George Cukor directs the seventh pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and, in one of their best outings, the sparring has an athletic setting to match the verbal gymnastics. Tracy plays a sports promoter who discovers a natural in Hepburn’s small-college phys ed instructor. He keeps the gamblers at bay and she deals with her boring administrator beau as she warms to Tracy. Hepburn was indeed a natural athlete and she gets to show off in the company of some noted athletes. Charles Bronson makes an early appearance (as a criminal) and Connors (then a ballplayer) makes his debut.
Pat and Mike reunited director George Cukor and writers Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. All had worked together on Adam’s Rib (1949) three years earlier.
Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Screenplay.
production details
USA | MGM | 95 minutes | 1952
Director: George Cukor
Producer: Lawrence Weingarten
Cinematography: William Daniels
Editor: George Boemler
Music: David Raksin
Script: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin
Production Design: Cedric Gibbons
cast
John George as Tennis Match Spectator (uncredited)
Aldo Ray as Davie Hucko
Charles Bronson as Henry ‘Hank’ Tasling
Katharine Hepburn as Patricia ‘Pat’ Pemberton
Spencer Tracy as Mike Conovan
William Ching as Collier Weld
Sammy White as Barney Grau
George Mathews as Sylvester ‘Spec’ Cauley
Jim Backus as Charles Barry