Le sport favori de l'homme

Howard Hawks did of course create the classic _Bringing Up Baby_ and some comparison between _Favorite_ as a 26-year update of the former is inevitable. Hawks did plenty of screwball comedies, but above all, Hawks was a director who made GUY films; _Red River_ may be the ultimate man's man film of all time. And to some extent, this film is about Willoughby's (Hudson's) fraudulent expertise in "manly" activities such as camping, outdoor activities and--most critical to the plot--fishing.

Life is good for Hudson as the expert fisherman who is big man at Abercrombie and Fitch, until brash Abby Page (Prentiss) destroys his serene existence with a publicity stunt of having Hudson enter an annual fishing contest.

After resisting the idea, Hudson is soon forced to confess he's never fished in his life--that his reputation is a hoax. Rather than sensibly abandon the scheme, Prentiss decides she can teach Hudson how to fish in 3 days. This inevitably leads to all sorts of misadventures as Hudson is so inept he can't even swim! Some of the more amusing sequences are Hudson's inflatable waders exploding underwater, having a bear steal his trail-bike, or literally running across the surface of the lake to escape another bear. Some of the gags work better than others; the gags range from leisurely to elaborate, but all in good fun.

The fast-talking overlapping dialog is pure Hawks and (the uncredited) Brackett, and is wonderful.

Hudson has been criticized for not being Cary Grant (how could anyone be?) but he actually develops his own persona, different from both Grant and his own Hudson-Day characterizations. In this film, he is partially browbeaten by Prentiss and her sidekick Perschy, but ultimately, he voluntarily suffers through his ordeals as a matter of penance.

Paula on the other hand is a complete success: perky, beautiful, brash, and unpredictable--she gives a spectacularly energetic performance. This is the sole film is where Prentiss has the script and the screen time to refine her comic persona. While Perschy and Holt exist to create a triangle and fuel the high-jinx, they also define the limits of the Prentiss character; she is neither exotic like Perschy nor sultry like Holt. In comparison, she is pleasantly and very prettily tomboyish, often wearing outdoor sporting wear, and thoroughly competent at all things in which Hudson had professed expertise.

When compared with _Baby_, _Favorite_ perhaps begins with a potentially even richer premise, and is less fanciful, disposing of rich Connecticut dowagers and University endowments. But it never quite builds to the same frenetic pace and lacks the absurdity of the situations Grant finds himself in: remember "Mr. Bone?" Hawks does lift sequences right out of _Baby_ when Hudson shadows Perschy because the back of her dress is open, the "Love impulse in men manifests itself in conflict" from Dr. Lehman is used by Easy, the fish in the pants comes out of _Monkey Business_.

Yet the films are quite different. Grant's character is entirely asocial while Hudson's is the leader of the Hawksian male group. Furthermore, Hepburn is quickly determined to snare Grant, while Prentiss is to the end ambivalent or in self-denial.

I've seen it commented (including by the Voice film critic Molly Haskell) that the film is more satisfying when seen for the second time, and I wholeheartedly agree with this. This review replaces one which was not quite so laudatory. Three times is even better. Familiarity, in the case of this film, breeds endearment.

The sad part is that Paula Prentiss is so lovely and talented to watch in this film, and clearly the critics had huge expectations of her career, yet the next year she would do only three small parts in ensemble casts before withdrawing from films entirely for the next five years. These years, from when she was 26 through 31, were those where she certainly would have become a huge star.

A delightful and agreeable Screwball comedy that has lost none of its vintage and punch . The author of a best-selling fishing guide called Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is loved by his customers in the sporting goods department at Abercrombie and Fitch run by his boss , the store owner William Cadwalader (John McGiver) . Roger is actually extremely inexperienced in outdoor-sports , but then he finds himself entered in an anglers' contest which causes confusion . Then botcher Rock becomes the unwitting object of the fun affections from two beautiful women (Paula Prentiss , Maria Perschy) . As Prentiss attempts to get for herself to Rock who also happens to be engaged to another girlfriend (Charlene Holt) . And both of whom become involved into all sorts of trouble . What is Man's Favorite Sport?... Just ask any Girl! ...Girls are good at it too! .It takes a girl to supply the answer.

