Pat and Mike (1952)

Director: George Cukor

Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Aldo Ray, William Ching, Samy White, George Mathews, Charles Bronson, Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Together again - and it's no fib, their funniest hit since "Adam's Rib"

Plot: Pat Pemberton (Hepburn), an athletic prodigy who's a natural in any sport except dating, meets her match in Mike Conovan (Tracy), a feisty promoter who takes her under his wing. Together, they set the sports world on its ear and find that opposites attract.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Absolutely!

#7 on Project: Badass Charles Bronson

BRONSON'S AGE: 31
LEVEL OF BADASSICITY (10 being the highest): 1 (Katharine Hepburn kicks his ass...twice)

I'm in love. I've seen Katharine Hepburn movies before but it's been forever and I've never seen her in any of the 9 she did with Spencer Tracy. She's absolutely marvelous. The way she looks at Tracy so lovingly seems near impossible to fake. It's so genuine that you can't help but dream that someone could gaze upon you with the same youthful adoration. Sigh. I was tearing up at the end.


P&M is delightfully funny and it's a treat to see these two work their magic. I read that that this was written to showcase her athletic ability and that's easy to believe. Just take a look at this...

NICE! What's not so nice is Charles Bronson. Hepburn kicks his ass. In the real world she would have fainted at the very thought of laying a hand on him in anger. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she almost left Tracy for five minutes with Bronson. I'm sure he had that effect.

I didn't recognize him but the waiter at the end of the picture is Alfalfa from OUR GANG (aka THE LITTLE RASCALS) and he's all grown up. After seeing his name in the end credits I had to go back and watch his scene again. He's terrific regardless of whether or not you know who he is.

That's Alfalfa in the white jacket.

It's also Chuck Connors's first movie.


I rarely watch romantic comedies, partly because most of them are trite and cliche-ridden and partly because maybe I think romance is dead. Deep down I know it isn't...maybe you know how it is. Like just about any film, you have to really care about the characters in order for it to work or buy into it. I really liked Hepburn & Tracy so much that there is probably no way it wouldn't have.