Pat And Mike (1952)

A female athlete (Katharine Hepburn) is intimidated by her fiancee (William Ching) and performs poorly when he's around. A sports manager and promoter (Spencer Tracy) sees her potential and he takes her under his wing to train her and make her a first class athlete. This enjoyable romp is one of the best of the classic Tracy and Hepburn vehicles. Expertly directed by George Cukor from a Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin screenplay (they wrote the prior Cukor directed Tracy/Hepburn pairing from 1949, ADAM'S RIB), the film isn't entirely without flaws, minor though they be. While Hepburn with her lean athletic build is perfectly cast, Tracy is cast against type and his performance isn't as effortless as Hepburn's. Playing a rough and tumble, street wise Brooklynese spouting character doesn't come easily to him and it shows in his acting. Not that he's bad because he isn't but one sees the effort he's putting in. But as I said, that's a minor gripe in a charmer of a romantic comedy. Tracy and Hepburn aren't the whole show, there's room for Aldo Ray as a dimwitted heavyweight boxer and he's quite amusing. The score is by David Raksin. The supporting cast includes Charles Bronson, Chuck Connors, Jim Backus and George Mathews as well as several sports stars like golf's Babe Didrikson Zaharias and tennis' Gussie Moran.