An enjoyable comedy of the best vintage with the two great comedian actors , Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss , on glittering and splendorous form . One ridiculous and absurd situation after another adds up to high speed fun . From a story titled "The Girl Who Almost Got Away" by Pat Frank and storyline by John Fenton Murray , Steve McNeil and Howard Hawks himself . Concerning a simple and light plot about a fishing contest which causes mayhem when our bungling starring is entered into a competition, including laughters , confusion , funny set pieces , amusement , entertainment and big fun . And following similar style to the deemed to be quintaessential classic comedy : ¨Breaking up baby¨ (1938) by Howard Hawks himself . Featuring a great main and support cast , all of them are in nice and enjoyable form . Dialogue and situations are breezy and clever , employing filmmaker Hawks's famous overlapping dialogue to maximum advantage .Rock Hudson givis a likable actng as an outdoors columnist considered to be a leading expert on sports fishing , but really ,he's never been fishing in his life and then mayhem ensues , this movie provided Rock with one of his best characters. While screwball Paula Prentiss add Maria Preschy spend most of their time gumming up the workd for poor Hudson. Keep an eye out for some familiar roles and some inventive biits , here standing out the support actors as Norman Alden , John McGiver , Forrest Lewis , Regis Toomey and Charlene Holt .

It displays an adequate cinematography in brilliant techinicolor by Russell Harlan . Likewise, marvelous score by Henry Mancini with catching and attractive leitmotif . The motion picture was competently directed by Howard Hawks who manages the perfect balance of mayhem and control , adding sparkling dialogue and amusing incidents . Hawks was one of the best Hollywood directors . He made various masterpieces and directed all kinds of genres , Comedy, Western, drama , Noir Film , wartime , thriller , such as : "Air Force, Sergeant York , Outlaw , Rio Bravo , Río Lobo, El Dorado, Hatari, His Friday Girl, Man's Favotite sport ? , Gentlemen prefer Blondes , Monkey Business , Fire Ball , Gone and Get it , Criminal Code, Big Sleep, To Have and Have not" and many others . This is definitively a must-see and it is guaranteed to have you falling out your seat in helpless laughter . This was Hawks' final comedy and runs a long two hours.

In one of the funniest screwball comedies of the pre-World War II studio era, William Powell has a celebrated experience with a fish while he pretended to be a fishing expert. It was the highlight of Libeled Lady and I'm sure Howard Hawks thought that we could get a whole comedy out of that situation.

In Man's Favorite Sport he succeeds admirably. If the film had been done 20 years earlier, Cary Grant would definitely have been in the lead. The part of Roger Willoughby, who wrote a book on fishing based on hearsay from the various customers he's dealt with at Abercrombie&Fitch, would have been ideal for Cary Grant as it has just the kind of physical comedy that Grant was so adept at.

However Rock Hudson steps into the role admirably and for once he's the pursued and not the pursuer. Pursuing Hudson every step of the way is the kookie Paula Prentiss who seemed to study at the Carol Burnett school of zaniness for this part.

On a bit of advice from public relations expert Prentiss, Hudson's boss at Abercrombie&Fitch, John McGiver, has him enter a fishing tournament. When Hudson confesses he's never fished and hates the slimy things, Prentiss decides to help fake it through.

There are a lot of really great laughs in this film, but the best scene is Hudson trying out this inflatable suit for those who are fishing and fall in the water. He does and the results are hilarious.

Don't miss this film if it is ever broadcast.

Rock Hudson stars as a man posing as a fishing expert who basically passes on information from one customer to another. He has written a best selling book on fishing and no one knows he's a fraud, not even his fiancée. He is shocked to learn his boss has entered him into a fishing contest and doesn't know what to do until Paula Prentiss and Maria Perschy tell him they got him involved and are going to teach him to fish. This is a pretty good comedy but it does have a little too much slapstick in it. There are some scenes that are taken from Bringing Up Baby and Howard Hawks did ask Cary Grant to be in this movie but he said no because he didn't want to be seen on screen with women who a lot younger then he was. The movie is two hours long and goes by pretty quickly.

