Man's Favorite Sport? [Blu-ray]

Director: Howard Hawks

Overview

Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) is a super salesman of sporting goods who sells fishing equipment but knows nothing about the sport. Roger's boss Cadwalader (John McGiver) gets an idea from publicity director Abigail (Paula Prentiss) to enter him in a fishing contest, and the inept angler has a series of comic consequences before he wins the contest with some help from a bear. When Roger admits that his winning the event was merely luck, he turns in the prize and loses his job. Roger eventually wins Abigail's heart and gets his job back. Howard Hawks directs this slapstick comedy with his typical flair -- witty dialogue and effective sight gags included.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/06/2018
UPC:	0191329053829
Original Release:	1963
Rating:	NR
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	32,807

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rock Hudson	Roger Willoughby
Paula Prentiss	Abigail Page
Maria Perschy	Isolde `Easy' Mueller
John McGiver	William Cadwalader
Charlene Holt	Tex Connors
Roscoe Karns	Maj. Phipps
Forrest Lewis	Skaggs
Regis Toomey	Bagley
Norman Alden	John Screaming Eagle
Don Allen	Tom
James Westerfield	Polizist
Tyler McVey	Kunde Bush
Kathie Browne	Marcia
Joan Tewkesbury	Frau im Fahrstuhl
Betty Hanna	Frau im Fahrstuhl
Dianne Simpson	Actor
Joan Boston	Actor
Holger Bendixen	Fisherman
Ed Stoddard	Actor
Paul Bryar	Policeman
Jim Bannon	Forest Ranger
Lincoln Demyan	Scoutmaster
Edmund Williams	Desk Clerk,Actor
Christopher White	Boy Scout
Elise Kraal	Actor
Ollie O'Toole	Waiter
Margaret Sheridan	Cadwalader's Secretary
Paul Langton	Mr. Stern
Med Flory	Tucker
John Zaremba	Actor
Chuck Courtney	Actor
Bill Cassady	Bar customer
Tom Allen	Actor
Henry Mancini	Composer

Technical Credits

Steve McNeil

John Fenton Murray

Howard Hawks	Producer
Ben McMahon	Special Effects
Steve McNeil	Screenwriter
John Fenton Murray	Screenwriter
Ben McMahan	Special Effects
Joe Lapis	Sound/Sound Designer
Waldon Watson	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Director Howard Hawks gave Hollywood some of its most memorable comedies (and dramas, for that matter), but by 1963 his best days were behind him. Still, Man's Favorite Sport? has some flashes of the dependable old Hawks, and the basic theme -- strong willed woman hunts down reluctant man -- is a familiar one that worked well for him before (as in Bringing Up Baby, for example). There's some good physical comedy and a few funny lines, although the movie goes on too long and lacks the snappy pace we expect of the director. Rock Hudson is appealing in the kind of light comedy role at which he excelled; it's not an outstanding performance, but it's smooth and professional. Paula Prentiss, on the other hand, is exceptional, never falling into the trap of playing scenes like other Hawks women (Hepburn, Russell), even when it would seem inevitable. She plays the physical comedy with assurance and expert timing, and creates a character that is winsome and lovable in spite of her over aggressiveness; the audience realizes the character can't help being the way she is and so forgives her the occasional excess. When she interrupts Hudson in mid-sentence, it's because she can't help herself, and Prentiss makes that flaw almost commendable. A decent film, Sport as a whole is no one's favorite -- but Prentiss is hard to resist.