tennis courts, and those who have little interest in sports may not find it to their taste; that said, in spite of its many charms, the film isn't really in the same league with Tracy and Hepburn's ADAM'S RIB. Still, fans of the screen team will enjoy it quite a bit, and even purely casual viewers will have a good time.

Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy at their funny best! Watch for a VERY young Charles Bronson in his screen debut. He is hilarious as a bad guy that Katherine Hepburn beats up. It's awful funny watching little Hepburn beat up tough guy Bronson! That part had us all doubled over laughing. A young Chuck Connors also has a small part as the sheriff. It's definitely worth a watch.

This isn't much of a movie, but Tracey and Hepburn are just about at the peak of their form together - and are a joy to watch. Hepburn is an all-star athlete and Tracey her manager; she is in love with William Ching, but whenever he's around her she flops: she feels under his thumb.

Hepburn gets to show off her tennis and golf prowess (she was an excellent athlete), but if it weren't for the Tracey-Hepburn magic, the picture wouldn't amount to much. They perform together like a well-oiled and perfectly operating machine, yet are as natural as could be (maybe true love will do that to you). Worth a watch.

Pat and Mike is a lovely story of a star athlete, played by Katharine Hepburn, who is discovered by a sport's manager, Spencer Tracy. Hepburn's character realizes that she is going to be watched every minute of every day while in training. This companionship between athlete and manager finally turns to love.
In Pat and Mike, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy again play opposite each other. Hepburn also gets to show off the skills in sports and physical agility, which she posesses in real life.

Pat and Mike must have gotten a lot of attention when it came out in the early Fifties, since it has a strong message about relying on yourself and women being equal to men and doing more than their traditional role. Hepburn and Tracy are both very good in their roles as sportswoman and manager. Aldo Ray, as a boxer who may have had too many shots to the head, has a lot of funny moments that liven up the film. The movie has a great message, but the laughs aren't as strong as I was expecting, and although I enjoyed it, the film is not at the same level as a lot of the other Hepburn/Tracy films. But I'm sure their fans will like it.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies.

For one thing, it is laugh-out-loud funny in its own special way. A lot of the humor derives from the characters themselves, who are innately funny without being aware that they are. For example, Spencer Tracy's character Mike. He manages athletes. He clearly came up from the streets of New York, and his New York slang is endearing, original, and hilarious. He is sui generis, what you see is what you get, and his sudden partnership with the blue-blooded Katharine Hepburn turns the humor up a notch, as he clumsily approaches this beautiful graceful,elegant female athlete from another world, somehow sure enough in his ability that is willing to do what it takes to bridge the gap.

Tracy (Mike) sees Hepburn (Pat) play in a professional tennis tournament. He is so blown away by her ability that he approaches her to offer to be her manager. He is shy and tentative, first because she is so beautiful and elegant, and also because he is aware that they come from different worlds. Mind you, it is clear Mike feels inferior to nobody and that he is his own man.

So Mike starts to chat her up in his New York-ese, avidly chewing gum, both hands in the pockets of his navy pinstriped suit, fedora perched on the back of his head. Showing his own touch of class, Tracy does not let on in any way that he finds Hepburn attractive. Just that he is wowed by her ability. (Interestingly, Mike keeps a poker face about his romantic feelings throughout most of the movie. He reveals tenderness and love at first in the sweetest scene--she is asleep and he covers her with a blanket.)

After Hepburn agrees to have him manage her, they go out for a celebratory dinner. Tracy orders scotch on the rocks, steak, baked potato with butter, and apple pie a la mode. Hepburn orders the same. Tracy shakes his head. He tells the waiter that the lady will have broiled fish with salad, no dressing. Hepburn protests indignantly. Tracy becomes firm and adamant. He tells Hepburn that she has to listen to him or no deal. He says he has a stable of successful clients, all of whom adhere to his strict training regimen. He mentions "Little Nell" as one of his most successful clients. Beaming with pride, he opens his wallet to show Hepbrn a picture of his pride and joy. As it turns out, Rosie is a thoroughbred mare.

The humor and wit do not abate throughout the whole movie, with Hepburn and Tracy complementing each other as smoothly and intimately as yang and yin.

I have seen this movie lots of times, and each time it brings me joy.

Katharine Hepburn has said this deceptively casual 1952 comedy is her favorite of the nine onscreen pairings with longtime partner Spencer Tracy, and one can see why as the film takes advantage of her natural athletic prowess. Directed by the redoubtable George Cukor and written by the husband-and-wife team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon (Adam's Rib), this is not so much a rollicking screwball farce as a sly opposites-attract love story set in a world pitched between professional sports and the street-slang and pinstripe suits of Damon Runyon. It's not a complicated plot. Mike Conovan is a dem-and-dose sports promoter who already manages a punch-drunk fighter named Davie Hucko. On a country club golf course, he sees a great golfing talent in Pat Pemberton, a college physical-education instructor who turns out to be accomplished in a number of sports including sharp-shooting and tennis. Mike immediately sees the financial possibilities of promoting a "lady athlete", and a mutual attraction develops.

However, he also discovers Pat's one major Achilles' heel - her self-doubt is such that she cannot perform to her world-class standards under the patronizing eye of her selfish fiancée Collier. Naturally, this impediment gives rise to the movie's funniest sight gags, including a particularly hilarious tennis match with real pro Gussie Moran where Pat's tennis racket gets smaller, Moran's gets larger, and the net grows higher. The rest of the film consists of scenes highlighting Pat's ascending trajectory as a pro star, and consequently, the fortyish Hepburn's impressive physical talent facing off with the likes of Olympic champion Babe Didrickson Zaharias in a pro golf tournament. The Tracy-Hepburn team shows a genuine rhythm to their banter here, and Tracy seems to be having fun playing a street-savvy huckster. I find it amusing how Hepburn's character - with her crisp New England-based diction - is supposed to be from Oakland. Aldo Ray makes a memorable impression as Davie, while a young Charles Bronson can be seen as one of the hoods subject to Pat's masterful judo moves. There are no extras offered with the 2000 DVD.