This is both a return to an older form of comedy for Howard Hawks as well as something new. This is almost as much a remake of Bringing Up Baby as A Song is Born was of Ball of Fire, and it would have been made even the more so if Hawks had been able to follow through on an early idea of having both Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn return to play the lead roles. It doesn't seem like Hepburn was seriously considered, but Grant was offered the lead role. He refused when they cast Paula Prentiss, 34 years his junior, as the female lead. He was tired of the criticisms around his playing romantic lead to women half his age (though he was married Betsy Drake at the time, who was 19 years younger than him).

So, they cast Rock Hudson. Hudson seems to play the part as Hawks would have wanted Grant to play David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby if he could have gone back in time and changed it. Hudson is the straight leading man here, unblemished by personality tics like a weird accent or cadence or even glasses. He is Roger Willoughby, the author of a popular fishing magazine who works in a department store selling fishing equipment to the rich of San Francisco. He has a secret, though. He cannot fish. He's never gone fishing once in his life, but his advice is great nonetheless. He just takes what he hears from one fisherman and he tells others. In comes Paula Prentiss' Abigail Page. She's the daughter of the man organizing a fishing tournament in the country, and she has a great idea. She'll invite the famous author to participate, so she goes first to Roger's boss, Mr. Cadwalader, and gets his permission, essentially forcing Roger into it without his involvement. Desperate, Roger takes her aside and admits his deep secret to her. Well, she's going to teach him to fish in the week leading up to the tournament so he can at least perform decently enough.

So is the setup for the comedic pratfalls that will follow. Being the representative of a department store, Mr. Cadwalader sends Roger with a station wagon full of equipment to try out, most of which is silly in nature. Abigail becomes immediately infatuated with him, and does everything she can to insert herself in his life, even when his fiancée, Tex, comes for a surprise visit. The thing about the humor that runs through the film is that it's fairly broad stuff. The broadest moment is probably when Roger is riding a little moped in the countryside towards the lake. He falls off, and a bear gets on it and drives away. Most isn't quite like that, but that moment stands out.

Roger is simply hopeless at fishing, and when the tournament actually starts he ends up pratfalling his way to total victory. He accidentally throws his line over his shoulder behind a rock, and a fish immediately hooks it. He accidentally throws his line over a tree branch, and a fish immediately hooks it. He gets chased into the middle of a river by the bear, and a fish ends up by the shore that he can net up real quick. It's amusing stuff, light and frivolous.

The core of it all, though, is Roger's relationship with Abigail. This is the mirror of David and Susan in Bringing Up Baby. Abigail doesn't announce early to someone that she's going to marry Roger, but it's obvious that she finds him attractive and endearing, growing closer to him as the movie goes on. This all hinges on the actors, of course, and both hold themselves quite well. Rock Hudson is put together and in over his head at the same time. He just wants to live his quiet life of passing off good fishing advice as his own, but now, in this situation, he has to find a way to get over his disgust at handling live fish, his distaste for the outdoors in general, and his fear of water. Abigail is there along the way, comfortable with it all, and enjoying the process of torturing him in her quest for his heart.

Paula Prentiss is a delight as Abigail. She's bright, energetic, and bubbly. Her lighthearted mistreatment of Roger never descends into mean-spiritedness. She's edging him towards what he wants, to not be completely embarrassed at this tournament that she's forced him into. It ends up making sense why Roger would ultimately be okay with breaking up with Tex and going with Abigail, though the relationship with Tex is rather thinly presented. Tex barely has a presence, and she's kind of irritating in her few scenes. The deck is kind of stacked in Abigail's favor there.

The resolution of the film's plot revolves around Tex, Mr. Cadwalader, and Roger's primary customer, the Major, discovering the truth around Roger's inability to fish. After winning the top prize, he comes clean and walks away. Abigail has run away, thinking that she can never have Roger because she got him into the mess to begin with, and love ends up triumphing. There's a certain predictability and safeness to the story here, but it's so good natured and funny throughout that it's so easy to recommend at the same time.

It's not Hawks' best comedy by a longshot, but it is an entertaining little gem of a find from the later stages of his career. As much a throwback as a work of its time, Man's Favorite Sport? Is a fine little comedy.

Oh, and as the title song answers, Man's Favorite Sport is girls.