Mademoiselle Gagne-Tout

During a friendship that last many years, Tracy and Hepburn made many movies together and this is a good example of the chemistry that existed between them. In this movie, directed by George Cukor, Hepburn plays an athlete who comes under the management of a small town sports promoter in Mike Conovan, played by Tracy. In the role of Pat Pemberton, Hepburn is a free-spirited woman with spunk and personality. Mike has a number of colorful characters as his clients. One of the gags lands the group in a police station explaining their actions to a puzzled sheriff, played Chuck Conners. The acting is good all round.

The golf game between Pat and Babe Zaharias (outstanding golf pro in real life) translates beautifully to the screen with the crowd moving from green to green, golfers teeing off, putting and shooting into the rough. A very good movie, entertaining from start to finish, and a good chance to see Tracy and Hepburn in action.

In this disappointing follow-up to the excellent "Adam's Rib," Hepburn plays a multi-sport athlete who is managed and promoted by Tracy. There are two funny scenes: one involving a tennis match and another where Hepburn slugs a couple of goons to protect Tracy. The other ninety percent of this supposed comedy is devoid of laughs and there is little plot. Cukor can't overcome the witless script by Gordon and Kanin. In fact he makes matters worse by inserting extended sport sequences, particularly golf, that are neither funny nor exciting. The film provides early roles for Bronson, Backus, and Connors, as well as the opportunity to see various famed tennis and golf stars.

Katharine Hepburn has said this deceptively casual 1952 comedy is her favorite of the nine on screen 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 get 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.

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 athletes 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 fiancé 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.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon specifically wrote this screenplay because of Katharine Hepburn's real sports ability.

This is a terrific comedy and a great vehicle for Hepburn and Spencer Tracy....this gives Tracy a chance to play a Brooklyn sports thug. Very funny.

Also, this is a rare chance to see some famous Women golfers of the early 1950's on film...not mention a great performance by Jim Backus.

George Cukor's direction is relaxed and natural.

There's also a funny set-piece with Hepburn having a panic attack during a tennis match.

A great movie.