Man's Favorite Sport?

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Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) was Howard Hawks' final screwball comedy, updating the genre for the 1960s. Hawks was among the masters of screwball, creating such classics as Bringing up Baby (1938) and His Girl Friday (1940). It is often pointed out that Hawks directly borrows several devices from Bringing Up Baby in the newer film. Hawks reportedly wanted Cary Grant for the male lead, but Grant, concerned about his age for the role, chose to star instead in Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn. Rock Hudson took the lead role. (McCarthy,1997,pp.596-597)

[edit] Plot

The story concerns a Roger Willoughby, a well-known fishing expert who works for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Paula Prentiss portrays Abigail Page, a brash and flighty public-relations woman. Page is determined to secure Willoughby's participation in a prestigious fishing tournament and after some machinations succeeds, only to learn that Willoughby is a phony--he's never fished before in his life.

Impetuously, Abigail concocts a scheme in which Roger will fake his way through the tournament, she enlisting his support only after threatening to reveal his horrible secret. Their schemes to maintain the artifice provide the impetus for the film. Willoughby proves himself to be supremely inept: he cannot fish, cannot set up a tent, cannot run or even board a motorboat. He cannot even swim, as he demonstrates by toppling or plunging straight to the lakebed each time he ventures to go fishing.

In the vein of the screwball genre, the dialog is fast and overlapping, the humor broad and slapstick, multiple levels of deception abound, and a decidedly adversarial relationship constantly teeters on the edge of romance.

"It'll be all over in a moment!" Faux Fisherman Roger Willoughby (Rock Hudson) suffers at the hands of publicist Abigail Page (Paula Prentiss) in Howard Hawk's Man's Favorite Sport? (1964). Photo: Universal International 1964.

[edit] Release and reviews

On its release February 5, 1964, Man's Favorite Sport? performed acceptably but not exceptionally (as had Hawk's previous film Hatari!). The critics' reactions were somewhat tepid, particularly in comparison to Hawk's earlier works (McCarthy,1997,p.596,p.602), though Molly Haskell wrote a glowing analysis of the picture seven years later in The Village Voice. Haskell admitted an indifference to the film in 1964, and that upon revisiting the film in 1971 she was "both delighted and deeply moved by the film--delighted by the grace and real humor with which the story was told, and moved by the reverberation of the whole substratum of meaning, of sexual antagonism, desire, and despair." (Haskell, 1972)

Hudson was given relatively sympathetic reviews for the difficult position of impersonating Cary Grant. Robin Wood notes: "It was cruel to make [Hudson] the night-club scene from Bringing up Baby which Cary Grant brought off with such panache." (Wood, 1968, p.138)

Prentiss was especially praised for her energetic performance--probably the best role of her career. "Miss Prentiss slips ... agreeably into Katharine Hepburn's shoes. Her bass voice is comically imposing. She's more consciously malevolent/charming than Miss Hepburn in Baby. She's just terrible to Hudson and her outrageousness almost makes the movie half a good comedy." (Willis, 1975, p. 40) Robin Wood: "Paula Prentiss is--as always--very good, but at times one has the feeling that Hawks is importing a characterization on her instead of working with her." (Wood, 1968, p.138). But Hawks would later say: "Paula Prentiss was good, but she couldn't remember what she was doing from one shot to the next. Her shots never matched" (Willis, 1975, p. 208). About the starlet for whom he had forgone the Paramount deal, Hawks summarized: "I think that Paula Prentiss is good. She ought to be a big comedy star. I don't know what's the matter." (McBride,1982,p.150)

In the spirit of Haskell's reevaluation, and a 2003 DVD release, the film seems to have been redeemed by the decades--user reviews of the film in such forums such as the Internet Movie Database are largely positive.[1]

[edit] Trivia

• Hawks faced a number of casting challenges aside from losing Grant. Paramount Pictures was adamant that Prentiss was not a big enough name to play against Hudson. Hudson was at his peak between 1959 and 1964, every year being 1st, 2nd or 3rd on the Quigley Money-Makers Poll. Quigley (2000, p.15) Prentiss, a 24-year-old rising star on loan from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, had only made her screen debut three years ago in Where the Boys Are. Such was Hawks' conviction in the starlet's potential that rather than capitulate to the studio, Hawks took the whole production over to Universal Studios. Hawks, however, was not able to secure his first choice (Ursula Andress) to play the role of Page's confidante "Easy" Mueller.(McCarthy,1997,p.597)
• Hawks claimed that the studio cut 40 minutes from the film, which compromised its success. (McCarthy,1997,p.601)
• Though Hollywood cross-promotion became high profile in the 1980's, Hawks in 1964 was promoting Kaiser Jeep, Traveler Boats, Garcia Rods, and Evinrude Outboard Motors, most of which were prominently in view throughout the picture. (Universal Pictures Pressbook,1963,pp. 14-15)
• The Edith Head-designed, form-fitting scuba suits that Prentiss and Maria Perschy wear in one scene were custom-made from castings of their bodies at the cost of $10,000 each. (McCarthy,1997,p. 600) Not to be left out, Husdon is equipped with a specially-rigged set of inflatable waders at the cost of $4,000 (Universal Pictures Pressbook,1963,p. 4)
• The title sequence, scored by Henry Mancini, consists of a montage taken from 6,000 photographs of 33 athletic female models taken by the glamour photographer Don Ornitz. (McCarthy,1997,p. 600)
• Hawks filmed Man's Favorite Sport? in sequence, a growing rarity in the 1960's, and hired long-time collaborator Leigh Brackett to rewrite the existing script day-by-day just before shooting. The writers' guild would not grant her credit for her work because they regarded her work as 'polish' rather than original material, and her contribution is uncredited. (McCarthy, 1997, p. 598, pp. 601-602). Brackett had started working with Hawks (together with William Faulkner) on The Big Sleep (1946). She would work on a total of six Hawks films. Remarkably versatile, Brackett's last screenplay was The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

[edit] References

• Haskell, Molly (1972). "Man's Favorite Sport? (Revisited)", in Joseph McBride (ed.): Focus on Howard Hawks. Prentice-Hall, Inc, pp. 135-138. ISBN 0133842894. 
• McBride, Joseph (1982). Hawks on Hawks. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-04552-1. 
• McCarthy, Todd (1997). Howard Hawks : the grey fox of Hollywood. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1598-5. 
• Quigley Publishing Company, Inc (2000). International Motion Picture Almanac, 71st Edition. Quigley Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-900610-65-4. 
• Universal Pictures, Co., Inc (1963). Showman's Manual : Man's Favorite Sport?. Universal Pictures, Co., Inc. (Studio Pressbook). 
• Willis, Donald C (1975). The Films of Howard Hawks. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-0860-9. 
• Wood, Robin (1968). Howard Hawks. Doubleday & Company. Library of Congess Catalog Card Number: 68-23754.