Many people would think a movie with two academy award winning actors would work. Those two thespians are Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. They made nine movies together. Pat and Mike is their seventh. Their teaming was a coup for the studio. it also started an affair that lasted until Tracy’s death. Unfortunately, the story is weak, and the couple,especially Tracy, seem out of place. The script, written by husband and wife, screenwriters, Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, doesn’t work.
Tracy and Hepburn play Mike Conavan and Pat Pemberton. Conavan is a shady promoter. Pemberton is a world class athlete. She is particularly good at tennis and golf. She is unable to perform at championship level, when her fiance, Collier Weld, (William Ching)is around. This is when Mike Conavan comes into the picture. He works with her,and does his best, to keep Collier away. Conavan begins to lose his objectivity, and falls for Pat Pemberton. This is shown, in a weird way. He is in a stable, and a horse’s face changes into Pat Pemberton. Hepburn’s character falling for Tracy’s Conavan, is done differently. Her fiance’s picture morphs into Conovan’s face. Unfortunately, Conavan’s shady dealings get him on the wrong side of bookies. This results in a brawl, that gets Pat Pemberton directly involved. The authorities arrest everyone, creating mass confusion, that gets in the way of the couple’s budding romance.
The two lead actors are legendary. Spencer Tracy won consecutive academy awards. This record stood for nearly sixty years. Katherine Hepburn has won four academy awards. This record still stands. Every actor is entitled to have a film not up to their standards. Pat and Mike is an example.It is amazing that Hepburn’s favorite director, George Cukor, couldn’t make this a better movie. He helped restart her career, with The Philadelphia Story. Cukor does employ some interesting film techniques. He shows Pat Pemberton, playing a tennis match. She is losing and her racket shrinks to the size of a badminton paddle. She is playing in a golf tournament, and the sand traps appear to be larger than they are.
The thing of note with Pat and Mike, is the appearances of a few actors who would become stars. They are Aldo Ray, Charles Bronson and Chuck Connors, in his first movie role. Aldo Ray is best remembered as Sgt. Muldoon in The Green Berets. He plays a dimwitted boxer, named Davie Hucko. Charles Bronson played in countless westerns and action films. He is billed in this movie by his real name,Charles Buchinsky. Chuck Connors became a television star on The Rifleman. He also appeared on other shows and numerous movies. Another noteworthy appearance is that of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. She was a champion golfer and founder of the LPGA. This was a great bit of casting. The scenes in the fictional golf tournament are good. Pat is an example of a studio exploiting a good thing. This didn’t work. Tracy and Hepburn are always lauded as a great screen couple. This movie would make people think twice about that.